Tuesday, March 27, 2012
IF YOU GO
What: “The 39 Steps”
Where: Youngstown Playhouse
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Call 330-788-8739
By LORRAINE WARDLE
It is difficult to describe “The 39 Steps,” the latest production at the Youngstown Playhouse.
The play is like an Alfred Hitchcock movie being performed by the cast of Monty Python. In other words, it is hilarious.
“The 39 Steps” is an outrageous spy-adventure story that has seen many adaptations. Originally, it was a novel by Scottish author John Buchan. In 1935, Hitchcock adapted the novel into a popular movie.
Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon created a two-man play based on Hitchcock’s film, which inspired Patrick Barlow to write the 2007 Tony-award winning version.
And now it has made its area debut at the Youngs-town Playhouse. It’s an example of how amazing a play can be with the right combination of a good script, talented cast and experienced director.
Barlow’s script is great — full of quick, witty dialogue, funny gags and references to Hitchcock films. But it’s the execution of the play that makes it work.
Director David Jendre and his cast must have logged many, many hours rehearsing this show because their timing is flawless. They had to have had a blast doing it, too.
John Cox plays Richard Hannay, an unsuspecting British man, who meets Annabella Schmidt, a German spy, played by Candace DiLullo. Schmidt tells Hannay about an evil plot she has uncovered, then ends up dead in his apartment in the morning. Hannay decides to go on the run, and follows Schmidt’s clues into Scotland.
Along the way, Hannay encounters two other women, both also played by DiLullo. The rest of the cast, a multitude of characters who interact with Hannay, are all played by two men: Jason Green and Rob Morris.
Cox is perfect as Richard Hannay, from his proper British accent to his pencil mustache. Cox has great delivery and is absolutely wonderful at physical humor. His reactions kept the audience laughing all night.
DiLullo is a seasoned actress, and it shows in her portrayal of three distinct characters.
As Pamela, she was natural and self-assured. Her Annabella was dark and mysterious with a sultry deep voice, and her Margaret was cute with a great Scottish accent. DiLullo handled the comedic aspects of her characters perfectly, while making them entirely believable.
Green and Morris are what make the show amazing. They constantly changed characters throughout the show, sometimes right on stage, using different accents and costumes. Green and Morris created so many different characters that it was impossible to count, but each one was clear and distinct and completely hilarious.
The set design, by Jimmy Lybarger, is sparse and works perfectly as the actors quickly move set pieces on and offstage to change scenes.
Liz Nalepa’s costumes worked perfectly to define the many characters that appeared and changed rapidly throughout in the play.
Every aspect of “The 39 Steps” came together to create an awesomely zany production unlike any I’ve ever seen.