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Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps
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Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps
A "Good Evening" for "The Man Who Knew Too Much"
By Joeseph Marchelewski

“Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps” is an adapted play based (loosely) on the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name. While Hitchcock's film is a true masterpiece of intrigue in pre-World War II England, the play The 39 Steps is an entirely different, although extremely entertaining, creature. The play is a comedy of the highest order, mixing references to some of Hitchcock's greatest films, first rate physical humor, classic dry British wit and a wonderful performance by four of the top stage actors in Los Angeles. The play is currently showing at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, which is a throwback venue, reminding some of Manhattan's classic Broadway theaters.

This unique, theatrical adaptation of a cinema classic features four actors (one woman, three men) playing the parts of countless characters, male and female. The play has scored a Tony award, an Olivier Award and a Drama Desk award.

The Play

One the outside, "Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps" seems like a thriller; even the poster has the look of a noir-like theatrical experience. However, from the first minute, the audience is encapsulated by an over the top performance by some truly talented comedic stage actors. While the story is primarily the same, a classic tale of espionage and intrigue involving spies, international secrets and double cross, the story telling is where they diverge. The play is adapted by Patrick Barlow, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and he has done a wonderful job. The writer takes popular references to 80 year old events and breathes new life into them. He references Alfred Hitchcock, European affairs and the cultural differences that plague England, Scotland and Wales.

The play begins when a young, well to do bachelor heads out to the theater on a particularly boring night. However, this decision vaults him into an underground world of spies, double agents and undercover detectives. After an unknown woman dies in his apartment, he is launched into the chase of a lifetime. Throughout the course of events, he encounters Scottish innkeepers which accents as thick as pudding, police officers as dumb as rocks and a fair maiden. Everything of course wraps up nicely in the end, especially for the audience who will laugh from the moment the curtains open until they fall asleep later than night.

The show is directed by Maria Aitken, who also directed it on Broadway). A veteran of American and British theater, Ms. Aitken does a marvelous job getting the actors to display an uncommon level of enthusiasm, energy and life.

The Actors

The show features four actors, and four actors only - Claire Brownell, Ted Deasy, Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson. Deasy plays the male lead by the name of Richard Hannay and Claire plays the female lead as well as most of the other female characters. However, the show highlights the amazing talents of misters Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson. Their collective comedic talents are unparalleled. Everything from outrageous accents to hilarious physical humor proves no match for their skill. Two scenes in particular stand out: in one they play two "bobbys" (slang for British police officers); and in the other they are a Scottish innkeeper and his wife. These gentlemen display a fine skill for taking a writer's work and making it sparkle.

The sets, costumes, stage direction and overall production of "Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps" are a wonderful collaboration. While Los Angeles is truly not a theater town, it doesn't take a millionaire Manhattanite theater patron to appreciate the acting craft on display. The show is one of a kind, and something that audiences in Los Angeles so seldom get to see, a play featuring not Hollywood actors on break from a blockbuster, but four fine actors displaying their talents as well as can be displayed.

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