Film Noir Meets Comedy in Westmont College’s Latest Production

Vaudeville-Inspired ‘The 39 Steps’ Uses a Handful of Actors For a Multitude of Characters

’The 39 Steps’ comes to Westmont October 25–26 and October 31–November 2 at the Porter Theatre. | Photo: Courtesy

A fatalistic glance from under a fedora. A seductive spy smoking a cigarette on a train platform. These hallmark images of the noir genre are resurrected with a flip of the comedy switch in the Westmont Theatre Department’s upcoming production of The 39 Steps, Patrick Barlow’s outrageous Hitchcock parody about a tourist made patsy to a crime syndicate’s evil scheme.

A long-time comic favorite of the stage, The 39 Steps uses a handful of actors to play a multitude of characters. “Other than the central role of Richard Hannay, the other four actors play many, many different characters — including some with on-stage quick changes,” says director Mitchell Thomas. “This fast-paced and playful adaptation intentionally paints itself into a corner, and half the fun is seeing how virtuosic and agile the performers need to be to pull it off!” Joel Michelson, who plays the unwitting Hannay, describes his character as being plunged into a world of murder, disguises, and running from the 39 Steps, a criminal organization following his every move.

The show is vaudeville-inspired, with, as Thomas describes, “clown energy,” “broad comic timing,” and “archetypes from the 1930s.” Actor Kieran Williams says that while she plays some stereotypical “love-struck, damsel-in-distress” types, she better enjoys other roles with a higher potential for preposterousness. “I find the greatest joy in portraying Willie McGarrigle, a burly Scottish hotel owner of few words,” she says. “I have been encouraged to move ‘at the speed of fun,’ which has inspired me to embrace the silliness and fully immerse myself in the delightful absurdity that the play requires.”

The 39 Steps runs October 25–26 and October 31–November 2 at the Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus. “The show lives in a universe of laughter, drama, sparkle, danger, and joy,” says Thomas, “which I think audiences of all ages can appreciate and delight in.” For more information, see westmont.edu/watchtheater.