Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of John Buchan’s novel “The 39 Steps” is George Street Playhouse season’s closing delight. The entire season has been dedicated to the late Arthur Laurents and this production is a most excellent achievement that leaves the audience wanting more. People who love clever word play, murder mysteries, sight gags and classic movies will find this masterful comedy full of all this and more.
Howard McGillin, as the devastatingly handsome and suave Richard Hannay, leads a cast of stars, and who knew he was an action hero? Clearly some yoga must be involved in some of the derring-do in Act One and his work with Clowns One and Two (Mark Price and Michael Thomas Holmes, respectively) is inspired. Director Mark Shanahan has expert timing, as do all of these actors, and Stacie Morgain Lewis is the proto Femme Fatale in both her incarnations–as the bwootiful Annabella Schmidt, as well as the equally beautiful blonde Pamela. She is hilarious as Margaret, of the Moors, and the brilliant touches abound in the characters as well as the sight gags.
If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s “39 Steps” and other movies, you’ll find that some of the gags are a bit broader than others. Yoshi Tanokura’s set design is brilliant and the staging continually surprises, as the same items get rotated in and out of scenes with a seemingly reckless abandon that belies the razor sharp organization and planning that you know is happening backstage. Kudos as well to the wig and hair design of Rob Greene and J. Jared Janas … along with David Murin’s costumes: the only way each of the three actors playing multiple roles could differentiate clearly is with the use of these mad men’s skills. There is even a sight gag that sends this concept up, and the whole production has a knowing archness that will have you mulling over your favorite portions all the way home.
All season, these productions in tribute to Arthur Laurents have reflected a panoply of emotions, as well as the full range of human experience. The intensity of “Twelve Angry Men,” the immediately preceding production, makes this frothy fun well deserved. Comedy takes just as much intensity and if you doubt that, you need look no further than Clown One and Clown Two to know how intense it can be. Hundreds of roles, four players and one unforgettable evening await you.
Visit the box office now at: http://www.georgestreetplayhouse.org/ and remember to give your Moms, Dads and grads an experience they’ll never forget. Performances are selling out quickly and the Gala for George Street happens Sunday, May 6. You can also buy tickets now for a special evening with Marlo Thomas on Saturday, June 2 so make tracks for “The 39 Steps.”