The 39 Steps Opens in Cincinnati

In the mood to do something "mindless, trivial, and pointless?" Go to the theatre! Or at least that is what the lead character in The 39 Steps suggests. This play, performing now until March 14th at the Aronoff Center, is anything but "mindless, trivial, and pointless." In fact, it is the complete opposite: an engaging, clever, quick-witted comedy with a mysterious Hitchcock plot.

Richard Hannay is bored in London and proclaims he will go to the theatre for entertainment. There he is intrigued by a beautiful woman, Annabella Schmidt, who talks him into taking her back to his apartment. She claims to be a spy with a super-secret secret, but unfortunately ends up murdered in the middle of the night in Hannay's apartment.

After discovering she is dead, Hannay takes off to Scotland, on the run from the authorities who believe Hannay to be the killer. The rest of the play is full of twists and turns of Hannay's continuous evasion of police and attempts to figure out what the secret is.

One of the most interesting aspects of the play is that the cast includes only four actors, despite numerous characters. Ted Deasy is the perfect Hannay, a good looking leading man with the perfect tone for a Hitchcock piece. Claire Brownell performs the three female characters, vacillating between the strong female spy and the icy-cool blonde who won't allow herself to be swept off her feet by a good looking man. Scott Parkinson and Eric Hissom perform the additional roles. They switch flawlessly between numerous characters as often as every other line and are a delight to watch.

The minimal set and few props add another delightful element to the play. Creative use of lights, the few set pieces, and at one point, the inventive use of a scrim set the scenes perfectly without the need of an abundance of set pieces. Not only does the audience need to use their imagination when picturing the Scottish farmhouse or Hannay dangling from a speeding train, but the sets add another element of comedy and humor to the play, something that is indeed needed to be seen to appreciated rather than read.

The Tony-award winning play The 39 Steps takes center stage at Aronoff Center until March 14th as part of the Fifth Third Bank Broadway Across America series. Tickets may be purchased from an authorized ticket agent online at BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Cincinnati, in person at the Broadway Across America Box Office downtown in the Mercantile Center and the Aronoff Center Box Office or by phone at 1-800-982-2787.