This past Sunday, my wife and I attended the matinee performance of the farcical adaptation of Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps". We did not know what to expect beforehand. However, when we noticed in the program that only four actors portrayed all the characters, we knew it had the potential to be fun. It was.
To begin with-- the four actors:
John Smith plays Richard Hannay, Canadian spending some time in England so that he can become involved in intrigue. Smith does an excellent job of balancing his role as straight-man with the farcical aspects of the production. He plays the farce straight up with a twist.
Cassandra Schwantes manages three roles- Annabella (exotic murder victim), Margaret, and Pamela (romantic interest). She differentiates the characters very well, giving each a life of their own. He best is Pamela.
Listed in the program as "Clown1 and Clown2" we have T. Gordon Mayhall and Dustin Bartee. They play everyone else- male and female- sometimes changing roles while still on stage to hilarious effect. They are the police, the spies, the housekeeper, and the evil spymaster. They are the innkeeper and his wife, the train employees, and on and on. They are fun.
The staging was quite creative and the stage crew were absolutely awesome. Let me name them: Gary McDonlad (coordinator), J Niswonger, Anita Joblin, Teri Kirksey, and Kyra Dawson. These fine artists created, sometimes in full view of the audience, a wildly changing and amazing set of scenes. They would slide furniture on from offstage such that the chair came to rest exactly behind the actor already in the motion of sitting down. There was a riotous nod to "North by Northwest" done in silhouette that blew me away.
Last, and no means least, the director, Marcia Colbert. Imaginative direction. Collaborative staging (if the actors are to be believed). She took on a tough script in a tough space with a small cast and crew. But with creativity, vision, and obvious passion she turned out a great show.
I highly recommend this production. It runs for three more shows (Sunday matinee of course). Athens Little Theater at Henderson County Performing Arts Center is in the black box theater just off Hwy 19 south in Athens, Texas at 400 Gibson Road. Phone (903) 675-3908For goodness sake, GO SEE IT!!
