Hitchcock farce set to open April 16

The play was originally a 1915 novel by John Buchan. In 1935, director Alfred Hitchcock turned the novel into a thriller film. In 2006, playwright Patrick Barlow adapted the movie into a farce using a four-actor version of the story.

Theatre professor Roger Mays directs the prodution.

"It's fast-paced and unlike anything that any of us have done before," Mays said.

The original concept and production of a four-actor version of the story was created by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon. One actor plays the lead role, an actress – or sometimes actor – plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show including heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object.

Derek Phelps, of Sidney, Neb., is playing Richard Hannay; Hannah Clark, of Littleton, Colo., is playing Annabellla Schmidt, Margaret, and Pamela; Wacey Gallegos, of Ainsworth, Neb., is playing Clown No. 1 and Everyone Else; and Samuel T. Martin, of Hot Springs, S.D., is playing Clown No. 2 and Everyone Else. Interviews with the actors in “Behind the Scenes” can be seen online.

The plot is about a man trying to help a counter-espionage agent prevent group of spies called “The 39 Steps” from stealing top secret documents. When the counter-espionage agent is killed, he stands accused of the murder and goes on the run to save himself and attempt to stop the spy ring.

Those interested can get tickets by contacting the CSC Box Office at 308-432-6207 or boxoffice@csc.eduMonday through Friday 2-6 p.m.

—CSC College Relations