By Kent Straith

TRENTON, MI–Generally, when approaching a stage adaptation of a famous, pre-existing work, I would advise someone to see the original version first, so as to really appreciate a new take on the material. That in mind, I was little sad at first that I was seeing The 39 Steps at Open Book Theater in Trenton last weekend, as it was based on a very famous early-ish work by Alfred Hitchcock I had never seen.

I was expecting a whodunnit on the order of an Agatha Christie novella, and figured maybe I would see the original film later. Now would be a good time to stress that it is NOT necessary to see the film first. Some familiarity with Hitchcock’s oeuvre certainly wouldn’t hurt your experience, but having seen one “39” is definitively NOT to have seen them all.

A handsome, wealthy, and spectacularly bored English gent of the 19-teens, Richard Hannay (Jeffrey Miller) is in search of “something mindless, trivial, and utterly pointless” to pass the time, so he heads out alone for a night at the theatre (meta joke 1/50,000). Richard then stumbles posterior-first into a bizarrely complex murder and spy caper, beginning with the murder of a femme fatale he chastely took back to his flat after the show.

The next two hours involve a few more deaths, a German intelligence plot, a farmer’s wife, a sleeper train, a couple of super over-the-top Scottish innkeepers, a pair of handcuffs and a striptease.

The 39 Steps has been a successful show in London, New York and in regional theatre. While the original film is not a comedy (though it has wonderfully written light moments), this stage version most certainly is. Playwright Patrick Barlow did not merely adapt the film to the stage, but rather succeeds in recreating the film on stage with exceptional stagecraft. It is a very unique genre that Barlow created, and it is the act of doing the film on stage with just a few actors playing all the roles in the film.

So, here’s the fun part: The femme fatale, the farmer’s wife, and the strip-teaser all played by the same woman (Stephanie Walters)…and every other role in the show (well over 100 of them) are played by these two actors other who frantically sprint in and out of dozens upon dozens of characters like a game of Mario Kart where every player is on speed. Credited as Clown 1 and Clown 2, Richard Payton and Jonathan Davidson are both wondrously spastic, jumping from one accent to another, playing multiple characters, often in the same scene…even at the same time. Miller and Walters’ are completely up to the task in their straighter roles, but the Clowns are doing the heavy lifting here.

As Hannay, Miller is every bit the suave, put-upon hero, reminding the viewer of a Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, or Robert Donat who originated the role for Hitchcock, and thrust into a situation spiraling increasingly out of his control. Walters does a fine job with her three roles, two of them well played broadly and for laughs. Payton and Davidson are the engine driving the show, while all four cast members pull double duty as stagehands on this admittedly minimalistic set, and the audience eats it up at every turn. I confess, I really am not entirely certain what the 39 Steps referenced in the title are (it’s some sort of spy organization, though the details are sketchy), but it simply couldn’t matter less. The plot here is a skeleton on which to hang the hijinks, and the crew at Open Book do a marvelous job of it.

The show is understandable, as well as being hilarious, even without seeing the 1935 film. But if you can see it beforehand (it is free on Amazon Prime), do so. It will enhance the experience of seeing the play. I didn’t, though, and think this show is terrific, and well worth a trip down to Trenton (or up from Ohio) to catch during its run over the next few weeks. I may go the rest of my life without ever seeing Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, and that would be fine. I got to see this one.

(The 39 Steps is playing at Open Book Theatre Company at 1621 West Rd. in Trenton, MI now through April 14th. Tickets are available at www.openbooktheatrecompany.net or by calling the OBTC box office at 734-288-7753.)