Review: Lively ‘The 39 Steps’ at Whittier Community Theatre

Scene from "The 39 Steps" at Whittier Community Theatre (Photo courtesy of the theatre)

The historic Whittier Community Theater, now in its 102nd season, is staging a wonderful rendition of Patrick Barlow’s “The 39 Steps.” Barlow adapted his 2005 play from John Buchan’s 1915 novel and the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film based on it — but uses only four actors to play dozens of roles in a fast-paced, comedic style.

Susan Hunter Eiden directs the tight ensemble on a stage set simply with a double flight of stairs separated by a red velvet curtain, making the actors and scene changes the core of the production. And the four intrepid actors embrace that core, taking the audience on a wild ride.

Scene from "The 39 Steps" at Whittier Community Theatre (Photo courtesy of the theatre)

Richard Hannay (well played by Norman Dostal) laments that he is as normal a middle-aged Englishman as can be. Though his longtime friends have dispersed around the globe, he remains in his 1930s home, itching for something to bring excitement back into his life. 

Lo and behold, while attending a stage show featuring “Mr. Memory,” Hannay finds a spy adventure, and it’s off to the races for him to keep out of a web of police and mobsters while trying to reconcile his plight. 

Scene from "The 39 Steps" at Whittier Community Theatre (Photo courtesy of the theatre)

Izzy Geldbach, along with two other wonderful actors, Jay Valles and Trevor Murphy, simply called Clown #1 and Clown #2, play multiple roles and make for great pairs of showmen, police inspectors and even husbands and wives.

Portraying everyone from Mr. Memory and his handler to the head mobster and his party-centric wife, the actors create situational comedy out of the series of characters Hannay has to navigate. 

Scene from "The 39 Steps" at Whittier Community Theatre (Photo courtesy of the theatre)

It seems to me there is also a fifth actor in this production — the group of nimble technicians who run on and off the stage placing props between the many scenes, including doors, chairs, tables and various boxes in rapid succession.

Through their performances and visual communication, the four actors and tech crew under Eiden’s direction drive and enhance the audience’s imagination of what takes place in each scene, using only those minimal props that they configure and reconfigure.

Scene from "The 39 Steps" at Whittier Community Theatre (Photo courtesy of the theatre)

Their prowess makes “The 39 Steps” a fast-paced comedy fit for the whole family, and a great reason for a fun evening out in Whittier to have dinner and catch a play.

“The 39 Steps” continues through June 13 at the Whittier Community Theatre, 7630 Washington Ave., Whittier, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-696-0600 or visit WhittierCommunityTheatre.org. Run time is approximately 2 hours with a 15-minute intermission.