Playhouse retraces its ‘39 Steps’
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Youngstown Playhouse is bringing back an old favorite and honoring a beloved member of the Mahoning Valley theater community who died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The 39 Steps" was first staged at the Playhouse in 2012. Patrick Barlow's play is a spoof of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name about an "everyday man" who meets a mysterious woman on train. She turns out to be a spy, and the man soon finds himself being pursued by the members of a secret organization called "The 39 Steps."
The show opens Friday for a two-weekend run on the main stage.
"Over the years, as soon as a couple years after we did it, we'd hear, 'You really need to do that show again,' or 'I missed it and really want to see it,'" said Johnny Pecano, who ran sound for the 2012 production and is directing it this time. "It's always been in the back of our heads, We've talked about it here and there, getting the band back together so to speak, because we all had so much fun on it."
The 2012 staging was directed by David Jendre, who died in November 2020 at age 66. Jendre got his start on local stages and started landing major supporting roles in Kenley Players' productions in the 1970s. He appeared in national tours and worked professionally before returning to Youngstown and directing many shows at the Playhouse.
"We lost David Jendre and didn't get to do any memorial for him because it was still during the pandemic," Pecano said. "We still needed another play for this season and (Playhouse Board President) John Cox said, 'Hey, let do "39 Steps" again and do it as a tribute to David.'"
Cox starred in the that 2012 production as that "everyday man," and he will be joined by original cast members Candace DiLullo and Jason Green. Jeanine Rees takes the place of Rob Morris from the 2012 staging, and Green and Rees each play dozens of characters, both male and female, in the spoof.
The technical team includes Caitlyn N. Santiago as stage manager, Wayne Bonner III as movement coordinator and Leslie Brown as light and scenic designer.
Pecano has a unique challenge with this production. Most director strive to put their own stamp on the plays they do; Pecano is trying to recreate Jendre's work.
He has Jendre's blocking notes, a video of the 2012 production and was able to find or recreate all of the sound and lighting cues from a decade ago. He also has his own memories of working with Jendre at the Playhouse.
"What's special about this show is when people think of David, they think of big musicals," Pecano said. "His precision is what made this show work, all of the little gags and little timing things, because of his utmost precision and perfection.
"He was a perfectionist. He would tell someone in the cast, 'No, set your hand down on this word, not that word.' You would look at him like, what's the difference, and then realize it is funnier that way. He blocked his shows as a choreographer would block a dance. I'm just attempting to recreate that."
That approach comes with extra pressure.
"It's exciting but, yeah, I want to make him proud. That's an added thing I've never thought about as a director -- Would he be proud of this version? It's definitely a pressure I've never felt before."
If you go …
WHAT: "The 39 Steps"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through June 25
WHERE: Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown
HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $17 to $27 and are available online at youngstownplayhouse.org and by calling 330-788-8739.