As Broadway becomes more reliant on huge spectacle, this inventive adaptation of a classic film demonstrates that two planks and a passion for fun beat a soulless multimillion-dollar blockbuster any day. The 39 Steps, presented by Roundabout Theatre Company after runs in the West End and at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, employs a versatile cast of four and an equally versatile set of props to re-create Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 thriller about international spies and British unflappability. In Maria Aitken's joyfully creative production, an empty stage becomes a speeding train, a music hall full of menace, and the desolate Scottish moors. Through clever use of hats, chairs, coats, and window frames -- and Kevin Adams' scene-setting lighting -- Hitchcock's cinematic sleight of hand is given theatrical life and lovingly satirized. Adapter Patrick Barlow drops references to other Hitch films like rain from movie-buff heaven. An intimate knowledge of the canon is not necessary, but a viewing of the original picture prior to attending will add to your enjoyment. Actors should particularly relish the theatre-games atmosphere.
Charles Edwards dashingly embodies the suave hero, a Hitchcock prototype: the man wrongfully accused, who also pops up in Saboteur, North by Northwest, and many others. Here the hapless protagonist is Richard Hannay, a rootless chap who finds himself caught in a web of murder and intrigue. Edwards manages to create a credible character while gently ribbing the conventions of suspense thrillers and polite British society. Jennifer Ferrin ably plays the three women in Hannay's adventures, clearly delineating a femme fatale spy, a cowering Scottish housewife, and the plucky heroine who winds up handcuffed to the hero.
But the real stars are Cliff Saunders, who resembles a melancholy bulldog, and large-eyed Arnie Burton. Listed in the program as Man #1 and Man #2, they zestfully limn all the other characters, sometimes switching identities within seconds. Though individually riotous as trench-coated foreign agents, Highland politicians, and sharp-tongued Cockneys, they work best in tandem, as when they play a pair of randy corset salesmen or a stiffly formal vaudeville team.
The evening sags when the action does not rely on Aitken's direction and the comedy derives principally from funny accents. There's only so much mileage you can get out of the Scottish pronunciation of house (hoose) and the Eastern European way of saying involved (in-WOL-wed). Fortunately, these flaws make for only brief lulls on this hilarious climb up The 39 Steps.
Presented by Roundabout Theatre Company in association with Bob Boyett, Harriet Newman Leve/Ron Nicynski, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Manocherian Golden Prods., Olympus Theatricals/Douglas Denoff, Marek J. Cantor/Pat Addiss, and Huntington Theatre Company and Edward Snape for Fiery Angel Ltd.
at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., NYC.
Jan. 15-March 29. Tue.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Wed., Sat., and Sun., 2 p.m.
(212) 719-1300 or www.roundaboutheatre.org.
Casting by Jay Binder/Jack Bowdan.