BCThe39Steps

The adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s //The 39 Steps// presented by the University of Georgia’s fine arts department is both entertaining and innovative. The play was certainly not perfect, and there were a few major downfalls, but overall it was a fine presentation with many great demonstrations of the young acting ability, innovative lighting and sound, set design, and scene changes.

Before the show began old cartoons, some possibly as old as the original screenplay, were projected onto two sheets. These cartoons were likely intended to lighten the mood of the audience and ready them for the coming romp. The sheets were unfortunately unconnected, resulting in an uncomfortable gap for anyone in the left side of the audience. When the houselights were dimmed Hitchcock’s unforgettable silhouette was projected and an impersonator gave an introductory speech in his voice. After the faux Hitchcock introduction a string of titles were displayed including credits and a somewhat overplayed joke of titles stating that they would each be the last slide. This title joke was foreshadowing of certain painfully dragging moments to come. A short video introduction, treated to appear as old film, was narrated by the protagonist, Richard Hannay. When the video was over the screen was pulled back revealing Hannay in the same position he had occupied in the film, only now on stage and in person. This effect and the use of a humorous Hitchcock introduction (a classic piece of many of Hitchcock’s own works) were excellent ways to indicate that this show was to be a very self-aware tribute and parody of Hitchcock’s works in general.

The cast of four actors and two ushers managed to convincingly play a much larger number of characters. Edward McCreary was the only one to play only a single role, that of the protagonist, Richard Hannay. Hannay is an upper class Englishman and begins the play as irredeemably laconic and jaded, and this part he plays very convincingly. Unfortunately, when the plot thickens and the drama heightens McCreary seems to be half stuck in this role. Two examples serve very well: when he is first confronted (and has his life threatened) by Professor Jordan, and when the Scottish sheriff betrays him. In both of these instances McCreary shouts some and says a few angry words, but seems emotionally unconnected from the peril he is in. Perhaps this was an intentional parody of the ridiculously cool protagonists of early film that never seemed anything but in control, but if that is the case then the desired effect was under done. The result was a character that seemed somewhat concerned, but not powerfully so.

Tressa Preston, who played the parts of Annabella Schmidt, Pamela, and Margaret, also gave a fine performance. Preston’s best role was that of Schmidt, the archetype melodramatic diva. Her comically German accent with a speech impediment thrown in was delightful, and even more so in combination with her dramatic gestures and head tilts. Her stage presence was magnificent in her scene in Hannay’s flat, and her death scene was a hilarious parody of all dramatic deaths. The one flaw in Preston’s performance was similar to that of McCreary. While Pamela and Margaret and Annabella Schmidt were all very distinct characters, there were moments when Pamela went from her proper English self to something very reminiscent of her earlier portrayal of Schmidt. While it was slight I believe I also heard Pamela momentarily slip into the mismatched r’s and w’s of Schmidt during her scene in the McGarrigal hotel, bereft of Richard and emotionally distraught. Despite these minor impurities her overall performance was a credit to the production.

The other two actors, listed as clown 1 and clown 2 in the program, are Ryan Lamotte and Adam Eiddler. These two played a variety of characters, male and female, and had such a delightful rapport between them as man and wife, chums on a train, police constables, that the play would not have been the same without them. Their performances were crowd pleasing and the physicality of their acting was perfectly in tune. The best example of this is their scene in the train car as two traveling underwear salesmen. Their lines are quick and quirky when delivered and their movements and gestures are wonderfully coordinated.

Acting is important to a play, but where its powers might normally end they can be extended through clever inclusion of lighting, music, and sound effects. One nontraditional use of light and sound in this play was for a comedic effect. Every time a character says the phrase “The 39 Steps” the lights change to spotlights and back and a few quick and dramatic chords were played to emphasize the parody of lines in movies which include the movie title. During the performances of the amazing memory man powerful lights at the base of the stage give the impression of an old theater with low illuminating lamps on the edge of the stage. When the maid discovers the body of Schmidt in Hannay’s flat her scream transitions into a train whistle in a way that is very reminiscent of Hitchcock’s audio scene transitions as the scene changes to a train station. Many great uses of light and sound occur during the train scene. While inside the train running lights illuminate and cast shadows to give the illusion of a train in motion. Meanwhile the sound of train tracks gives a convincing ambience. When the characters leave the train the lighting tone changed from warm indoor lighting to a colder outside lighting more reminiscent of moonlight. When the train stopped fog filled the air as does the sound of a train whistle. A green light shows through the fog and the effect of all of these things is very convincing. One entertaining use of light which I observed was the use of Maglite flashlights attached to chairs to create a car onstage with its headlights pointing into the audience. Another great addition of light and sounds occurs in the scene in Professor Jordan’s house when Mrs. Jordan opens a door to a room in which a party is occurring. Every time she opens the door a yellow light spills out and music plays as if opening the door let out the sounds of joviality. All of these effects give ambience to the play and provide a solid support of the acting taking place.

The set design in this play is another element that contributed to its overall success. The set was designed to be very modular and, therefore, very conducive to quick scene changes. Doors stand alone on wheels as do windows. One seen in a house in Scotland involves Hannay being invited in through one door, the door being rolled around and then re-opened as if it the perspective had just changed from the outside of the house to the inside. The mobility of the set is sometimes used for comedic effect, as in when Hannay has to escape from the Scottish cottage and he asks which window to go from, whereupon Pamela instructs him to jump through a window that has just been moved from the front to the back of the house. When Hannay has to again make a quick window getaway from the Scottish sheriff’s office stage hands lift the window and hold it while he imitates a dive out of it. Crates and chairs make a convincing bed in the McGarrigal hotel and, as was already mentioned, four chairs and some flashlights are turned into a car. A rolling scaffold is used to represent the roof of a train which Hannay rides upon, and then again as the underbelly of the same train which Hannay hangs from like a bat. Trunks serve as train car benches in one scene and a podium in the next, and the scaffold with a board across its middle becomes the front desk of a hotel. The most comic scenic adaptation was the use of a clothesline of pillows to represent sheep. The versatility of this set was wonderfully helpful to scene changes and left room for the actors to fill in the space usually occupied by much more elaborate scenery. The worst thing a play can do with its scenery is try too hard to be completely accurate or take itself too seriously, and then to fall short of its goal. Instead of pretending to be something it was not the scenery asked the audience to use a little imagination, and to follow the actors lead as they guide them through the scene.

// The 39 Steps // could have been a very serious production, and it might have succeeded as such, but in this production a different approach was taken. This play was a parody of Hitchcock while simultaneously being a tribute to his work. It was punchy at times, but it was always self-aware. Far too many one liners referencing other Hitchcock works or plot concepts were dropped. In fact, by the time the play was at its close, and Hannay made a reference to //The Man Who Knew Too Much,// the audience laughed a little, but more prominently groaned in disgust at the effluence of cheese. The play seemed to drag a little bit at the end, possibly due to a lack of emotional connection with the main character due to his lack of emotional connection to the part (as discussed earlier), but overall it was very entertaining. The production was well made and well performed and the audience certainly reacted quite enthusiastically to it with resounding and extended applause and I would certainly recommend it to be seen by others.