Featuring a cast and crew of 35, Westfield’s High’s upcoming play, “The 39 Steps,” is an adaptation of a classic, Alfred Hitchcock movie. And Director Susie Pike says it’s going to be something special.
“I double-cast it because I have so many talented seniors,” she said. “And it’s such a fun play, I wanted everyone to have an opportunity to work on it. The audience will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek flavor we use in this play. And hopefully, they’ll see the students’ creativity in bringing this diverse bunch of characters to life.”
Pike also praised student director Diana Witt who directs one cast in rehearsals while she works with the other. “She’s invaluable, along with my stage-management team of Gabby Moses, Kaley Haller and Maya Hossain,” said Pike.
The story takes place in London in the late 1930s and follows Richard Hannay as he races to stop a mysterious spy ring called The 39 Steps. Along the way, he becomes involved with three women and interacts with police, salesmen, a professor and others — with humorous results.
Show times are Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 via www.westfieldtheatreboosters.com; $12 at the door; and students, $5 at the door.
“It’s a different play for us,” said Pike. “It’s abstract, uses the imagination and places physical demands on the actors. And since it’s a comedic murder mystery, our set inspiration is a puzzle. So just a few set pieces will portray various locations.”
Playing Hannay is senior Eni Oyeleye, who calls his character an everyday, English gentleman. “At the beginning of the show, he’s bored with his life, restless and doesn’t know what he wants to do,” said Oyeleye. “Then, while he’s in a theater, a gunshot goes off and a mysterious, female, German spy tells him The 39 Steps is after her and asks to go to his apartment. She’s later murdered and he tries to find out what The 39 Steps is.”
Oyeleye likes his role because, “In the midst of chaos, Hannay’s the calm in the middle of the storm. The play’s a comedy, so Hannay has to strike a balance between being funny and being measured and restrained. And I get to do physical comedy, including chases, fights and outrageous movements.” He says the audience will thoroughly enjoy this show because, by the time it ends, “People will have laughed more than they have in a long time.”
Senior Morgan Perigard portrays Pamela, a woman Hannay meets on a train. “She’s a little sarcastic and sassy, has a lot of attitude and becomes Hannay’s main love interest,” said Perigard. “She disappears for a while, but then comes back.”
“I love playing her because of her attitude, and she has really fun lines,” continued Perigard. “She’s realistic and I think a lot of people will connect with her. And it’s fun to explore her changing relationship with Hannay.”
She said the audience will like the show’s fast pace and good humor. “And, she added, “It involves a lot of mannerisms and physicality.”
In his cast, senior Andrew Sharpe plays several characters, along with Jackson Armstrong. His favorite is the professor. “He’s the evil mastermind behind The 39 Steps,” said Sharpe. “He’s manipulative, clever, deceiving and charming, plus pretty funny because he’s power-crazy.”
He likes this role because the professor is so opposite from himself and “I feel like I’m in control of what’s going on in the play. It’s definitely a challenge playing so many different roles, but it’s fun not being stuck in one character, the whole play. I get to experience a wider range of characters — and they’re the show’s source of humor.”
The audience will enjoy this show because “it’s very cleverly written, with really funny scenes,” said Sharpe. “And Jackson and I get to do lots of costume changes, so that’ll be awesome.”
Meanwhile, in their cast, Zach Szmerekovsky and Keegan Garant each portray about eight characters. “The main one is a secret agent for The 39 Steps, disguised as a police officer,” said Szmerekovsky. “But he really works for the professor, which we also play. Our characters range from British to Italian, and all are physical and goofy, with some slapstick comedy. We even switch between three, different characters in one scene.”
He said they use various dialects to distinguish between their roles. “We also change their walk and voice and give them different, nervous tics or quirks,” said Szmerekovsky. “It’s fun playing many different characters and running around the stage. However, we have lots of lines to learn because we’re onstage almost the whole time.”
Szmerekovsky said seeing all these funny characters “will remind the audience of the stereotypes they see in cartoons. And they’ll like the physical comedy, puns and witty dialogue — it’s a very entertaining show.”