An appreciation for the past

“The 39 Steps,” Feb. 2-5, 10-12, 17-19. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m., Providence Playhouse (1256 Providence Rd, Scranton). $12 GA, $10 seniors, $8 students. Preview Feb. 2, 8 p.m., $8 GA/seniors, $6 students. Reservations suggested, call 570.342.9707. Info: actorscircle.org

Many movies have made a foray to the theatrical stage with varying degrees of success. Just look at “The Wedding Singer” and “Legally Blonde” — which film achieved which degree is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

It seems far more natural, though, that the work of someone like Alfred Hitchcock, whose vintage films are an iconic depiction of a sophisticated era, would take that very turn. And that’s why it’s no surprise that his 1935 film “The 39 Steps” served as part of the inspiration for a play of the same name, which made its main stage debut in Leeds, England, less than seven years ago.

“I recommend the movie, by the way — it’s a black-and-white movie, it was made in the late ’30s, yes, yes, yes,” said Lou Bisignani, director of the upcoming Actors Circle production of “The 39 Steps,” as he noted the condescension some might have toward those attributes. “But if you’re at all a fan of mystery and intrigue — and you should be a fan of Alfred Hitchock — this is early stuff.

“This is not ‘The Birds,’ this is not ‘North by Northwest,’ although they refer to it (in the play), this is not ‘Rear Window’ ... This is an early Alfred Hitchcock, and he was brilliant then.”

Bisignani carries a torch for the forgotten classics and seems to be disappointed in the lack of acknowledgment those films get among today’s youth. When he leads a troupe of actors for a local production of the play starting on Thursday, Feb. 2 at Providence Playhouse in Scranton, he will have the opportunity to shine a modern-day light on those days gone by.

The self-professed busybody recalled hearing “a couple of young people” talking about movies and was compelled to asked if they had heard of “Gone With the Wind.”

“And they said, ‘Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard of that,’” he began. “And I said, ‘Let me ask you a question, in school do they teach you about Shakespeare?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Well he’s 500 years ago, and he was wonderful, and you should learn about that. But the art of movies — which only goes back 100 years or 110 years — you should ask them about letting you see some Charlie Chaplin silent films and ‘Intolerance’ and stuff like that in class as a learning experience.’ Just like we study paintings, (and) we study early writing like Shakespeare.”

FROM THE PAGE TO THE STAGE

“The 39 Steps” is an adaptation of not only Hitchcock’s movie, but a 1915 novel by John Buchan on which Hitchcock loosely based his film. There are a multitude of similarities between all three, but there are also many differences.

The overall plot remains somewhat consistent, following Richard Hannay, an average Englishman (Bisignani was quick to stress that this hero of the show is not a James Bond type of character) who is thrust into the position of having to save England amidst claims of spies and treason just prior to World War II. But whereas the film and the book took a more serious turn at the material, the theatrical version is more of a farce.

“This is not an anti-war play, this is not an anti-Nazi screed; it’s a comedy,” Bisignani said. “But people get killed. It’s almost — I hesitate to say Monty Python-esque, but there are elements of it that are Monty Python-esque.”

While the original script called for a cast of four, with essentially two lead actors and two others dauntingly performing the rest of the roles in the show — 35, according to Bisignani — this production is slated to employ 14 performers.

“Actors Circle has been here a long time, since 1982,” Bisignani stated. “And in our mission statement we said, ‘Well our function is to present quality entertainment, but at the same time, it is to give an opportunity to people who are new to the stage of all ages.’”

A larger cast allows them to do just that, and Bisignani didn’t think that such a small cast would work for a community-theater production, where rehearsals are shorter and there are other priorities to which the actors need to attend.

“I said, ‘I’d love to do this play, but I do not think that at our level, community theater, you’re going to get two people who can do this,’” he said. “Because it requires a phenomenal amount of time. Not only skill, not only talent, but just the hours and hours and hours, because they switch hats and become a porter, to a salesman, back to a porter, now I’m a policeman, onstage and changing accents as they do it and so forth.”

PIECES OF FLAIR

Aside from that tweak, Bisignani plans to stays true to the original script, adding only one other component he feels is vital to the authenticity of the atmosphere. In the original play, the hero of the show goes to a London music hall, which stages acts in the tradition of vaudeville, and he’s immediately presented with Mr. Memory, an integral character in the plot.

“I said, ‘Well, since I have all these people, and some of them have not as much to do as other people have and so forth, why can’t we show what a music hall was like?’” Bisignani said. “So we have several other acts, a singer, a dancer. They’re very short, maybe a minute and a half, two minutes, to demonstrate that when you walk into the music hall, this is what you might see.”

One such performer will be portrayed by Andrea Cortese. In addition to playing Annabella Schmidt, a secret agent present at the outset of the show, she will also be playing a number of small roles along with one that has been newly introduced by Bisignani.

“I’m going to be doing a performance that Ella Shields did back in the early 1920s,” Cortese explained. “She performed this song at the London music hall, and it’s called ‘Burlington Bertie from Bow.’ And since the London music hall is part of this play, this will be something that was really done there back in that time.”

Staying true to his belief that the talents of earlier decades shouldn’t be ignored, Bisignani seems happy to be able to round out the experience for theatergoers.

“It doesn’t change the script. All it does is it gives more flavor, I think. It’s like putting some more rosemary or thyme into the stew pot.”

w