by Stew Mosberg

Merely Players, the innovative, nonprofit Durango theatre company founded by Mona Wood-Patterson and husband Charles Ford, continually brings a fresh approach to its productions and venues. A creative use of space is also a trademark of the company.

For this summer production of “The 39 Steps,” Wood-Patterson said they will be using a vacant warehouse on Second Avenue that is scheduled for demolition in July. “Artesanos and First Southwest Bank are allowing us to use the space for the month of June before it is taken down,” she said. “We love found spaces.”

Over the last several years, the troupe has done plays in the old power plant (“Neglect”), the Chapman Hill Warming Hut (“True West”) and the drained swimming pool at Mountain Shadows Inn (“Metamorphoses.”)

Just the Facts What: “The 39 Steps,” a play based on a film by Alfred Hitchcock When: June 20-22 & 26-29, 7:30 pm Where: 600 E. 2nd Ave., behind 2nd Ave. Sports Tickets: $22, available at the Welcome Center (802 Main Ave.) or at www.durangoconcerts.com Who: Suitable for all ages

The plot thickens however, with the addition of Wood-Patterson’s former students from Durango High, who will return to exhibit how their talents have blossomed since entering the world of professional theater.

Among those returning to the Durango stage are Austin Hohnke, Elizabeth Gray, Landon Newton, Misha Fristensky and Stage Manager Dena Poer. As if this homecoming isn’t enough of an attraction, Wood-Patterson has chosen a delicious play to maximize the experience. “The 39 Steps” is a fast-paced comic whodunit that garnered two Tony and Drama Desk awards when it ran for two years on Broadway.

 

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan, it is based on a 1935 Alfred Hitchcok film that is chock full of 1930s ambience, clever stagecraft and about 150 roles. As originally written, the fun part for the actors and audience is that the scores of screwball characters are played by the ridiculously small, but talented cast of four. Only Hohnke performs as a single character, and he is on stage for almost the entire play.

“I have the advantage of playing a single role in this show, which is awesome because while the rest of the team is busy switching from costume to costume, and accent to accent, I get to sip my coffee and chuckle at their demise.,” he remarked. “But it’s also more difficult because my character is the through-line, and there are very few scenes that I’m not in.”

As for the story, it is the enduring tale of one man’s race to prove his innocence through a succession of implausible adventures, all while being sought by authorities. Oh, but there’s romance too, which commences while he is handcuffed to the woman he eventually falls in love with. “The 39 Steps” is rooted in theatrical tradition, from the comic asides of pantomime and Victorian melodrama, to Elizabethan drama, yet it is also evocative of 1930s British farce and drawing room comedy.

All the cast members were thrilled with the chance to be back in Durango and to work with their mentors, Wood-Patterson and Ford. “The fact that this project enabled me to come home for an entire month, during the summer and work on a dream piece with actors and a director that inspired and shaped who I am today ... I don’t have words,” Hohnke said.

Stage Manager Poer, born and raised in Durango and now working in theater in Portland, Ore., concurs. “I don’t think the smile has left my face since being invited back. Seriously; a month in Durango working with great friends and hanging with my family (there’s) nothing better.”

Gray graduated from DHS in 2006 and moved east to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was last seen in Durango in the Strater Theatre a few summers ago playing Joan in the hilarious musical “Dames at Sea.” Like the others, she is  enthusiastic about performing this summer. “I am unbelievably excited to work with actors I have been best friends with for nearly a decade,” she said. “They are each talented performers with so much dexterity, creativity and fervor to offer; it feels like coming home when I am on stage with, not only my dear friends, but skilled artists.”

Gray’s part is indicative of the challenges all the actors will face in creating many different characters. “I play the three female romantic roles: Annabella Schmidt, a German spy; Margaret, a Scottish farm lass; and Pamela Edwards, an English do-gooder,” she explains, “The most difficult part of this show for me has been the accent work – it isn’t often you are three different people in one play, let alone three different people from three different countries!”

Fristensky said he was “absolutely thrilled” to get Wood-Patterson’s call. “I actually couldn’t believe it; it took me a second to realize that it wasn’t a prank,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to work with Mona ever since I decided that I wanted to pursue acting as a career.” He and fellow actor Newton will be playing a majority of the more than 100 roles.

Newton is the only one of the group who currently lives in Durango, but he is looking into continuing his acting education in England. His roles in “The 39 Steps” are so diverse they would challenge even the most seasoned of thespians.

With all the characters and the required clothing changes, costume designer Joann Nevils has her work cut out for her. It is worth seeing the show just to watch that bit of theatrical magic unfold.