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Home > Arts & Events > Theater > The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

Helen Hayes Theatre
240 W. 44th St., New York, NY 10036
nr. Broadway  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-944-9450 Send to Phone

View Slide Show
Photo by Joan Marcus

Price

$114

Tickets

Reservations

Advance Tickets Recommended

Running Time

1:45

Director

Maria Aitken

Nearby Subway Stops

A, C, E at 42nd St.-Port Authority Bus Terminal

Official Website

Schedule   Buy Tickets
Ongoing Every Tue, 7pm; Wed-Sat, 8pm; Wed, Sat-Sun, 3pm

Profile

To what do we owe the sudden success of a low-tech farce in which four actors play dozens of roles and, using little more than trunks and ladders, re-create one of Hitchcock's most complicated (for its time) British thrillers? Perhaps it’s that The 39 Steps as rejiggered by trailblazing comic minimalist Patrick Barlow, which won an Olivier at the West End and transferred quickly to Broadway, is the anti-Disney performance. For anyone a tired of watching children's fluff blown out with multi-million-dollar pyrotechnics, this loving send-up of the 1935 spy caper (which, incidentally, we recommend you Netflix right now) is exactly what you're looking for. — Boris Kachka

8.0 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
100% Would you recommend?

this is a great place

dingdingding from 2345 | Posted on 7/15/09

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)

I had a great time at this event

Great Skill in Climbing the Steps, But Need Better Steps

NightWingNoVA from 22314 | Posted on 6/1/08

Overall Rating: 6 (Mixed Reviews)

The 39 Steps achieves brilliant technical performance - in the actors' recreation of the physics of the natural world, their handling of props, and their use of minimal set design to recreate the varied and often fast-paced, shifting environments; the two former items greatly enhance and lend towards making the latter come together and work as the backdrop for the plot. Arnie Burton brilliantly distinguishes each of his many characterizations. Cliff Saunders is only less so; his distinctive voice and mannerisms sometimes make it difficult to differentiate his characters, especially the less distinctive ones. Jennifer Ferrin is fine, except in her over-the-top depiction of Annabella Schmidt. While everyone else in the audience seemed to be having a good time, I found my attention lapsing often because the story just does not warrant the skill brought to it. The convoluted plot only sporadically rises from mundane narrow escapes and chase sequences to justify the hilarity and surrealism the actors bring to the show.

Read All 3 Reviews >>

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New York Critic's Theather picks

  • Next to Normal

    You won’t leave this musical humming any of the tunes, but you will marvel at the superb ensemble wrenching your heart note by note.

  • Fuerza Bruta:
    Look Up

    Submit to the sheer power of a performance that tries to break as many physical laws as possible.

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