Malta Middle/High School Drama Presents The 39 Steps

The Malta Middle/High School Drama Team presented a live radio play of The 39 Steps on Monday night, April 4, and will have a second performance on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:00 p.m. The 39 Steps is inspired by Hitchcock's classic tale and is performed as a live period radio play. It's a fast-paced romantic thriller that takes you through the signature world of the Master of Suspense. The plot sees Mr. Richard Hannay visiting 1930s London when he meets Ms. Annabella Smith, who is on the run from foreign agents, after a disturbance at a music hall. Later that night, Annabella is murdered and Hannay must then try to break the spy ring and prove his innocence. From an epic train chase to a feisty love interest, Hannay has his work cut out for him as he searches for the truth about The 39 Steps. The radio show style takes you back to before there was television. When families would gather around the radio and listen to the tales being told. The radio actors, most of them playing multiple characters, are in front of the microphones, using their voices to take you on a journey through the story. Along with the sound effects table, full of everything needed to enhance the story being told. The Malta Drama Team did a wonderful job of taking the crowd through that world of Hitchcock in the days of the radio show. The drama team consists of Izzie Hallenberg, Hailee Love, Emily Rottinger, Kyle Mayer, Sabra Sims, Courtney Merriman, Janae Messerly, and Brittalia Drabbels, and is directed by Mrs. Anna LaBrie. The majority of these young actors played multiple roles throughout the play, using a multitude of voices. Honestly, I'm not sure how they kept them all straight, but they did. "The radio play puts a lot more emphasis on the actors' voice," said director Anna LaBrie. "They really have to show action without the actual action." Back in the days of the radio shows, there were breaks for commercials, just like today on television, they had to pay for things somehow. The play performed by the Malta Drama Team even contained the commercials. Also performed by the actors. If you have a couple of hours free, go out to the auditorium tonight (Tuesday) and catch the second show. Honestly, it's much better than anything they are putting on that new box they call a television.