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player ready...There may be only five people in the cast of Curtain Call Theatre’s latest production but they are performing more than 30 roles.
The comedy “The 39 Steps,” which is expected to sell out, runs Dec. 1-10 at Front Street Theatre in Mokena.
“‘The 39 Steps’ is about a man who gets framed for a murder and is being pursued. He is trying to clear his name. Along the way he meets many characters and when I say ‘many,’ I mean literally many,” said Marta Koonce, director of “The 39 Steps.”
“The show is an Alfred Hitchcock movie that they made into a play. They morphed it with a Monty Python feel so you’ve got this murder mystery but also this silly comedy and sight gags and things like that. It’s written very well and very cleverly.”
Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon came up with the original concept for the play, which was adapted from John Buchan’s 1915 novel “The Thirty-Nine Steps” and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film “The 39 Steps” and premiered in 1995. The second and current adaptation, written by Patrick Barlow, premiered in 2005.
The cast is made up of Mark Frost, of Joliet; Bill Gleason, of Palos Heights; British native Adam Griffiths, of Mokena; Cristy McInerney, of River Forest; and Cassi Russell, of South Holland.
“They’ve been awfully fun and willing to try whatever I ask. They have to do different dialects and change from one to another very quickly. They’ve been a great group of people to work with. Every day we’re laughing about something,” said Koonce, of Frankfort.
“The way that we distinguish the roles are that either they change a hat or change a costume piece. It’s going to happen very quickly. Then the actors also are the stage crew. They’re moving furniture. It’s very fast-paced. There’s over 80 sound effects in the show.”
Those working behind the scenes on “The 39 Steps” include producer June Graffy, of New Lenox, and assistant director Suzanne Helwich, of New Lenox, who is also the executive director of Curtain Call Theatre.
Gordon Greene, of Tinley Park, constructed the set and challenging set pieces.
“It’s so silly that it’ll just take you away. You’ll enjoy the evening. Moment by moment there’s all this silly stuff going on. It’s been a really fun show to direct. The audience is going to love it,” Koonce said.
“It’s kind of an homage to vaudeville and those old movies. It’s not your typical play.”
Koonce, who first auditioned for a production at Curtain Call Theatre when it was known as Lincolnway Community Theatre, said directing “The 39 Steps” has been a challenge since she usually directs youth programs.
The director of the Lincoln-Way West Theatre Company at Lincoln-Way West High School in New Lenox and director of Noonan Elementary Academy’s Drama Club in Mokena is coming up on her sixth year of directing Curtain Call Theatre’s Emily McCabe Musical Theatre Program camp.
“When I really started making really close friends is when I started doing Curtain Call. My kids got involved,” Koonce said.
“All these people are like extensions of my family. You get that feeling when you’re there. Everybody really cares about each other. We all see the big picture. Everybody is kind, caring, thoughtful and hardworking. We help one another. It has that feeling of being at home.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
‘The 39 Steps’
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, 7 and 9; 7 p.m. Dec. 2; 2 p.m. Dec. 3 and 10
Where: Curtain Call Theatre’s Front Street Theatre, 11112 Front St., Mokena
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Tickets: $20 general admission; limited tickets available
Information: 708-607-2281; www.ccctheatre.com