Adapted from Hitchcock’s celebrated 1935 film, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps is the story of the dashing Richard Hannay and his heroic efforts to solve the riddle of the 39 Steps while staying a step ahead of desperate Nazi spies.
Equally inspired by Hitchcock and Monty Python, this entertaining thriller is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the spy thriller genre and all things Hitchcock (you’ll have fun spotting the sly references to Hitchcock’s many films throughout the show). With four actors playing 100 + roles, train chases, missing fingers, and onstage plane crashes (yes!), Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps is, in the end, a joyous celebration of the power of theatrical imagination!
Age recommendation: suitable for children 10 and up
Run time: 2 hours, including one intermission
Show Location: Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Interesting Facts about Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps:
- The play is adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film and John Buchan’s 1915 novel
- A monster hit in London, the play took Broadway by storm in 2008 and ran for almost 800 performances
- With multiple allusions to various Hitchcock films – the show is a treat for fans of the director
- The source material is a spy thriller, but the sensibility here is very much tongue-in-cheek
- The entirety of Hitchcock’s film is acted out by 4 actors – the costume quick changes alone are worth the price of admission
- How do you manage a train chase sequence and a plane crash onstage? Come and find out!
- The show requires virtuosic performances and wildly imaginitive staging – it’s a celebration of what makes theatre special!
Chris Vettel – Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady - returns to Cardinal as Richard Hannay
