‘39 Steps’ forward
After mounting a series of plays direct from New York stages, the Kavinoky Theatre (320 Porter Ave.) has once again cast its line toward Broadway and snagged a fresh show. “The 39 Steps,” an adaptation of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock thriller of the same name, opens tonight and runs through Dec. 6. The show has been a hit on Broadway, where it is still running, and has all the trappings of a classic spy thriller: a mysterious shooting; a shadowy plot; an innocent man in way over his head; double agents and femmes fatale. Unlike Hitchcock’s film, however, the show employs just four actors in more than 150 roles, aiming for maximum theatrical impact from minimum resources. The Kavinoky’s production stars Chris Corporandy, David Lundy, Robert Rutland and Jenn Stafford. It’s directed by Kavinoky Artistic Director David Lamb, no stranger to shows, like his recent production of “The Farnsworth Invention,” which require actors to juggle multiple roles. Playwright Patrick Barlow, who adapted the play from Hitchcock’s film, which was in turn adapted from a 1915 novel by John Buchan, casts the show as a comic homage to the film. “I love the material, I’m not trying to make fun of it,” Barlow told The Boston Globe in 2007. “It’s a pastiche, a kind of loving making-fun-of. But it’s equally an actual thriller that the actors have to take very seriously.” For more information, call 829-7668 or visit www.kavinokytheatre.com . —Colin Dabkowski
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