'The 39 Steps' on Broadway NYC

A scene from Broadway's The 39 Steps, billed as 'Hitchcock Meets Hilarious' and rightly so!

I spent Saturday December 13 in NYC. The day was cold & dry but not windy so walking to my favorite stores was tolerable. My company chartered a bus for the day and seats were quickly sold out My buddy Russ went to a museum while I shopped until we met for our matinee. On arrival, I ran into a deli for coffee and a pastry to tide me over until I went to Barnes & Noble on 5TH Ave and eat more in their cafe when I could use my wife's 10% discount card that's good for food and shopping. I bought a Criterion Collection DVD of Mizoguchi's Ugetsu but that's for a future blog entry. He directed Sansho the Bailiff, an earlier entry. I saved 35% with deals on this one.
I passed the giant Xmas tree at Rockefeller Center before entering the French Bookstore to find a book to surprise my wife with something to bring home for her. I found the French translation of Harlan Coben's Tell No One which was made into a good French film that I wrote about earlier. She's reading both versions side by side to see how the novel is rendered in French, especially the street slang. Sadly this famous institution of NYC will be closing next year due to increasing rent although merchandise can be ordered online.
Then it was off to the Virgin Megastore on Times Square. Four floors of DVDs, CDs, books, related gear & clothing, and lots of bargain bins. It's my vision of heaven and for two hours I shopped til I dropped but I didn't go overboard on spending. Again no CDs although I browsed while checking my wish list that the stores didn't have. For DVDs I located an opera of Alice in Wonderland, A doc about Miles Davis, the sword & sandal epic Spartacus, a two disc set of the film version of Broadways' The Phantom of the Opera, and a two disc edition of Batman Begins, a surprise gift for our son. More on these choices for new blogs. Except for the opera, these DVds were priced $10 and under, all good bargains. I couldn't find two DVDs so my wife ordered then for Xmas gifts.
The highlight of the day was seeing a Broadway show called The 39 Steps based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film. This melodrama, which concerns an innocent man framed for a murder and pursued by the police & a spy ring he's trying to infiltrate, was an international success that made Hitchcock's reputation and has been copied forever. The play's gimmick is that three men and one woman play all the parts amid a whirl of low tech special effects that copy the film. It's played for laughs but is also reverential in following the spirit of the film. This version reminds me of Irma Vep where two actors play all the parts. You can get an idea of this foolery by watching a two minute summary of the play and the original movie at the play's website. I enjoyed this show immensely and so did the audience as we had third row seats. This closeness to the stage made us part of the action as when a body fell onto the stage so near to us that we jumped out of our seats with laughter. http://39stepsonbroadway.com/
I made reservations for a small restaurant run by a Greek family where we had a five course swordfish dinner for $20.95 (appetizer, soup or salad, entree with potato & vegs), coffee, and dessert). Their wine list was reasonably priced so we ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Very good food and service. Check out the Hourglass Tavern at: http://restaurantrownyc.com/
It was a wonderful day and I actually came home with money put away for the next trip which might be in June. I set aside some money from each paycheck so when it comes time for the trip, it's paid for.