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In This Issue

• Stephan Vincenzo: 2 Legendary 2 Die
• Columbia College Graduation Replaced by Job Fair
• Confessions of a Poppy Seed Eater
• Senior Wisdom: The Adventurous One
• Senior Wisdom: The Nostalgic One
• Senior Wisdom: The Old One
• Warning: Social Ruin May Occur
• "39 Steps" to Successful Comedy
• A Letter to the T.A. Currently Fellating Me
• Bored at Butler
• God Ashes on Europe
• YEEAAAAHH
• got meth?
• Letter From the Feditors
• They Watch
• The Staff of the Federalist

When you think Hitchcock, you think suspense, mystery, horror. The shower scene in "Psycho" that made you take baths for a week, the birdcovered jungle gym in "Th e Birds" that still has you suspicious of the pigeons around campus. But comedy? Probably not.

"The 39 Steps," however, the Tony Award-winning play adapted from the novel and film of the same name, manages to take a conventional Hitchcockian spy story and lace it with flippancy. The play follows the efforts of Richard Hannay, played by John Behlmann, to clear his name after he is wrongfully accused of murder and implicated in an elaborate plot to steal British military secrets. Th e four-person cast is rounded out by Kate MacCluggage, Jamie Jackson, and Cameron Folmar, who, through clever costume changes and perfect timing and sychronization, do the work of many, many more-150 characters, total.

"The 39 Steps" is so successful as a comedy in part because of its selfawareness- both of its source material, and its own cheekiness. Some of the biggest laughs come from deliberate contrivances and allusions to other Hitchcock films, and the spy genre in general. A chase scene portrayed through shadow puppets, for example, includes the silhouette of a portly Hitchcock in the distance, pointing to his famous film cameos. The forced peril of the standard train sequence is similarly parodied-in another visual antic, after giving an absurd reason to climb on top of the train, the actors feign exaggerated unbalance, as if they stand not on stationery boxes but a laughably fast, careening train car.

Commitment is key to pulling off these gags. The train sequence works because of the actors' full commitment to the scene and its expectations. The parody would not have been nearly as effective if the actors' lurches matched a mild carriage ride rather than a speeding train-the focus is on the physical, and so the physical has to be exploited and led to its final, extravagant conclusion. Th e moral here: when it comes to the absurd and crazy, it's either all or nothing.

In contrast to commitment, however, is control-owning the comedy rather than letting it own you. "The 39 Steps" is ripe with Hitchcock allusions, both visual and verbal. Th e aforementioned silhouette chase scene, for example, alludes to "North by Northwest," while another in a motel plays clear homage to "Psycho." Allusions fi nd their way into dialogue, too: "we're just strangers on a train," says one character; "the lady vanished as well," says another. Hitchcock directed dozens of movies, and you can imagine how quickly these wordplays would lose their humor if treated like a checklist, but "The 39 Steps" wisely chooses to add another layer to the long-running gag by letting the audience in on the joke. In one scene, Hannay attempts to escape through a window. "Not that window," advises his accomplice (MacCluggage) dryly, "the rear window." It's not the words here that get the laughs but its delivery. "Yes, it's silly," it seems to say, "we know," imbuing excitement and novelty into what could have otherwise been a belabored reference.

"The 39 Steps" may appear "mindless and pointless," as Hannay calls theatre in his opening monologue, but it is indeed a play worthy of study by any aspiring humorist. Watching such masterful performers is far more instructive than any book-and besides, who doesn't like to laugh?

"The 39 Steps" is currently playing at New World Stages. For more information, visit www.39stepsny.com