PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, October 11, 2010 CONTACT: Patrick Finlon, Marketing Director 315-443-2636 or [email protected] The 39 Steps Hitchcock Meets Monty Python Spies, Murder, Comedy and Romance to Launch Stage's Mainstage Season Adapted by Patrick Barlow From the novel by John Buchan From the movie of Alfred Hitchcock Directed by Peter Amster ARCHBOLD THEATRE at SYRACUSE STAGE Running Dates: October 20 – November 7 Pay-What-You-Can Dress Rehearsal: Tuesday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. Press Opening: Friday, October 22 at 8 p.m. (Syracuse, NY)—Gunshots, murder, and dastardly plots; seductive spies, thrilling chases and serious flirtation; they’re all part of this rollicking comedy/mystery and two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway hit. Based on the 1935 classic film by Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps follows Richard Hannay as he sets out for a night of music hall entertainment only to be ensnared in a dangerous attempt to smuggle top-secret information out of the country. Four actors and ingenious and inventive staging prove that anything movies can do, theatre can do more hilariously. Said The New York Times, “Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock’s film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands.” The 39 Steps will run October 20 through November 7 at Syracuse Stage, marking the start of Stage’s 2010-2011 mainstage season. Sponsors are M&T Bank and Pomco Group. Media sponsors are WAER and WCNY. Syracuse Stage season sponsors are The Post-Standard and 1 Time Warner Cable. Tickets for The 39 Steps range $16-$48, available at 315-443-3275 or www.SyracuseStage.org. The 39 Steps premiered in London in 2006, won a 2007 Laurence Olivier Award in 2007 for Best New Comedy, and won two Tony Awards when it transferred to Broadway in 2008. Now playing off-Broadway at the New World Stages, the play features four actors performing 150 different roles. The 39 Steps at Syracuse Stage is a co-production with Cleveland Play House, where it received critical acclaim earlier this fall. Returning to Syracuse Stage is Director Peter Amster, director of Stage’s This Wonderful Life and The Fantasticks, as well as actor Rob Johansen whose Syracuse Stage credits include Mortimer in The Fantasticks, Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath, and the Butler in The Unexpected Guest. Other cast members include Joe Foust with extensive Chicago credits (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, among others); Sarah Nealis who has performed at major regional theatres across the country; and Nick Sandy (as the protagonist Richard Hannay) with extensive Chicago credits including a Jeff Award and several Jeff Award nominations. Said Director Peter Amster: “If you’re looking for a rollicking good time and laughing until your sides hurt, this is for you. It’s Hitchcock meets Monty Python. The actors are not only very accomplished actors, they are shameless clowns, everyone one of them.” One hour before every public performance, an actor from the production will be available in Stage’s lobby for Prologue, an intimate pre-show conversation. Prologue is supported by the Grandma Brown Foundation. LOCAL CONNECTION: HITCHCOCK IN SYRACUSE This October, the Syracuse International Film Festival (SYRFILMFEST’10) and Syracuse Stage are proud to present Hitchcock in Syracuse, a series of events related to the work of the great filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Signature events will be SYRFILMFEST’10’s screening of The Lodger on Oct 15 featuring live music performed by jazz saxophone player Javon Jackson, and Syracuse Stage’s The 39 Steps running Oct 19 through Nov 7 featuring professional actors from across the country. To attend events at the Syracuse International Film Festival, visit http://www.syrfilmfest.com/. For more info on Hitchcock in Syracuse visit www.SyracuseStage.org. SPECIAL EVENTS Prologues (New in 2010!) – 1 hour before each performance A free, 20-25 minute, intimate pre-show conversation with a member of the cast held prior to every performance of Fences. Starting time: one hour prior to curtain, except Wednesday matinees when patrons may enjoy the Wednesday @ 1 Lecture Series. Get more out of your Syracuse Stage experience. Prologue is supported by the Grandma Brown Foundation. M&T Bank Pay-What-You-Can Series: Tuesday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. to watch the final dress rehearsal. $9 suggested donation, tickets available at the door 1 hour prior to curtain. LGBT Pride Series: Thursday, October 21, one hour before the 7:30 p.m. show. Food, music & friends. LIVE in the Sutton Series: Friday, October 22, live music following the 8:00 p.m. curtain. 2 Actor Talkback Series: Sunday, October 24 following the 7:00 p.m. show. Wednesday @ 1 Lecture Series: Wednesday, October 27 at 1 p.m. Welch Allyn Signed Performance Series In Memory of Susan Thompson: Saturday, October 30 at 3:00 p.m. Open Caption Series: Wednesday, October 27 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 7 at 2 p.m. Happy Hour Series: Thursday, October 28, one hour before the 7:30 performance. Half-price bar drinks and complimentary snacks. *Special event programs are additionally funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the National Organization for the American Theatre. TICKETS Adults: $25-$48 40 & Under: $25 18 & Under: $16 Students: $15 *Rush tickets available day of performance, by phone ($5 fee) or in person (no fee) *Discounts available for seniors, students, groups and subscribers Online: www.SyracuseStage.org Call: 315-443-3275 In person: 820 East Genesee Street Groups (10 or more): 315-443-9844 CAST Joe Foust (Clown 2) Regional credits include playing multiple roles in Around the World in 80 Days with the Cleveland Play House, playing Hamlet at Nevermore Theatre; six productions with Milwaukee Shakespeare; Kabuki Achilles, People’s Light and Theatre Company; The Winter’s Tale, Missouri Repertory Theatre; Romeo and Juliet, River Styx, London; and twelve seasons acting and directing with Peninsula Players. Chicago acting credits include What the Butler Saw and Endgame, Court Theatre; The Beard of Avon, Goodman Theatre; Mother Courage and Her Children, Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Kabuki Medea; Wisdom Bridge Arts Project; The Seagull and Major Barbara, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company; Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Next Theatre Company; Santaland Diaries and Spin, Theatre Wit; fourteen productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; and three seasons with Oak Park Festival Theatre. Mr. Foust is a founding member of Defiant Theatre, where credits include directing and co-writing Action Movie: The Play and Ubu Raw. Rob Johansen (Clown 1) returns to Syracuse Stage after having appeared as Mortimer in The Fantasticks, Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath, and the Butler in The Unexpected Guest. He has spent much of his professional career at Indiana Repertory Theatre, where favorite roles include Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, The Librarian in Underneath the Lintel, Feste in Twelfth Night, and the title role in Cyrano. Mr. Johansen is a founding member of Shadow 3 Ape Theatre Company, which has produced Rope, The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Life is a Dream, Welcome to the Monkey House, and Transformations. In Chicago, Mr. Johansen has performed at the Court Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre, and Shakespeare in the Park. An avid sportsman, he is passionate about theatre that is physically challenging and exciting to watch and has trained with various physical theatre companies with origins in Europe, America, and Japan. Sarah Nealis (Annabella Schmidt/Margaret/Pamela) recently appeared in the title role of The Cleveland Play House’s production of Emma. She played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Sybil Chase in Private Lives with California Shakespeare Theatre, where she also performed in An Ideal Husband, Pericles, King Lear, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Her work with regional and San Francisco Bay area theatres includes the premiere of How Shakespeare Won the West, Huntington Theatre Company; A Christmas Carol, Actors Theatre of Louisville; Iphigenia at Aulis, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and Moonlight & Magnolias, San Jose Repertory Theatre; The Trojan Women, Aurora Theatre Company; How The Other Half Loves, Center REP; Othello and Twelfth Night, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; Four Adverbs, Word for Word Performing Arts Company; and as an understudy for Speed The Plow at American Conservatory Theater (ACT). Ms. Nealis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from University of California Berkeley. Nick Sandys (Richard Hannay). Recent Chicago appearances include Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Jeff Award Nomination 2010), Old Times, The Real Thing (Jeff Nomination 2007), Tartuffe, Arcadia, and The Secret Rapture, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company; Twelfth Night (Jeff Nomination 2010), Much Ado About Nothing (Jeff Nomination 2008), First Folio Theatre; My Fair Lady, Light Opera Works; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Pride & Prejudice, Northlight Theatre; Oedipus Complex, Goodman Theatre; Around The World in 80 Days, Lookingglass Theatre Company; Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Misanthrope (Jeff Nomination 2004), Next Theatre; and productions at Marriott Theatre, Writers' Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, The Irish Repertory Theatre, and Madison Rep. Mr. Sandys is also a certified fight director with The Society of American Fight Directors, his choreography appearing at The Metropolitan Opera, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre (Jeff Award 2008), Victory Gardens Theatre, and at The Theatre School at DePaul University, where he has taught since 1995. DIRECTION Peter Amster (Director) returns to Syracuse Stage, where he directed This Wonderful Life and The Fantasticks. He has been nominated for Chicago’s Jeff Award for his direction of Once on This Island, The World Goes Round, and The Rothschild’s at Apple Tree Theatre, and Pride and Prejudice at Northlight Theatre.