MerrimacK Repertory Theatre Opens 44th Season With THE 39 STEPS

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will open its 43rd Season with the hilarious whodunit, The 39 Steps - a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's juicy spy flick with a dash of vintage Monty Python - from September 14 to October 2, according to Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director Courtney Sale and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.

Sale directs the quick-change comedy, which was adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Sale said, "The 39 Steps serves up a supremely entertaining night at the theatre. This production requires of actors incredible physical prowess, facility with language, and big-time comedic chops. It's exciting to open our 44th season with this fun whodunit."

In the farcical play - winner of two Tony Awards, as well as the Olivier Award for Best Play - A beautiful woman, who claims to be a spy, plunges our hero into a series of misadventures, involving an on-stage plane crash, missing fingers, cool romance, and a territorial flock of sheep. With four actors creating over 100 crazy characters, The 39 Steps provides an unforgettable evening of nonstop laughs.

Entertainment Weekly deems The 39 Steps "a unique piece of screwball comedy," and The New York Times proclaims it "delightfully dizzy . . . virtuosic, gallant and giggly!"

For tickets and further information, visit www.mrt.org or call the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678. Tickets start at $21 with 2-for-$30 specials available for select performances. MRT's Covid policy does require that all guests wear masks at all times. The theatre does not require vaccine proof.

The cast includes Tom Coiner (Silent Sky at MRT, God Said This, Off-Broadway); Margaret Ivey (The Winter's Tale at Alley Theatre, A Christmas Carol at Alliance Theatre); Ken Robinson (Back Together Again: The Music of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway at MRT, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway); and Richard Nguyen Sloniker (Boeing Boeing at Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Diary of Anne Frank at Indiana Repertory Theatre).

In addition to Sale, the creative team includes Robert Mark Morgan, Scenic Designer (Twelfth Night at Denver Center Theatre Company, A Christmas Story at Cleveland Playhouse); Peggy McKowen, Costume Designer (longtime designer and Artistic Director at Contemporary American Theater Festival and Jean Cocteau Repertory); Connie Yun, Lighting Designer (The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge at MRT, The Marriage of Figaro at Seattle Opera); and David Remedios, Sound Designer/Musician (The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, The Haunted Life, and many more at MRT). Brian M. Robillard (The Cher Show and Young Frankenstein at Ogunquit Playhouse) will stage manage.

After The 39 Steps, MRT's season will continue with a bewitching take on Shakespeare's Macbeth, adapted by Lee Sunday Evans and directed by Rosa Joshi, October 19 to November 6; the world premiere of A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Sale, November 30 to December 24; the East Coast premiere of Letters from Home, written and performed by Kalean Ung, January 18 to February 5, 2023; and How High the Moon: The Music of Ella Fitzgerald, conceived by Rob Ruggiero and featuring Tina Fabrique, May 3-21, 2023.

Five-show subscriptions offer a 25% discount off of the cost of individual tickets, starting at $18 per show (Preview Zone D Series). Learn more at www.mrt.org/subscriptions.

For tickets to The 39 Steps, visit www.mrt.org or call the Enterprise Bank Box Office at 978-654-4678. Tickets start at $21 with 2-for-$30 specials available for select performances. Please note the theatre will not offer video-on-demand performances of this show.

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