For a number of reasons, Milwaukee theatergoers rarely get to see locally produced plays that are still running on Broadway. But in the case of The 39 Steps, only a week or so passed between the hit show closing on Broadway (and re-opening off Broadway) and its Milwaukee premiere. The timing couldn't have been better.
As Milwaukeeans shivered through one of the city's cold snaps, they could warm up with a hearty dose of laughter by attending The 39 Steps. This brilliantly conceived production comes off more as a Monty Python skit than a faithful rendering of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film. The results are completely hilarious from beginning to end. Amazingly, about 90 percent of the script comes directly from the film. But the creators' over-the-top shenanigans take comedy to a new level. The 39 Steps is smart, funny, fast-paced and completely unpredictable. Even funnier is the circa-1930s "suspenseful" music that is inserted for "dramatic" effect.
Four actors seem to become a cast of thousands as they play more than 140 characters. Only one actor, Reese Madigan, gets to (mostly) keep in character as Richard Hannay. The play begins with Hannay, just returned to England, lamenting how colorless his life has become. He goes to the theater for a bit of lighthearted entertainment and soon becomes embroiled in a web of spies, clues and something mysterious called, "The 39 Steps." Somehow, this phrase is linked to a threat to national defense. But how?
A beautiful, mysterious female spy urges Hannay to take her home with him. He tells her he hasn't had a chance to clean the place since the painters arrived. When she persists, he says, offhandedly, "It's your funeral." And how right he is!
Although at first he tries to back away from the intrigue, Hannay soon becomes "inwolved" (involved) in the spy plot. It must be noted that Madigan is a dead ringer for the film's original star, and he cuts a dashing figure through the proceedings.
The play uses only a few commonplace props to spur the audience's imagination. In one of the funniest scenes, Hannay races across the top of "moving" train compartments while pursued by a whistle-blowing police officer. Simultaneously, Hannay must crouch down and flap the tails of his overcoat to simulate a strong wind. This magical effect is the work of director J.R. Sullivan, who coordinates the actors' moves with expert precision. Before it's all over, even the cheesiest jokes evoke gales of laughter. By now, the audience is helpless to resist.
Music was an important element of Hitchcock's early work, so audiences can prepare to hear an excess of "dramatic" music (as previously mentioned), police whistles (ditto) and train whistles. The other madcap actors who make this play such fun include John Pribyl, Helen Anker and Gerard Neugent. Neugent's comic capabilities are well known to Milwaukee Rep audiences. Then there's poor Pribyl who, in several scenes, could qualify as the Guinness Book of World Records' Ugliest Woman. The very pretty Helen Anker shines in a number of roles, particularly as the female spy and the woman who wins Hannay's heart.
