BWW Reviews: HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS at the Hippodrome

As the season sets on Eutaw Street, patrons of the Hippodrome are being treated to the only non-musical of the season, Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. The reason may include there are not that many non-musicals which tour.

One play Baltimore missed was the excellent tour de force August: Osage County which played at the Kennedy Center.  Instead, Baltimore has a tour de farce which features an excellent and talented cast of just four actors which must present this piece in the massive Hippodrome house. (After its successful Broadway run, the play is now ensconced in a more appropriate Off-Broadway house.)

You could tell the show is geared towards those of a certain generation who are familiar with the genius of director Alfred Hitchcock. Every time there is a reference to one of his films, some in the audience howl while the younger set wonders why.

I had such high expectations of this play and they were met at least during the hilarious first half.

The huge Hippodrome stage is barren most of the evening except for a few props and the clever use of curtains.

Director Maria Aitken received a Tony nomination for Best Director.  She explained her concept of the play as follows.  "There is a small repertory company n 1950's England where this leading man wants to play the Hannay character, he can only muster a leading lady if he gives her three parts to play, and there are two old annoying vaudevillians...who play all the rest of the roles, all 150 of them, and play them straight..."  She stated her point of doing the play was that it is "an homage not only to the Hitchcock film but also to the theater itself...I look at the play in the English music hall tradition...with actors playing so many parts - changing so many parts and locations - there's definitely a sort of ballet going on ..."  According to Aitken, 60 percent of playwright Patrick Barlow's dialogue is from the film.

The play in fact won two Tony Awards: one to Kevin Adams for Best Lighting of a Play, and one to Mic Pool for Best Sound Design of a Play.  Both individuals deserve credit for making it come to life.

It is also interesting to note that it did not receive the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Best Play but for Unique Theatrical Experience.  Remember that if you go.

The play opens with Richard Hannay (played by the debonair Ted Deasy) sitting in his living room flat in London (a la Alistair Cooke in Masterpiece Theater) bored with his life. He has had it with news about "elections and wars and rumors of wars".  He's frustrated.  What to do he wonders. He needs "something mindless and trivial. Something utterly pointless". What is one to do? "I know! I'll go to the theater!" What a clever way to introduce the type of slapstick humor that would come next.

The plot concerns a young girl who dies literally on Hannay's lap. He then escape to Scotland to avoid the police and look into a conspiracy involving foreign agents taking secrets from England to the continent.

How this is accomplished remember is not your average night of theater. You'll see the use of shadow puppets (look closely to see  Hitchcock himself), toy trains, smoke (lots of smoke), and most of all a terrific quartet of actors.  Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson are superb in their many roles and Claire Brownell is delightful in her three roles.

I found the quick-paced first act (only 45 minutes long) delightful.  However, the second act seemed to drag on and on.

The show reminded me a little of the wonderful  Mystery of Irma Vep (recently given a masterful presentation at the Everyman Theatre) which is done in a similar style with only two actors. But I found that play so much more entertaining.

Two other recent Broadway comedies come to mind as well: the hysterical Boeing, Boeing and the delightful God of Carnage (also with only four actors).  If only these two plays could have come to the Hippodrome.

For two interesting articles on the show, see the May 30, 2010 Baltimore Sun. Tim Smith does a nice background piece and film critic Michael Sragow discusses the film the play is based on.

The 39 Steps continues at the Hippodrome through June 13. Tickets are $20-$60. Call 410-547-7328 or visit www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

 

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