The Catskill Chronicle

Review by Carol Montana

FORESTBURGH, NY (August 28, 2013) – Spies and intrigue, murder and confusion, and parody galore, and enough hilarity to keep the audience laughing from beginning to end.

It’s all part of the fun as Forestburgh Playhouse closes it’s 2013 season with a grand send-up of the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name “The 39 Steps.”

This award-winning play, written by John Buchan and Patrick Barlow, involves only four actors in over 150 roles, with only the lead character, Richard Hannay (the marvelous Dan Fenaughty, who also directs) playing himself throughout.

The acting is highly stylized and presentational with the performers breaking the “fourth wall” between the stage and the audience on a consistent basis. And because it’s a melodrama, big gestures and grandiose overacting are the order of the day.

Plus the script is chock full of references and puns, playing off the titles of other Hitchcock films including “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Strangers on a Train,” “Psycho,” and “North by Northwest.” It’s all such grand fun!

A London man witnesses a woman’s murder for which he is blamed, and goes on the run with another woman (both played by the same actress, of course), encountering along the way train travelers and conductors, theatre performers, police, spies, pilots, farmers, hotel owners (shades of “Psycho”) politicians and even inanimate objects.

The plot is almost secondary to the fact that there’s slapstick, mime, and frantic character, costume and accent changes performed by the very talented ensemble cast of Emily Larger, Nicholas Wilder and Kevin Confoy. It’s all breathtaking as the show moves along at 100 miles per hour. Big kudos to this talented cast. Sometimes play even play two characters at the same time.

And the set by Trevor Frederiksen, props by Lorelei Davis, costumes by Gretchen Halle, and lighting by Michael O’Connor are stars in their own right. The contribution of these elements to the hilarity of the show cannot be overstated. The set and props take on a life of their own, the frantic and frenetic costume changes are breathtaking, and the lighting changes are fast and furious. It all leaves the audience gasping for breath.

Special mention to designer Ken Chamberlain for his perfect sound effects, and to production stage manager Larry Smiglewski, and assistants Norman Duttweiler and Merrick Williams for making it all happen smoothly. Calling the cues for this show is a theatre tech’s nightmare as well as triumph. Well done everyone! I wish I could see it again.

Congratulations to Dan Fenaughty for not only staring in this fantastic production, but also for directing it. Hope you had as much fun as the audience did.

Don’t wait to catch this hilarious show! “The 39 Steps” is only playing through Sunday, September 1. Curtain is at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Call the Forestburgh Playhouse Box Office at 845-794-1194.