Cast Set for The 39 Steps at Roundabout

Casting is set for the forthcoming Broadway production of The 39 Steps at Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre. The play will begin previews on January 4, 2008, and open on January 15 in a limited engagement through March 23. Adapted by Patrick Barlow from Alfred Hitchcock's classic film, the Olivier Award-winning production of The 39 Steps is directed by Maria Aitken, based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

Charles Edwards, who created the role of Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps at London's Tricycle Theatre, will make his Broadway debut, alongside Arnie Burton Clown, Jennifer Ferrin Pamela/Margaret and Cliff Saunders Clown. The company also includes Claire Brownell, Cameron Fulmar and Mark Shanahan.

Mix an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of vintage Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a hilarious whodunit, part espionage thriller and part slapstick comedy. Shots ring out across a crowded theater and Richard Hannay is lured into a world of intrigue by a mysterious woman claiming to be a spy. When she winds up dead in his flat, he flees London with the police hot on his trail.

Following its September 2006 transfer from the Tricycle Theatre, The 39 Steps has been playing in London's West End to sell-out houses at the Criterion. Prior to the Broadway premiere, the production is receiving its American debut at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, MA from September 14 to October 14. Roundabout's production is being presented in association with Bob Boyett, Hariiet Leve/Ron Nicynski, Fiery Angel Ltd. and the Huntington. The London production received the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

Edwards' London stage credits include Hay Fever, Much Ado About Nothing, Private Lives, The Duchess of Malfi, All My Sons and The Heidi Chronicles. Burton appeared on Broadway in Amadeus and off-Broadway in The Merchant of Venice, The Jew of Malta, Mere Mortal, The Last Sunday in June, The Baltimore Waltz and The Venetian Twins. Ferrin, a Daytime Emmy nominee for As the World Turns, will make her Broadway debut. Saunders originated the role of Bilbo Baggins in the world premiere of Lord of the Rings and has appeared onstage in Habeas Corpus, The Drowsy Chaperone, A Flea in Her Ear, Beauty and the Beast and others.

The design team includes Peter McKintosh sets and costumes, Kevin Adams lights and Mic Pool sound.