’39 Steps’ Stepping Into Countryside
Countryside is stepping into a new show May 10 — “39 Steps.”
Based on the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock, the frenetic comedy The 39 Steps will be the first spring play Countryside Community Theatre will have ever produced. Countryside’s mission to produce live entertainment year round kicked off this past holiday season with Tapscott and White’s A Christmas Carol. “We were overwhelmed by the support of this new mission,” Board President Lonnie Behnke said. “We have long history in the Quad Cities and we are thrilled to be moving forward and being able to expand our programming.”
In Patrick Barlow’s adaptations of The 39 Steps, four actors play over 100 characters in this Tony-winner thats part juicy spy novel, part Monty Python, and it preserves the brilliance originally created by the master of suspense himself Alfred Hitchcock. “This is not a conventional play and requires some serious outside the box thinking and I love to live in that kind of world,” said director Tristan Tapscott. “It’s cinematic and frenetic and moves so fast that you have to reinvent storytelling as we all know it and thus creates some incredibly unique moments.”
Joshua Malone plays our suave hero Richard Hannay who learns from a beautiful spy about a plot of international espionage. The woman is killed in Hannay’s flat and he suddenly finds himself caught up in a race from London to Scotland in hopes of stopping military secrets from being smuggled out of the country. As he searches for the secret of “The 39 Steps” he is doggedly pursued by the police who believe he is a murderer. Three of the female roles will be played by Martha Behnke, while the remaining multitude of characters are played by just two actors: Justin Tegeler and Michael Byrne.
The 39 Steps will play the Boll’s Community Center in Princeton, Iowa on May 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18 at 7:30pm and on May 12 at 2:30pm. Please visit www.countrysidetheatre.com for details and reservations.
