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39 Steps Reviews
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| 46 |
A must for Hitchcock fans Review by: Girlsgonebroadway, May 20, 2008 |
| Using Broadway Box code got first row Mezz seats a oouple of days ahead of time. Great show, funny, a joy for Hitchcock fans. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Family
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Tourists, Adults
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| 47 |
A humorous, entertaining spin on a Hitchcock thriller Review by: Sandra from NJ, May 20, 2008 |
| This show is an example of true acting. The cast is very small and each actor portrays a number of different characters employing minimal scenery and props to convey a wide range of scenes and action. The storyline is loosely based on the Hitchcock thriller, but presented in a humorous vein, poking fun at the melodramatic plot. It is not your usual Broadway show, but anyone who enjoys theater and good acting will come away feeling very ... read more entertained. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 48 |
"The 39 Steps" Review by: Tom, May 12, 2008 |
"The 39 Steps" is a stage adaptation of the Hitchcock film of the same name. At first glance, this doesn't seem like the best choice for adaptation. "Rear Window" would be a more logical choice, or "Strangers on a Train," or even "Psycho." Each of those have relatively few locations and limited characters. "The 39 Steps," on the other hand, has over a hundred characters and takes place in London, Scotland, in (and on) a train, farms, homes,... read more, a police station...
Fortunately, none of that really matters, as long as you're playing for laughs. Which is exactly what this stage adaptation (imported from London) does -- magnificently. After what seemed like one wounded family after another at the beginning of the trip, it was delightful to close the trip with this madcap (no word better suits this production) evening in which four actors play 100+ roles. In truth, three actors play 100+ roles, because Charles Edwards plays just the one part, Richard Hannay, the ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
I'm trying to imagine someone not having a good time with this -- and having a hard go at it. It comes at you with such sincere, wacky brilliance, clowning with such imagination and intensity that I truly can't imagine anyone being able to resist it. It's two hours of physical comedy, pantomime (it's OK, it's the good kind) and absurdity that are focused on finding as many ways as possible to make you laugh.
Part of the fun of "The 39 Steps" is watching how one low-budget theatrical technique after another comes into play. It's a wonderful example of the power of theatrical imagination, as the producers find ways of telling a complex story using simple tools.
A bigger part of the fun is watching the amazing cast perform this incredibly physical comedy. The way they portray passengers chatting in a train compartment (all four of them rocking in loose unison) and a chase scene on top of the train (by flapping their coattails to simulate the rush of air past them) -- or a hundred other bits of business are little moments of genius. Not earth-shattering genius, nothing that will change the world, just new ways of making us laugh and think.
I suppose if I try hard enough, I could imagine some grump thinking the references to other Hitchcock movies are too obvious, and that the moment someone mimes being behind glass the jig is up, or that the whole enterprise is entirely too silly. But I don't like to imagine people like that.
By Tom Bestor
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| 49 |
Incredibly creative!!! Review by: 39 Steps Fan!!!, May 4, 2008 |
LOVED IT!!!
39 Steps is my favorite Hitchcock movie and I was skeptical that Broadway could pull this off...the show blew me away...the 4 actors are terrific and energetic.
The bare minimum sets/staging and costumes are a hoot and outrageously creative. The Hitchcock references are hysterical. My husband had given up on Broadway
with it's formula shows...The 39 Steps revived his faith in Broadway and kept him riveted and laughing for ... read more the 2 hours. Go see it for the most inventive show out there. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Adults
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| 50 |
Fun but.... Review by: Terry, May 2, 2008 |
Thought this show was lots of fun, but the second act lagged a bit. The actors are all good and the Hitchcock references throughout were clever.
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 51 |
Go with Discount Tickets Review by: theatergoer, Apr 13, 2008 |
An enjoyable show. Four actors play all the parts and some of the fun is literally watching them "change hats" A fun night particularly with discount tickets
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
The Entire Family, Seniors, Tourists
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| 52 |
WHEN AFLRED HITCHCOCK MEETS MONTY PYTHON Review by: Beth M, Mar 26, 2008 |
ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S THE 39 STEPS: THE PLAY
By Beth Mandelbaum
What a pleasure to spend two hours laughing! I found The 39 Steps to be both extremely clever and hilarious, a delightful, spoof of this spy-thriller as well as a tribute to this great master of film and mystery. The show was imaginatively staged, well conceived and fascinatingly acted. The artistic team and actors do wonders with a minimum of furniture and props. The show ... read more is very fast moving and the staging is amazing. It is also blessed with extraordinary comedic timing.
Watching The 39 Steps often seems like being witness to perpetual magic tricks and I mean this completely as a virtue. The show is “created” out of a few chairs, tables, a bed, a closet, a shower curtain, fabric, ladders, a lamp post, a phone, a coat rack, drinking glasses, plates, “rubber-like?” haddock, window frames, doorways, etc., with a minimum of costumes (with hats playing a significant role as the actors change roles in seconds). These elements are used to create a wide variety of rooms, people and landscape, very much akin to the film.
The cast is truly divine, with 4 actors playing at least 60 roles in 1 hour and 45 minutes! The two leads, Charles Edwards (who played the role of Richard Hannay in London) does an excellent job as the archetypal Hitchcockian hero; Jennifer Ferrin is marvelous in playing three very different roles: Annabella Schmidt, the mysterious lady in black with some key inside information relating to the central plot (which I am not going to reveal!); Pamela, the “accidental” love interest who is also the “quintessential blonde” that one finds in many Hitchcock films; and Margaret, the ever suffering wife of a very mean-spirited Scottish farmer.
Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders play the majority of roles, and are fantastic as they change clothes, accents, personalities and gender in a flash of the eye.
It was great fun to notice references to a number of very well know Hitchcock films that followed The 39 Steps. The experience is also enhanced by the use of the kind of music that one hears in Hitchcock films. In looking at the music credits, it would appear that the show drew on music from a number of Hitchcock classics.
As someone who grew up watching Hitchcock films but who hadn’t seen one in many years, I decided to rent the film and watched it last evening. While a great deal of the dialog is drawn almost directly from the film, I personally did not find that this took away from my enjoyment of the play. In fact, close familiarity with the film added considerable amusement as much of the changed or added dialog was extremely clever. The stage version also adds a great deal more of romantic love interest, which I found extremely underplayed in the film. And if my memory serves me, this is a quality so often found in Hitchcock’s repertoire.
Essentially the same as the Olivier Award winning English production, my understanding is that the amusing Prologue and Epilogue were added for American audiences. To me the Prologue reminded me of The Man in Chair of The Drowsy Chaperone as a humorous and in this case, a somewhat ironic tribute to going to the theater. And I found the Epilogue to be a delightful surprise for those who know the movie well.
Since Hitchcock’s films would seem to be embedded in the popular culture of Britain and the United States (and I am sure, elsewhere as well), I would assume that audiences who have not seen the film of The 39 Steps would still enjoy this play.
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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| 53 |
GOOD FUN, JACK! Review by: RAL:PHIE, Mar 1, 2008 |
| A very enjoyable show. Hitchcock's 1935 espionage drama is played for laughs with just 4 actors playing ALL the roles in the story. This show IS NOT great, but it's good fun and Roundabout almost always has ample discounts available to make it affordable. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 54 |
39 Steps - 39 Laughs Review by: Carl from NY, Jan 26, 2008 |
Funny show. The acting is superb. The story kids at number of Hitchcock movies. My wife and another couple thought it was fantasic. I thought it grew a little bit tiresome after a while.
Very British sense of humor. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 55 |
Review by: CSJT, Jan 22, 2008 |
| Very entertaining show & story. The acting was superb - I would highly recommend for anyone looking for a unique theater experience! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 56 |
Cute - but tired. Review by: GothProf, Jan 21, 2008 |
| A great cast- but the stylized production wears thin after the first 10 minutes- This is a "Brit-Skit" production- cute, funny and cloy- but my partner and I grew tired of the cutesy production quite soon. The sounds design is a blast! |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 57 |
Excellent Play - must see!! Review by: NYer, Jan 14, 2008 |
| This show was fantastic! So funny & so well acted. I had a fantastic time, so I would recommend this to anytone. Laughed my heart out...plenty of drama to keep you entertained!! Dont waste time - GO SEE THIS! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Tourists
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| 58 |
Fluff, but great fluff. Lots of laughs. Will see again! Review by: ricky d, Jan 7, 2008 |
| I saw this show at the Huntington Theater in Boston. It is light fluff, but the acting, staging and physical action is astounding. I went with friends and we laughed our butts off. This was one of the better shows I saw in 2007. If you are a Hitchcock fan with a knowledge of his main works you will really enjoy this. But again, this is fluff--a night out for relaxed fun and a good time. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Seniors, Tourists
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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