“When you think of Alfred Hitchcock, lots of things come to mind: birds, showers, Que sera, sera, but probably not comedy, especially one on stage.as opposed to the screen. But not to worry because CVREP has brought us good cheer with the stage adaptation of “The 39 Steps,” and just in time for Christmas! It is adapted by Patrick Barlow from the 1935 Hitchcock film of the same name which, in turn, was based upon John Buchan’s 1915 novel also of the same name.
But neither Buchan’s nor Hitchcock’s version was played for laughs. In fact, the original story was such a taut thriller that it has been redone over ten times for television, radio and film.
Barlow’s stage version was a huge hit in the U.K. before becoming a hit in New York and, with this wonderful production directed by Jamie Torcellini, it deserves to be a big hit here in the Coachella Valley as well.
CVRep-The 39 Steps-company, Act I-credit David A. Lee 
CVRep-The 39 Steps-Ashley Morton,Matthew Floyd Miller,Christopher Shaw,Louis Lotorto-credit David A. Lee (c) 
CVRep-The 39 Steps-Ashley Morton & Matthew Floyd Miller-credit David A. Lee 
CVRep-The 39 Steps-Matthew Floyd Miller &Louis Lotorto-credit David A. Lee
The comedy derives mostly from a very talented cast of four playing dozens of roles. It has a touch of “The Play That Went Wrong” with stage props not behaving as they should (especially a rather unwieldy streetlamp) or actors playing more than one part in the same scene. This required lightning fast costume changes or, in one memorably funny moment, having a costume that is half one character and by turning around revealed the other half to be that of another character, allowing them to be in conversation with each other.
The plot is a very Hitchcockian one involving an innocent person accused of murder who fights for his life while trying to expose the truth. In this case, that person is Richard Hannay (Matthew Floyd Miller) who is accused of murdering Annabella Schmidt (Ashley Morton), a femme fatale who barges into his life. Fearing for her own safety, she begs to be allowed to stay the night. But by morning, she has been stabbed in the back, staying alive just long enough to pass some important information affecting national security on to Richard. He then spends the rest of the play chasing down clues to thwart the possible espionage while avoiding his own arrest until he can prove his innocence. During his quest, he interacts with a wide assortment of characters all played by the other three actors: Ms.Morton, Louis Lotorto and Christopher Shaw. The characters include a jealous Scottish farmer and his long-suffering wife, various detectives, police inspectors and murderous spies. As is the case with most stories of this type, after many close calls (and homages to many of Hitchcock’s films) it all resolves into a happy ending for our hero.
Everything about this production is spot on. The entire cast has impeccable comic timing. Their delivery walks the perfect line between pure camp and farcical earnest. I would be hard pressed to pick out any one over the rest, although I must admit I especially liked Ms. Morton’s German-accented mysterious beauty, Annabella.
The elegant simplicity of Jimmy Cuomo’s set, once again beautifully lit by Moira Wilkie, Joshua Adam’s hard working sound design and the period perfect costumes designed by Zoe Trautmann all serve the production well, allowing, for instance, for just a chair and a door frame to establish an apartment. Even the way those doors are used evokes laughter throughout the show.
This production truly is CVRep’s Christmas gift to us all. It would be a shame to not partake in its many joys this holiday season!
“The 39 Steps” is playing through December 22,2024 at CVRep in Cathedral City. For tickets or further information, visit their website at www.CVRep.org