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  • David Cantor of Berkley Heights plays the suave hero Richard Hannay who is searching for the secret of plot of international espionage while he is doggedly pursued by the police who believe he is a murderer in “The 39 Steps”, a fast paced suspenseful-romantic-comedic romp, based on the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock.  Performance dates are October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8PM and October 14 at 3PM. All performances are at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, in Chatham.  Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for youth/senior. For more information, call the box office at (973) 635-7363 or go to www.chathamplayers.org Photo taken by Howard Fischer

  • Chip Prestera, Glen Post, David Cantor and Erica Knight are your hilarious and talented actors in “The 39 Steps”, a fast paced suspenseful-romantic-comedic romp, based on the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Performance dates are October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8PM and October 14 at 3PM. All performances are at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, in Chatham.  Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for youth/senior. For more information, call the box office at (973) 635-7363 or go to www.chathamplayers.org Photo taken by Howard Fischer

Chatham Players Kick Off 91st Season With Fast Paced Comedy, The 39 Steps ~ October 5-20, 2012

Staff at The Alternative Press

Friday, September 14, 2012 • 6:06pm

The 39 Steps, a fast paced suspenseful-romantic-comedic romp, based on the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock, kicks off the Chatham Players’ 91st season October 5 - 20, 2012 at the Chatham Playhouse. The play adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan features more than 150 characters brought to life by a cast of just four actors in this 2008 Tony Award winning play. It is part juicy spy novel, part Monty Python, and it preserves the brilliance originally created by the master of suspense.

David Cantor of Berkley Heights plays our suave hero Richard Hannay who learns from a beautiful spy about a plot of international espionage. The woman is killed in Hannay's flat and he suddenly finds himself caught up in a race from London to Scotland in hopes of stopping military secrets from being smuggled out of the country. As he searches for the secret of "The 39 Steps" he is doggedly pursued by the police who believe he is a murderer. Three of the female roles will be played by Erica Knight of Clinton Twp, while the remaining multitude of characters (spies, policemen, inn keepers, traveling salesmen, etc.) are played by just two actors credited as Clown #1 (Glen Post of Boonton) and Clown #2 (Chip Prestera of Stirling).
 
Leading the artistic team is Director Bell Wesel, who is directing her first show at the Chatham Playhouse, having directed previously at Maplewood’s What Exit? Theatre Co..  Scenic Designer is Roy Pancirov, Scenic Painting by Andrea Sickler, Costume Designer is Tom Marshall assisted by Bev Wand, Lighting Designer is Richard Hennessy and Sound Designer is Joe DeVico.
 
"The most entertaining show on Broadway"
- The New York Post

"Ingenious! A dizzy delight"
- Daily News

"Fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands."
- The New York Times
 
The play remains very close to the film, particularly in terms of its frenetic timing. But putting the movie - a farce-like whirlwind adventure - on stage requires ingenious theatrical devises to instantly go from a chase scene on a train, to a plane crash, transform into a luxurious Scottish manor, then to a London flat, or suddenly become The London Palladium. Also occurring at breakneck speed are nearly one-hundred costume changes, which often happen right before the audience in the blink of an eye.

Box Office Information – Online Ticketing

Performance dates are October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8PM and October 14 at 3PM. All performances are at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, in Chatham.  Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for youth/senior.
To access the theater’s online ticketing service, simply go to http://www.chathamplayers.org/tickets.htm and click on the “TicketLeap” logo.  The service is available 24 hours a day, and tickets can be purchased online up until three hours prior to curtain on the day of a performance.  The box office will begin accepting phone reservations on September 25 at (973) 635-7363 
 
For information regarding box office hours, please call the box office number listed above.
 
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