A smash hit in London's West End, winning the 2007 Olivier for Best Comedy, The 39 Steps hits New York City at the perfect moment. From the unrelentingly dismal economic forecast, to campaign fatigue to the mid-winter blues, the play is the sort of sublime, silly entertainment that sings out, "Come on, everybody get happy!"

Based on the 1935 film noir classic by Alfred Hitchcock (which was based on the best selling spy novel by John Buchan), the show revels in theatricality and artifice. Our hero, Richard Hannay (the charmingly droll Charles Edwards) is falsely suspected of murder. The victim was a secret agent with knowledge of the "39 Steps" which seems to somehow deal with national security. In his quest to exonerate himself, he is soon being pursued by the London police as well as German spies. His flight takes him form his London flat to the Scottish Highlands and eventually to the London Palladium. Along the way he picks up the classic wise-cracking blonde femme fetale Pamela (Jennifer Ferrin) who seems to know more than she lets on to.

Did I mention that that all the other characters in the show are played by two other actors; Man # 1 and Man # 2? In addition to Ferrin (who plays two other women as well), Cliff Saunders (# 1) and Artie Burton (# 2) play everything from London bobbies to Scotland Yard detectives to German spies to a husband and wife who run a B & B. The sequence on a train ride to Scotland where Saunders and Burton play half a dozen characters in rapid succession just by changing hats stops the show nightly. Another tour-de-force is a sequence done with shadow puppets and Kevin Adams' brilliant lighting that evokes numerous Hitchcock movies from "North by Northwest" to "The Birds". And just as he did in all his movies, Hitchcock makes an appearance.

The adaptation by Patrick Barlow (from both movie and novel) does the suspense genre proud while the direction of Maria Aitken moves the action with the velocity of a runaway train. Edwards and Ferrin have their upper crust characters down pat yet never let them fall over into caricature. They both need to be on the top of their game seeing that the wonderful Saunders and Burton nearly upstage them in every scene they are in. Set and costume designer Peter McKintosh and sound designer Mic Pool add immeasurably to the 'less is more' approach.

The 39 Steps steps back into the world of make believe where everything is good or evil, black or white. At a fleet 105 minutes, such refreshing simplicity however false is just what the doctor ordered.

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