39StepsJennaHegarty

The 39 Steps Critique

The 39 Steps is a parody of the Alfred Hitchcock film by the same name. The plot is essentially the same, though the play, of course, treats the material in a humorous fashion. And it works¾it works very well. The 39 Steps play is almost a frame-by-frame recreation of the movie both making fun of and paying homage to all the conventions Hitchcock used: dramatic music, a thriller story, and sappy romances. The acting, setting, costumes, sound, and directing are of note in UGA’s University Theatre production directed by George Contini.

The play was done with a six-member cast led by Edward McCreary in the role of Richard Hannay and Tressa Preston in the diverse roles of Anabella Schmidt, Pamela, and Margaret. Supporting were Ryan LaMotte and Adam Fiddler as Clowns 1 and 2, and Taylor Brooks and Spencer Tootle as the Usher and Usherette, respectively. The cast’s overall performance was admirable and their comedic timing spot on. Individually, Preston, LaMotte, and Fiddler stood out due to the adeptness with which they handled the multiple roles they had to tackle.

Preston showed great versatility in character development through voice and movement. She stole scenes as the overdramatic and sensual undercover spy Anabella Schmidt, especially at her prolonged death after being stabbed in the back; as Margaret, the shy Highlander (for which she masters the Scottish accent) in a scene where she helps Hannay escape by directing him to the “other” window, the rear window, end engages him in badinage comprised mainly of the names of other Hitchcock films; and lastly as Pamela, Hannay’s doubtful accomplice throughout most of the story. The peak of Pamela’s performance occurs at the inn. She must stay handcuffed to Hannay and melodramatic moments ensue as she begins to fall for him after her attempted escape from his company.

Ryan LaMotte and Adam Fiddler stole the show with their impeccable comedy and instant character transformations. As Clown 1, LaMotte took on the roles of, among others, passenger, spy, police officer, politician, milkman, professor, pilot, Highland farmer, and innkeeper’s wife. As Clown 2, Fiddler took on, among others, the roles of passenger, spy, police officer, paperboy, innkeeper, pilot, politician, professor’s wife, and Mr. Memory. Almost every scene featured one or both clowns, but a few stand out, including the first train scene and the scene taking place at the inn. In the first train scene, the clowns play passengers riding in the same box as Hannay. The train stops and, with the changing of a hat, Fiddler becomes a paperboy and LaMotte becomes another man. LaMotte also plays a train conductor and constable. The two continue to switch back and forth between passengers and the previously described characters and also, become policemen on the hunt for Hannay. The inn scene is probably at the height of the clown play. In this scene, the clowns are playing spies masquerading as police. They have tracked Hannay to the inn where they must interact with the innkeepers whom they are also playing. Clown 1, playing the innkeeper’s wife stays inside the inn while Clown 2 comes in as the spy changes into innkeeper and then leaves as the spy again. When he comes in as the spy the second time, he is wearing the innkeeper’s hat and wig. His wife then chastises him for wearing the jacket and he takes it off, acknowledging that he plays both parts.

The Usher and Usherette served to break the fourth wall by interacting with the audience prior to the start of the show. They also changed scenes and handled props. A true test of Tootle’s acting came when an audience member tried to interact with her a Tootle and not as the Usherette. Tootle remained in character. The Usher and Usherette provided entertainment while changing scenes, hamming it up on stage. An especially comedic scene occurred when the two played the sheep that block the spies, bleating and carrying pillows strung on a rope. The Usher also stood in as the professor for LaMotte in the one of the final scenes, which will be discussed below.

McCreary warrants mention here, as his acting was also superb. The entire show serves as a case in point, but specifically his interactions with Preston’s characters highlight his talent. Also, the couple of times he pines after his Homburg when it is caught by the wind. The cast’s performance of Barlow’s witty, tongue-in-cheek text was surely aided by the setting and costumes created by scenic designer Psyril Apacible and costume designer Amanda Edgerton.

Describing his vision for the set, Apacible said he “wanted the design to be an old abandoned theatre that has not been in use for many years with the actors just using left over scenery pieces from previous productions to recreate…that ‘noir look’ on stage.” Apacible was inspired by crime fiction and film noir. Apacible’s vision was realized on stage with a set created mainly by a few tables, some chairs, three trunks, a window, a door, a structural piece on wheels that served as anything from a train to a plane, and the actors’ imaginations. Two theatre boxes framed the stage when the action took place in a theatre. With a few adjustments and a fog machine, these items could create a seemingly infinite number of scenic arrangements. This "poor theatre" aspect shows the creativity of the designer, and makes the show even funnier due to the improvisations of the actors with the props.

The costumes, designed by Amanda Edgerton, had to be carefully researched and planned out to facilitate the enormous amount of quick changes that occur throughout the show. The costumes seem to reflect, at least in part, the style of the movie, especially for the costume of Anabella Schmidt. The costumes had to be well thought out to facilitate the character transitions of the clowns and Preston. The costumes were not seriously and meticulously made to be accurate to the period which is fine because The 39 Steps is not a dramatic serious piece of historic realistic theatre, but a fun farcical piece. They suggest time and place without forcing it. Mr. Memory’s costume was probably the most elaborate, including a colorful turban and matching slippers reflecting the characterization of him as someone from the Far East, and making the character much more theatrical than he is in the movie. The fakeness of the facial hair of the male characters, especially Hannay with his absurd mustache, serves the story well and only enhances the show's comedic value.

The hands down funniest moment of the play happened in part due to the marriage of costume and scenic design. Richard Hannay is on the run, fleeing the pilots who are chasing after him by plane. The pilots have mounted the structural unit, set far upstage, in their pilot gear, including upright scarves simulating their being blown back by the wind., which happens to be blowing them at different angles. The fog machine is going off to, blocking the vision of the pilots, and Hannay is running¾in place¾and then off stage. A low red light is shining on stage. He comes back with a miniature plane strapped to his Homburg, and he runs in circles trying to escape the plane, which eventually crashes. It was genius.

Sound and media was designed by Jonathan Foss. The sound really made the production, with sappy tunes playing in the front of every love scene and hilarious and apt sound effects accompanying a good amount of the action. Something that stood out would be the sounds that played as the characters gazed out into the audience, at each other, or into the distance after delivering dramatic lines. It only served to increase the hilarity of the moment. The sound was setting appropriate, keeping in mind the period and place.

Last, the directing had to be great. The director has final authority over most everything that happens in a show, like an umbrella under which everyone else operates, and surely this production was no exception. Director George Contini made excellent choices on the acting front, especially with casting, and on the production front. The play was framed by two short films. The introductory film was preceded by credits, an homage to the protocol of early filmmaking to place credits at the front. The short introduced Richard Hannay and concluded with his decision to go to the theatre. The closing short showed Hannay and Pamela exchanging Christmas gifts. A play adapted from a film framed by film! Another feature is the breaking of the fourth wall by the Usher and Usherette and then Hannay and the police as he flees them.

At the intersection of all of these aspects of production lies the final scene. The Usher stands in for Clown 1 as the professor, because clown one is playing another character. Then Clown 1 pops up as the professor, tossing blonde curls away and saying he was in disguise. The professor is shot and falls down into the box, his arm draped over the side. The Usher appears as himself, and Clown 1 emerges as another character, but the arm is still draped over the side of the box. There is so much attention to detail in this scene in respect to acting, sound, costumes, etc. that it highlights the high production value of the performance.