39 Steps NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (274)
See it if Hilarity, smaller budget plays, great acting, Hitchcock
Don't see it if Nothing
See it if you want to be surprised by the storyline.
Don't see it if you want predictability.
See it if You love witty, entertaining dialogue and especially if u are a fan of Hitchcock!
Don't see it if You are not into dry, quick wit or sarcasm. You just won't appreciate the brilliance of this show.
See it if You want to see a fantastic production! ...or love Hitchcock!
Don't see it if Hate theater!
See it if you want to be blown away by what Brilliantly Talented, Hardworking Actors can do when given a great story, and direction! This is GENIUS!!!
Don't see it if laughing scares you, & fun makes you break out in hives. This is such a Clever, Inventive, Knockout of a show! You're a fool if you miss it!
See it if You like funny, silly, unusual shows where the actors play multiple roles.
Don't see it if You want a straightforward play that is typically ordinary.
See it if You want to see Hitchcock spoofed brilliantly. You love a good farce with great acting.
Don't see it if You do not like silly comedy. You only like drama.
See it if You like clever acting and funny spoofs. I saw this twice. Actors are talented and the show is just so quick paced. Their timing and energy!
Don't see it if You have never seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Many funny references to his movies. Its fun to watch for them.
Critic Reviews (16)
"It remains indomitably funny...This bare-bones production is as disciplined and as precise in its footwork as a 'Firebird' from the Bolshoi Ballet. '39 Steps' remains a gallant and giggly ode to make-do resourcefulness...The cast members are as crude and as refined as they need to be."
Read more
"It’s a supporting actor—Arnie Burton, reprising his 2008 Broadway role—who really carries this welcome revival...It’s the silly stage business that milks the laughs. Shedding and switching secondary roles faster than they can doff or trade their cloaks and caps, Burton and sidekick Billy Carter really put their backs into it."
Read more
"Author Patrick Barlow and director Maria Aitken have created a unique piece of screwball comedy to call their own...This loving sendup is part madcap romance, part mistaken-identity thriller, and pure absurdity...At times, it feels a bit like a backyard production from the neighborhood kids, but Hitchcock himself couldn’t have helped cracking a smile at the self-referential hijinks."
Read more
"One of the funniest plays Broadway had seen in years is now majorly head-scratching in just how unfunny this mounting is...It seems that the show was rushed to the stage without enough rehearsal...the pacing is so far off, the chemistry nonexistent, and the campiness too big for a house of this size."
Read more
"The cast is aces and the production is still full of funny delights, but while certainly an enjoyable diversion, '39 Steps' never builds to any real comic climax and, though never dull, generally remains on the same lightly amusing level. As foreshadowed in its opening scene, 'Something mindless and trivial. Something utterly pointless.'"
Read more
"This is in every other way 'The 39 Steps' as it's been for the last seven years — clever (sometimes to a fault), theatrical, not especially Hitchcock — just more in need of a fresh set of batteries and perhaps a good kick in the rump. If this isn't ever going to be everyone's cup of tea, it would still benefit from going heavier on the caffeine and a little (or a lot) lighter on the milk and sugar."
Read more
"A new production opened Monday with good cheer and manic energy...Director Maria Aitken makes miracles with the minimal scenery and few props, propelling her actors with astonishing fluidity...It’s good to have the looney clowns back."
Read more
"This fast, frothy exercise in legerdemain is throwaway theater at its finest. And that’s no backhanded compliment...The actors themselves seem to be having a helluva good time. As does the audience. 'The 39 Steps' stands out for its plying of minimal resources to maximal effect...This show flies lightly into an ether of escapism."
Read more