Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps gets the comedy noir treatment at the Ricketson Theatre

The Denver Center Theatre Company is opening its 2010/2011 season on a light note: Patrick Barlow's screwball adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal film noir. The 39 Steps opens for previews tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Ricketson Theatre of the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, Denver Performing Arts Complex, featuring a...

By Susan Froyd

September 10, 2010

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The Denver Center Theatre Company is opening its 2010/2011 season on a light note: Patrick Barlow's screwball adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal film noir. The 39 Steps opens for previews tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Ricketson Theatre of the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, Denver Performing Arts Complex, featuring a monochromatic set that emulates the film's shadowy black-and-white nuances, stunning period costume design and a cast of four in more than fifty roles. "Some of the actors literally have to switch characters on a dime," says DCTC spokeswoman Genevieve Miller of the casting, further noting that the actors must almost change accents in mid-sentence at times. "The play stays true to its Hitchcock roots, but it does push the envelope a little more," she continues. "And there are lots of nods to Hitchcock throughout, including musically." In other words, expect the inclusion of those alarming Psycho strings, wherever it's pertinent.

The 39 Steps continues at the Ricketson through November 14; tickets range from $34 to $67.

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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