BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: February 1, 2008

ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS

The Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway flagship, the American Airlines Theatre, serves as home to the clever stage version of one of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful early films, "The 39 Steps." Written for the stage by Patrick Barlow, ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS comes to New York via London with its leading player and the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy packed in its trunk.

Based on the Charles Bennett, Ian Hay and Alma Reville (a.k.a. Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock) screenplay—a loose adaptation of the 1915 novel by John Buchan—ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS is an almost scene-for-scene rendering of the 1935 movie, a prototype of the wrong-man-accused plot construct the great filmmaker so adored and brilliantly mastered. With a tip of her hat, stage director Maria Aitken adds a nifty twist.

Apart from the leading role of Richard Hannay, played with stiff-upper-lip aplomb by Charles Edwards of the London cast, the remaining dozen-or-so featured and character roles are played by just three actors. The pert Jennifer Ferrin tackles the female principals and the amazingly agile Cliff Saunders and Arnie Burton take on the rest, male and female alike.

Ferrin does a superb job as the Mata Hari-esque spy who lays out the MacGuffin: that incidental motivating factor which was a Hitchcock trademark. Ferrin resurfaces as the icy love interest, Pamela, as well as the doleful farmer's wife whom Peggy Ashcroft played in the 1935 movie long before earning her title and Oscar. .

Still, the scene-stealers of this zany piece are Saunders and Burton. With their impeccable timing, they come off like a dazzling vaudeville duo, especially standing before the bright red curtain. Fleshing out a number of ordinary characters with extraordinary handiness, you can't help but marvel at their craftsmanship. Never before have you seen actors—the entire company—working so hard at creating something so effectively breezy.

For those who are rabid fans of the weird and wonderful auteur—I have to include myself among them—this stage adaptation is choc-o-bloc full of clever references to both his popular and obscure films. Some evoke a giggly groan, but they are all done with a loving wistfulness. My favorite bit is from the 1932 film, "Number Seventeen," which involves a rousing chase scene atop of a moving train. Director Aitken makes sharp use of Peter McKintosh's minimal set designs and period friendly costumes, all accented in Kevin Adams' keen lighting. ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S THE 39 STEPS bears out that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.