AHSU+39STEPS


 * THE 39 STEPS**

You don’t really need to know about this play or Alfred Hitchcock to appreciate the humor that this play presents. I admit that I entered the cellar theatre unenthusiastic about the play. I had seen __The Life and Times of Tulsa Lovechild: A Road Trip__in the cellar theatre, and did not enjoy it. A good actor is able to project to the audience well, but the over exaggeration of the actors was very overwhelming in such close proximities. In addition, the lack of a curtain like a traditional theatre left me confused as scenes changed. It also didn’t help that I had not slept more than an hour the night before. Yet, I left the __The 39 Steps__ elated, and with a different opinion about the cellar theatre.

I feel obliged to discuss two fundamental components that made the play so enjoyable for me: the director’s interpretation and the cast. First, I thoroughly enjoyed how the director designed the scene shifts within the limits of the cellar theatre. This was the main problem that I originally had with the cellar theatre. Yet, the changes between the scenes in __The 39 Steps__ seemed to flow effortlessly. The director cleverly tackled the problem simply by adding two sub-characters into the production, the usher and usherette. I especially enjoyed the parts in which the actors themselves would somewhat break character to assist with the scene changes, adding to the comedy. For example, the scene when Hannay and Pamela are forced into the car by two henchmen. Hilarity ensued when the play is stopped because there is no “car,” followed by a brief apology by the two ushers as they began to toss the props to the actors on stage who then proceed to set up the “car” and continue acting.

The director seemed to use the disadvantage of such a small stage to his advantage through humor. The movements of a single door or window to represent several doors within a scene was absurd yet funny. There is a scene when Hannay encounters a farmer and his young wife. She tells him to look out of a window, and he moves toward the only “window” onstage. But, she stops him and rolls the prop to the other side of the stage, pulling him with her. In addition, the director used the close proximity to the audience to add to the humor associated with the over exaggerated seriousness of the characters. For example, when the “39 steps” were mentioned, the characters dramatically looked at each other with different serious poses, causing laughter within the audience.

This play is a comedic adaption of a novel by John Buchan and a movie by Alfred Hitchcock allowing only four actors: one main male lead, someone who played all the female characters, and two actors who must fill the roles of the other characters. These requirements add to the already difficult tasks of the limitations of the stage. The two cast members that truly stood out for me were the two actors that had to play all the minor characters: Ryan Lamotte and Adam Fiddler. I feel that these two roles were the source of most of the humor. These roles must have been particularly difficult to master, and I was astounded by the quality of the characters these two actors were able to produce. The actors are required to switch personalities, costumes, accents, and gender quickly, sometimes within a scene they are already acting in, as seen when Hannay is on the train. The two clowns switch between the two men sitting with Hannay and being the paperboy and conductor of the train. There is another scene where the two henchmen arrive at the hotel and are talking to the owner and his wife who are the same two actors. They achieved these two feats simply by changing a prominent feature between characters, like switching hats, or wearing a coat.

I also admire the professionalism of the actors. They never broke character, even when mistakes were made. For example, there was a scene in which the actress who plays Pamela knocks over a light bulb attached to the chair that is supposed to represent the car. She doesn’t break character, but instead improvises and continues to act as she is dragged out of the scene. Furthermore, neither the ushers nor the actors cracked a smile even as the audience was howling with laughter. If I were in a similar situation, I would not be able to maintain character as I acted a particularly funny scene, simply because laughter is contagious.

This production would not complete without the sound and lighting. The music and sound effects of the play were cleverly used to help “fill in” where there were set limitations, even adding to the humor. For example, when Hannay is at the Professor’s house, there is a party in another room. With only 4 actors, and a single door there was no way to recreate another full room. Thus, sound effects were used. As the professor’s wife opened the door, music and “party sounds” filled the theatre, but as soon as she closed the door, the music stops. She opens and closes the door repeatedly producing laughter within the audience. In addition, the very dramatic romantic music in another scene mocks the clichéd romance between the hero and the female lead. As the two actors are sharing a romantic moment, the music gradually gets louder, to the point where the characters are shouting at the top of their lungs, then suddenly cuts out, leaving the characters shouting awkwardly in the new silence.

Lighting was cleverly incorporated into the play and was an important aspect as a comedic component. From the beginning, lighting was being used to add to the comedic side of the scenes. For example, a single spotlight indicated the entrance of the two suspicious henchmen outside Hannay’s window. The scene was funny because the henchmen depended on the light as a cue to enter, and were delayed on their entrances, causing them to shuffle quickly and awkwardly onto the stage. In some instances, they missed the cue completely. In addition, the lighting added to many special effects in some of the scenes, such as the gunshots. The gunshots were made more realistic by a loud bang and a quick flash of light. In another scene, Hannay’s fall from the bridge was represented by a spotlight and a man’s silhouette accompanied by a falling sound effect.

I feel that there is one more important component of the play, the costume designs. They were very cleverly done, especially the costumes of the two clowns who needed to switch between characters quickly, a feat accomplished by a simple twist of a hat, or the movement of a mustache attachment. In addition, the costumes were designed well enough to help clarify who was who, especially because the clowns were switching between characters. Although many characters had the same faces, the costume became the defining factor for each different character. For example, there is only one actress playing all three females in the play, and I differentiated them not only by the actress’s commendable acting, but also through the costumes she wore. Annabella’s costume seemed more sexual, in contrast to Margaret, the poor farmer’s wife. Even the male lead, Hannay, is defined by his appearance. I eventually associated the character with his pencil moustache.

Each factor of the play contributed in producing a high-quality show. The director and cast did a praiseworthy job for the interpretation and presentation of the original piece, and the rest of the crew did a brilliant job as the support for the production. I entered the play bad-tempered, but left pleased and glad that I gave it a chance. The fast-paced, parody of the typical mystery/ detective romantic action story was chalk full of cliché scenes, adding to the general humor of the entire production. The absurdity of the lack of actors for the amount of characters, and unusual uses of props all contributed to an overall great production.