‘The 39 Steps’ playing at Wasilla High School

WASILLA — Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add in a dash of Monty Python and you have John Buchan’s “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre.

This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning farce, which continues at Wasilla High School this weekend, is packed with nonstop laughs, more than 150 zany characters (played by a cast of 14), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!

In “The 39 Steps,” a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called The 39 Steps is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. A riotous blend of fresh performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, “The 39 Steps” amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure.

Based on the 1915 novel and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock, “The 39 Steps” was adapted to the stage by Patrick Barlow. The story is considered one of the first British spy novels. In 1935, Alfred Hitchcock released the film version of “The 39 Steps” that was recognized as the best British film for that year. Efforts to take “The 39 Steps” to stage began in 1996, and in 2006 the play was produced in London and New York. The winner of two Tony Awards (2006) and the Laurence Olivier Award for the Best New Comedy (2007), “The 39 Steps” has been well received around the world. It played its 500th performance on Broadway, May 19th, 2009.

The Wasilla High production of “The 39 Steps” continue Dec. 12, 13, and 14. Performances are at

7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, with matinee performances Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7, and $5 for students and seniors. Group rates are available.

For more information, contact Dewayne Joehnk at 352-8239.

Dewayne Joehnk teaches classes in science fiction, English, acting, drama, speech and debate at Wasilla High School.