adaptated from the Alfred Hitchcock movie by Patrick Barlow
The Tony Award-winning hit Broadway comedy where hilarity meets Alfred Hitchcock.
Richard Hannay, a debonair gentleman, is at a London theatre when a fight breaks out and shots are fired. In the ensuing panic, he escapes with the frightened Annabella, a spy who tells him that she has uncovered a plot to steal vital military secrets by an espionage organization called the “39 Steps.” The next morning she turns up dead, and Hannay finds himself on the run and caught in the middle of a global conspiracy. Merging a spy thriller with farcical comedy and clever theatrical invention, The 39 Steps is an engaging, fast-paced whodunit.
“The 39 Steps is a wonderful show for the entire family,” said Jonathan Fox, Executive Artistic Director. “I love its theatrical inventiveness.” Mr. Fox is pleased to welcome Jamie Torcellini as guest director for The 39 Steps. Ensemble’s patrons will remember Mr. Torcellini from his outlandishly funny performance in last year’s hit production of The Mystery of Irma Vep.
“The 39 Steps is an homage to theatre as it once was,” says Mr. Torcellini. “With minimal sets but extremely versatile actors and a lot of theatricality, the show has elements of both Hitchcock and Monty Python. I think it will be thrilling to watch.”
Matthew Floyd Miller will play the gentleman on the run, Richard Hannay. He has appeared on Broadway at Lincoln Center and Circle in the Square, off-Broadway and at such prestigious regional theatres as Laguna Playhouse (where he was recently seen in the hit production of Private Lives), San Jose Rep, ACT-Seattle, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse and Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Playing the three lead female characters is Julie Granata, who has worked extensively in Chicago theatre, performing at both the Goodman Theatre and the Steppenwolf Theatre. On the west coast she recently finished the critically successful run of Noël Coward’s Private Lives at the Laguna Playhouse. She has worked at the Ark Theatre, Avery Scriber Theatre and Boston Court. She has also been heard on the live radio broadcast performance of NPR’s “Stories on the Stage.”
Two actors, Christopher Shaw and Louis Lotorto, perform all the other characters, male and female. Mr. Shaw has had an extensive career as a character actor in movies and television while maintaining an impressive resume of theatre performances throughout the country. Playwrights Horizons, The Kennedy Center, Circle Rep., Seattle Rep., the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Kirk Douglas Theatre and the Geffen Playhouse to highlight a few of his endeavors. He is a member of and performs regularly with the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice CA, where he was the one of the original founders of the Young Actors Conservatory program and serves as the key administrator and acting teacher.
Mr. Lotorto returns to Ensemble after his acclaimed performances in Opus and Buried Child. He toured in the Royal National Theatre production of An Enemy of the People with Ian McKellen and has performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, A Noise Within and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
photo credit: David Bazemore.
