The 39 Steps

Is Hitchcock supposed to be this funny? I wondered in between bursts of laughter while watching The 39 Steps. An adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's film by the same name, the play, currently in performances at The Cort Theatre, is filled with the suspicion, intrigue and deception trademark in the films of the Master of Suspense. However, this self-conscious satirical translation is also filled with side-splitting moments that inspire riotous laughter.The film is based off of Hitchcock's 1935 film of the same name, centering around Richard Hannay, an Englishman suffering from an existential crisis. Having recently returned to England from abroad, he feels shiftless, uneasy and bored. He is tired with the bad news flooding the newspapers and the wars being fought overseas. He is a bachelor, and most of his friends are married; he doesn't know what to do with himself. An idle evening at the theater quickly draws him into an international web of spies and lies, involving a high-speed plane chase, the Nazis, and, of course, a mysterious blonde woman. Richard shoulders the burden ably, determined to help his country and clear his name, both of which prove to be more difficult than he anticipated.Richard is played to pitch-perfect perfection by Charles Edwards, who also originated the role in London. The narrator and main character, he carries much of the show on his properly squared shoulders. Dapper in his Harris Tweed, with a pipe clenched between his teeth, he is dry, sarcastic, and witty, arching his eyebrows in a manner most wry. He is purely and properly British, uttering a mere "Golly" in the most extreme of circumstances.Jennifer Ferrin plays all of the female roles, which include a German femme fatale, a dowdy Scottish housewife and the cool blonde with whom Richard becomes inevitably entangled. She switches seamlessly between the roles, giving each of them distinctive accents and physical characteristics. She spends the most time as Margaret a narrow-eyed, shrewd woman who quickly gets in over her head. The two maintain a palpable chemistry onstage, clearly attracted to each other but enconsed in their prim British button-ups.The numerous supporting roles are played by Cliff Saunders and Arnie Burton, and they include strangers on a train, an innkeeper and his wife and a Scottish farmer. One moment of true hilarity occurs when the men walk in a circle around Richard, switching between characters by donning or removing a hat. The scene flows seamlessly until Richard, clearly fed up with the silliness, dismisses the men with a sigh and, "All right then."The clipped, brisk and entirely British way of speaking sets the pace for the show, which is briskly directed by Maria Aitken. Burton and Saunders also perform most of the scene changes, pushing the furniture on or offstage while ominous orchestrations sound in the background. Even during these actions, they maintain the energy and spirit of the show – madcap and even side-splitting. Even including some self-referential homages to Hitchcock, including a brilliantly staged scene of Richard running from the cops acted out by shadow puppets. I cannot think of a single moment that did not actively engage me in the show and very few moments that did not make me laugh. The energy if this cast is incomparable.Before Richard's adventure begins, when he is sipping brandy at his gentleman's club and reflecting on the woes of the world, he states that he is longing for something "something mindless and trivial. Something utterly pointless." "I know!" he says, snapping his fingers. "I'll go to the theater!" Audience members would be wise to heed his advice.