Playwright: Patrick Barlow
Directed By: Krista Schafer
Run Dates:
March 15, 2024 - April 14, 2024
Production Snapshot
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, dozens of characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!
“’39 Steps’ at Open Book is clever and hilarious…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…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.” – Kent Straith for Encore Michigan.
