Blank Canvas’ ‘The 39 Steps’ takes flight but cuts corners Bob Abelman Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal Member, International Association of Theatre Critics In the opening scene of Patrick Barlow's aerobic stage adaptation of the classic, 1935 Alfred Hitchcock spy movie “The 39 Steps,” dashing and abundantly bored Richard Hannay seeks “something mindless and trivial, something utterly pointless” to amuse himself. So he goes to the theater. Once there, he inadvertently gets mixed up with double agents, accidently uncovers a plot to steal vital British military secrets, gets framed for murder and, of course, takes it on the lam. Audiences also seeking something mindless will find it in Blank Canvas Theatre’s thoroughly entertaining but relatively low-risk production of this 2008 Tony Award-winning play. “The 39 Steps” is a romp from beginning to end -- a parody of film noir romantic thrillers with their low-budget aesthetics, gentlemanly heroes with mysterious femme fatales, dark and misty ambiance, and abrupt twists and turns. Every cinematic cliché, every cloak-and-dagger genre convention, and every Hitchcockian quirk is accentuated in this immensely clever play. All this is handled nicely by the talented cast, consisting of Joe Kenderes as our square jawed and thin-mustached hero Richard Hannay, Rachael Swartz as all of the female protagonists found in film noir storytelling, and Kevin Kelly and Michael Prosen as everyone else. However, much of the work’s theatrical extravagances and creative indulgences are rendered a tad less theatrical and indulgent in this production. For more of this article, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.