A good portion of the comedy of Patrick Barlow's theatrical adaptation of the 1930s spy story The 39 Steps lies in the fact that the entire thing is brought to the stage with only a few actors. To aid in this late summer's Phantom Cicada production of the comedy, Director Drew Brhel had also worked with a number of performers wearing black. The performers move around bits of scenery and sometimes act with and as various props to keep the story moving fluidly. On the surface, this sounds like a good idea. This is a single stage production meant to represent a variety of different locations. Brhel sets the mood with isolated pieces of scenery that are manipulated by these black-clad koken . . . these theatrical ninjas.
Going in to see the show, I was a little concerned about adding in a whole bunch of extra performers--that it might dampen the comic effect of four actors delivering an entire 1930s spy story. Thankfully, this was not the case. Brhel's cast of Koken matched the main cast in number. William Bolz, Libby Amato, Nate Press and Brian Faracy play roles aided by Zaack Sharrock, Becky Hilbert, Kate Futoransky and Gena Davis. (But probably not the Gena Davis you're thinking of.)
Hulbert, Futoransky, Hlbert and Davis aren't dressed head to toe in black. We see their faces, their arms and shoulders. This being an outdoor production, the light spill makes it impossible to make them completely camouflaged in black. So they are quite clearly there and quite clearly apparent in the run of the story. They don't detract from the comedy of the show, though. Brhel has directed them to walk around in plain sight with unassuming postures. The clever bit about this is the fact that they all seem to have developed an approach to the stage that fully acknowledges the fact that they are fully visible. They do their job of being and adjusting scenery and props in a very serious way that, in it's own way becomes quite comic and adds to the show immeasurably. A girl plays a light switch. A couple of koken play fenceposts. One gentleman carefully holds a window in place. It's a fun addition.
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So in summary, my fears about the comedy getting lost in a whole bunch of extra bodies turns out to have been unfounded. This is a fun comedy partially because of the four actors playing characters but also partially because of the four actors who aren't playing characters.
Phantom Cicada's production of The 39 Steps runs through September 14th at the SummerStage in Lapham Peak State Park. For more information, call 262-337-1560 or visit SummerStage online. A full review of the show runs in the next print edition of the Shepherd-Express.
