Joe Delafield, Sharone Sayegh, and Evan Zes Photo by Carol Rosegg

Richard Hannay (Joe Delafield) finds himself accused of murdering a spy named Annabella Schmidt (Sharone Sayegh). She's the one who managed to get into his apartment and drops the phrase "39 steps" even if those in the audience haven't any notion of what that means. Later, as he flees London for the highlands of Scotland, Hannay might be having a romantic fling with a blonde (this is, after all, Hitchcock) named Pamela (Sayegh). Meanwhile, we have Evan Zes playing the memorable Mr. Memory, who appears near the beginning and near the end of this show. Zes is also Clown 2 while performer Seth Andrew Bridges takes on Clown 1, Prof Jordan, and so forth. Zes or Bridges have roles as a newspaper boy, someone selling lingerie, various police people and agents ... it's tough to keep track since one scene flips instantly to the next. Costume designer Jeni Schaefer is a real star since she has outfitted these guys in one snappy getup after another to suit each mini-occasion. James J. Fenton's set is malleable and the actors rapidly tote various properties in and out.

All of this occur in the mid-1930s when Hannay, bored to tears, elects to attend an evening of theatre. Fenton's outer scenic design evokes the London Palladium. Those first relatively sedentary moments yield to a frenetic pace as the four individuals on stage barely have time to breathe. The sub-genres of humor include slapstick, farce and vaudeville. Hannay will actually lift a window frame, climb through, and emerge somewhere else. There's also a framed door on stage that is effective for entrance and exit. Mr. Memory, who never wavers when asked to recall something out of trivia archives, is a prototypical vaudevillian type, a man who has the magnificent power to remember most everything and anything. Whether any of this is of value is quite irrelevant.

Since this production is derivative of Hitchcock, you might logically wonder: whodunnit? That thought holds for a mere couple of minutes but yields to delightful absurdity, complete with chase and escape within the performance area and, one might imagine, beyond. Keen observers will note reference to Hitchcock through a brief physical outlining of his shape and a nod toward his films such as Vertigo, North by Northwest, and more.

Each individual involved with this show gets credit for the pinpoint delivery of The 39 Steps. Joe Delafield's Hannay is a man who shifts from his initial state of ennui to someone more driven and, quickly, a man desperate to get out of town. Sharone Sayegh seamlessly embodies different women (the first with a knife sticking out of her back) while Zes and Bridges, with terrific comic timing, never miss a beat. All of the actors have been on the WCP boards before and each brings a wide compilation of TV and live stage credits.

During one sequence, an actor calls out to the audience wondering whether (in Westport, mind you) a doctor might be in the house. What follows quickly is another query asking if, maybe, a stockbroker is watching? Within the context of all the physical shenanigans, that question might have elicited the most boisterous response of all.

Adaptor Patrick Barlow provides a splendid script, one which has been utilized in more than 40 countries and led to multiple awards, including Olivier and Tony awards. Barlow is also a screenwriter of note and a man who has appeared in films such as Shakespeare in Love and Notting Hill. His versatile dexterity includes stage and screen performance. He is now writing theatrical versions of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "Dracula." Mark Shanahan has acted on and off Broadway as well as at WCP. An adept adaptor himself, he utilizes all of his stage know-how to most effectively activate this smashing show. Even those who are skeptical are likely to find delightfully antic moments within the oftentimes hilarious performance.

The 39 Steps runs through November 9, 2024, at Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Ct., Westport CT. For tickets and information, please call 203-227-4177 or visit westportplayhouse.org.