The Depot Theatre’s production of “The 39 Steps” open Friday, July 23 in the renovated historic Westport, New York train depot. This comic thriller is a theatrical riff on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film. The 39 Steps premiered in London in 2006 and won two Tony Awards for its Broadway run in 2008. It features four actors performing 150 different roles. The stage script was adapted by Patrick Barlow from the Hitchcock movie of the same name – which in turn was based on a spy-thriller by novelist John Buchan. The plot follows Richard Hannay as he sets out for a night of music hall entertainment only to be ensnared in a dangerous attempt to smuggle top-secret information out of the country.
Two actors play the leads – Patrick Toon as the dashing Hannay, and Margaret Loesser Robinson as the ingénue, Pamela. Two other veteran actors – Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto – play the other 148 roles. The action takes place all over Scotland, England, in and around London – on trains and in out-of-the-way manors. The setting was condensed onto the cozy Depot stage by master set designer and former SUNY Plattsburgh Theatre Department chair, Tim Palkovic. Palkovic has designer a number of sets over the years at the Depot – notably Little Shop of Horrors, and most recently, Sherlock’s Last Case (2008). His designs are executed by SUNY Plattsburgh grad and Chazy native Kurtis Rivers – the technical director for the 2010 season at the Depot.
The Depot production is staged by former Depot actor-cum-director, Mark Shanahan. Shanahan last appeared at the Depot in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and has directed “The 39 Steps” twice before – at the Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas.
The stage version of “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced spoof of the genre with hidden references to Hitchcock’s oeuvre throughout. Though the script plays more for laughs, the staging and plot keep the element of surprise that was integral to the original thriller.
“The 39 Steps” plays at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY from July 23 through August 1 before touring to the Wood Theater in Glens Falls and the Lake Placid Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets to the Depot Theatre are available at depottheatre.org, or by calling 518-962-4449, and tickets to all shows are $22 each.
Two actors play the leads – Patrick Toon as the dashing Hannay, and Margaret Loesser Robinson as the ingénue, Pamela. Two other veteran actors – Wynn Harmon and Michael DiLiberto – play the other 148 roles. The action takes place all over Scotland, England, in and around London – on trains and in out-of-the-way manors. The setting was condensed onto the cozy Depot stage by master set designer and former SUNY Plattsburgh Theatre Department chair, Tim Palkovic. Palkovic has designer a number of sets over the years at the Depot – notably Little Shop of Horrors, and most recently, Sherlock’s Last Case (2008). His designs are executed by SUNY Plattsburgh grad and Chazy native Kurtis Rivers – the technical director for the 2010 season at the Depot.
The Depot production is staged by former Depot actor-cum-director, Mark Shanahan. Shanahan last appeared at the Depot in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and has directed “The 39 Steps” twice before – at the Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts and the Alley Theater in Texas.
The stage version of “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced spoof of the genre with hidden references to Hitchcock’s oeuvre throughout. Though the script plays more for laughs, the staging and plot keep the element of surprise that was integral to the original thriller.
“The 39 Steps” plays at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY from July 23 through August 1 before touring to the Wood Theater in Glens Falls and the Lake Placid Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets to the Depot Theatre are available at depottheatre.org, or by calling 518-962-4449, and tickets to all shows are $22 each.
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