By Sandi Masori
CARLSBAD, California —- “OMG! Hi-lar-ious!!!”, “That was great!”, “So funny” These are the comments I heard coming from audience members as they exited the theater at New Village Arts after seeing 39 Steps. And, with it’s incredibly high LPM (laughs per minute), I have to agree. It’s an absurd comedy by Patrick Barlow, which was adapted from a movie (by Alfred Hitchcock), which was adapted from a book (by John Buchan), and directed by Dr. AJ Knox.
The basic plot is that in 1930s England and Scotland, 37-year old Hanney (Dallas McLaughlin) encounters a mysterious young woman (Erica Marie Weisz) who asks him to take her home, tells him she’s being chased by spies, and then winds up dead. Hanney is blamed for the murder and must go on the run. To clear his name he sets out to learn about the “39 Steps” that she kept talking about. This quest leads him through many ridiculous situations, and encounters.
The cast is only four people, so Weisz, along with the “clowns” (Reden Magtira and Kenny Bordieri) must play multiple characters in quick succession. Sometimes even changing character by putting on a hat and then taking it off. They make good use of this for comedy as on occasion one character replaces the hat of another, triggering the latter’s transformation.
Along with the slapstick physical comedy the play also seems determined to drop as many Hitchcock film titles as it can into the dialogue, the lines of which are delivered almost with a wink and nudge each time to make sure the audience is in on the joke. In one scene, for example, Hanney is once again trying to escape the police and a local farm woman (Weisz) tells him to go out through “the rear window” and hands him an empty picture frame which he then puts over his head and shimmies through as he climbs out.
The props and sets are minimal, using boxes that get pushed around the stage to become train seats, tables, cars, couches, etc. They also use wardrobe racks with various props hanging from them to become a bed, a window, a curtain, and even the back of a buggy.
In keeping with the homage to Hitchcock, they use many of the tropes from his film. The boxes are pushed together to become the top of the train, which Hanney climbs onto in a chase scene. The actors do a great job of playing it up and making the audience feel the nonexistent wind and speed.
All four actors were phenomenal in their parts, but I especially enjoyed Magtira’s energy and scenes.
All in all, it’s a delightful show for the whole family that is well worth the trip out to Carlsbad even if you live in South Bay. The kids may not get the references but the abundant physical comedy will keep them in stitches. 39 Steps is playing through May 12.
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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant critic for San Diego Jewish World.