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Theatre Wed May 19 2010
39 Steps: Like Hitchcock Meets Kabuki
I didn't know what to expect when I saw The 39 Steps at the beautiful Bank of America Theater, but I was ready to be entertained. My day was long and busy, and I needed to get my mind off such responsibilities.
So when I saw how silly and goofy it was, I had to adjust my mind's monitor. It seemed that the excellent performers (only four who play over 100 characters) were being smugly self-conscious, as if they were telling the audience and themselves, "Hey look! We're so clever! And we're fle-xi-ble!" And I was getting annoyed. Had I been so undernourished on Broadway that I couldn't recognize or appreciate its aesthetic?
So during the intermission, I got myself together and thought about it. Where had I seen such structured, exaggerated performances that thinly wrap a storyline?
Then it hit me: the stylized, elaborate dramas of Kabuki. I'm sure the producers didn't think to themselves, "Hey, let's take ancient Japanese theater, add a lot of Hitchcock, sprinkle in some contemporary cultural references, and blend it with acrobatics, then serve it up on Monroe Street!" But that's what I kept thinking: the performers' movements were controlled yet exuberant, and they gave us a thick display to approximate scenes and locations and actions that movies and TV achieve with sets, locations, and extras.
So during the second half, I came to appreciate the great acting, humor, and adaptability of the very talented cast. The staging was innovative as they worked with a variety of props, lighting, and poses to create a multi-dimensional story that we really didn't have to analyze, just enjoy as they worked their way through their things and themselves.
Bottom line: if you go, expect to see silly and enjoy the ride. It's in town until May 30.