Masquers Theater presents thriller-comedy
Falsely accused man-on-the-run Richard Hannay (Miles Plagerman, right) drags a horrified Pamela (Cecily Hendricks, left) with him in the Masquers Theater production of “The 39 Steps.”
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
The bungling bad guys (Jeff Ames, left and Jeremy Hansen, right), masquerading as police officers transport their “prisoners” Pamela (Cecily Hendricks, left back) and Richard (Miles Plagerman, right back). “The 39 Steps” opens at the Masquers Theater Friday.
Richard Hannay (Miles Plagerman, right) is confronted by the criminal mastermind (Jeremy Hansen, left).
Richard Hannay (Miles Plagerman, right) tries to escape the clutches of the law (Jeremy Hansen, left). The Masquers Theater production of “The 39 Steps” uses four actors, three in a variety of roles.
A reluctant Pamela (Cecily Hendricks, left) is dragged along as Richard Hannay tries to escape the bad guys in the Masquers Theater production of “The 39 Steps.”
The Scottish sheriff (Jeff Ames) doesn’t really have an answer in a scene from “The 39 Steps,” presented by the Masquers Theater.
The mastermind behind the spy ring (Jeremey Hansen) laughs maniacally during the Masquers Theater production of “The 39 Steps.”
SOAP LAKE — The curtain goes up Friday on a classic thriller rebooted to a comedy at the Masquers Theater, 322 Main Ave. E. in Soap Lake. Performances of “The 39 Steps” will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday for three consecutive weekends.
“The 39 Steps” is loosely based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, which in turn is loosely based on the 1915 novel by John Buchan. But the play is pretty loosely based on the movie — the plot and some of the dialogue are the same, but that’s where the similarity ends.
“I watched (the movie), and it’s almost word for word,” said Carrie Rutherford, director of the Masquers production. “But (the play) is a twist.”
Richard Hannay (Miles Plagerman in the Masquers production) is a visitor to London in the summer of 1935, passing the evening at a music hall when weird things start happening. There’s the terrified woman (Cecily Hendricks in one of her three roles) that Hannay has never seen before who gives him a kiss and asks to go back to his place. No, it’s not that — she’s a spy, and she’s uncovered a plot to smuggle British military secrets out of the country. She warns Hannay to make a run for it just before she’s killed right in front of him.
Hannay’s in trouble; the spies are after him, he’s wanted for murder and the country’s secrets are at risk. He decides the only thing to do is figure out what’s going on himself.
Rutherford said she first saw the play on a 2009 trip to New York, without knowing anything about the play or the movie. But for her, it was one of the trip’s highlights.
“I just fell in love with it. I’ve been in the theater since I was little, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is a fun one to do as an actor, and not just to watch,’” she said.
The movie had good guys, bad guys, police officers, inhabitants of lonely places in Scotland, good spies, bad spies, farmers, housekeepers; a lot of people if not a cast of thousands. In the play, all those roles are performed by four people, three men and one woman in the Masquers version.
The movie also had stuff here, there and everywhere, from the mysterious map clutched in the dead woman’s hand to the bad guy’s gun. All that stuff is still in the play — it’s just a little different. When two characters come into the house, for example, they turn the door around to simulate walking inside. The slapstick and absurdity are among the elements that make the play appealing, Rutherford said. The play also references other films in Hitchcock’s substantial repertoire, and that makes it even funnier, she said.
But the play’s structure does mean it’s a challenge.
“I knew that if I was going to attempt this, I needed seasoned actors,” Rutherford said. “There’s just so much going on with this, you don’t have time to teach someone what you’re talking about.
“You have to hit the ground running as an actor in this play. Because there are so many characters, so many outfits, so many props. There’s not much of a set, but there’s just so many props,” she said.
And since there’s not much of a set, the actors and backstage crew have to come up with ways to keep the action going.
“What can we use on this set to make what we need?” Rutherford said. “And that’s a whole interesting part of it. It’s been weird for me, because a lot of the things I’ve learned over the years, or things that I’ve come to accept about the theater, are totally thrown out with this.
“But in a good way, an entertaining play. Controlled chaos. Hopefully,” she said.
Jeremy Hansen plays the really bad guy, the spy ring mastermind — and one of the bumbling bad guys, and a police officer, and the cranky suspicious farmer and the guy running the political meeting, among other roles.
“I get to play several — many, many different characters, which is what I like to do,” Hansen said.
Jeff Ames plays the bad guy’s wife, the Scottish sheriff, the other bumbling bad guy, the guy who gives an inaudible speech at the political meeting, and a number of other roles.
“It’s a very fun, crazy play,” Ames said.
While both are Masquers veterans, neither had been in a company production for a while. Both said they’ve been looking to get back into acting.
“It’s a very special thing to be on the stage,” Ames said.
“I haven’t done a play in three years, and I thought, ‘This is going to be a four-person play, a lot of work for everyone.’ And I felt ready for it,” Hansen said.
Rutherford said the actors have been up to the challenge.
“The cast is amazing,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased on the Masquers website, www.masquers.com.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.
