So most of the threads on this show here involve expanded casting. This was my first big question mark about doing this show: how much of the charm is tied up in the wizardry of the frenetic character switches with a tiny cast? I wondered the same thing (though it is a very different play) about Daniel Elihu Kramer's inventive deconstruction,
Pride@Prejudice.
Setting that aside for a moment, I have another question: Would
The 39 Steps work if you flipped the gender casting for Hannay – and thus, probably flipping the casting for a couple other roles as well. I wonder this because this next year, I'm not sure I really have a guy well-suited to Hannay. That is fine; I could shelve this for another year. But this thought popped into my head and I wondered if maybe Hannay could be played by a stronger female lead. What would the implications of this be? Would it be a fresh feminist twist on the genre or would be too implausible and distracting, given the period? Also, as I reread the script, I also realize that Hannay is pretty much a straight man, like many Hitchcock leading men, caught up in a crazy adventure, so the lead actor doesn't need to be a hugely comic actor maybe. For the past several years, I had a strong, balanced stable of actors, but next year, I'm facing the common dilemma so many of you have expressed of having stronger girls than boys. So casting Hannay as a woman – if that idea was not a terrible one – would be more about leveraging my strongest actors and giving my strongest seniors (who, next year, will be female) the largest roles.
I welcome your thoughts,
Steven
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Steven Slaughter
English/Theatre
Rosslyn Academy
Nairobi, Kenya
"Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts." - W Berry
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