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Laughter steps up often at CVLT
(by Herb Hammer - October 13, 2011)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Laughter steps up often at CVLT
When we first meet Richard Hannay on stage at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, we recognize him right off. The tall, dashing yet bored Englishman might be Cary Grant or any number of 1930s movie gentlemen who get themselves into a host of trouble.
Mr. Hannay has had much too much of "elections and wars and rumors of wars." He longs for "something mindless and trivial, something utterly pointless." His brow furrows for just a moment, then, "I know," he says. "I'll go the theater."
This very moment reveals just the first of hundreds of laughs found in "The 39 Steps," the thoroughly enjoyable offering at CVLT.
The cast of four plays at the very least 50 characters in this carbon copy of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film.
Richard Hannay is the only character played by one actor. He is Eric Oswald, who brilliantly carries off his role as the dashing escape artist.
Our suave yet naive Englishman agrees to take home Annabella Schmidt, a mysterious woman he meets in the theater. Once they reach Mr. Hannah's flat, she explains she's a secret agent with knowledge of some sort of military secret and is seeking a hiding place from two men who are after her.
This is where the humor revs up. Two mysterious men can be seen out of the window shuffling on and off stage as the moment requires.
Mr. Hannay and his new friend sleep in separate rooms, of course. When morning comes, the lady turns up with a knife in her back and falls on our hero's lap.
The real fun begins when Mr. Hannay, afraid of being accused of murder, heads to Scotland to clear his name. All begins to look familiar, especially when Lisa Tarr and Michael Prosen fly around the stage in a makeshift crop duster, a la "North by Northwest."
Miss Tarr and Mr. Prosen change characters, costumes and dialects in the blink of an eye. Their work is not only very funny but truly amazing.
The bargain-basement sets and props are a laugh riot. A few battered trunks become the interior and then the roof of a speeding train. A cluster of chairs are a getaway car.
Edmund and Julia Wolff have delivered minor miracles: he with his Spartan sets and lighting, she with her surprising props.
Not to be ignored is Amber Michalak's terrific batch of costumes, changed at lighting speed by Mr. Prosen and Miss Tarr.
Amy Pelleg plays Annabella. After Annabella is murdered, Miss Pelleg becomes two more women who complicate Mr. Hannay's life. Miss Pelleg is the perfect ploy for Eric Oswald. The two are wonderful together.
Patrick Barlow's adaptation of "The 39 Steps" has been able to make the maximum out of the minimum. Even Leah Frires, in the role of the noisemaker, is solid.
More than anyone, it is director Daniel Takacs who makes it all click. He has assembled the perfect cast and has put them together with an amazing play going straight ahead to accomplish something playgoers always hope for: a show where the cast and audience have one whale of a good time together.
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