Delightfully Dizzying: IRT’s 2025-2026 Season Opener Combines Hilarity and Hitchcock

The Indiana Repertory Theatre opens its 2025-2026 Season this month with The 39 Steps. A hilarious take on one of Alfred Hitchcock’s top movies, this madcap romance thriller is adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan. The show runs September 16 – October 12 on the OneAmerica Financial Stage and is directed by IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Benjamin Hanna.

“We are absolutely thrilled to open our 53^rd season with The 39 Steps—a delightful, madcap, romance thriller that pays loving homage to Hitchcock and his unmistakable style," Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Benjamin Hanna said. "It's especially meaningful to stage this piece in our magnificent Indiana Theatre, our beautifully renovated 1920's movie palace where the original film might have once lit up the silver screen. It's the perfect blend of classic cinema and live theatrical magic.”

In classic Hitchcock fashion, the story follows a notorious fugitive and a spellbound blonde who travel north by northwest from London to Scotland as they try to save Britain from a den of devious spies. The premise of the award-winning stage play is that a small group actors endeavor to reenact the film with limited resources, resulting in four actors playing more than 40 characters in a comic thrill ride full of plot twists, quick-changes, and laughs.

“This play showcases the impressive, chameleon-like skills of four brilliant actors,” Hanna said. “The 39 Steps is an invitation to awaken our imagination and celebrate theatrical ingenuity on a thrilling madcap adventure.”

As part of a co-production with Syracuse Stage in New York, the cast consists of Michael Stewart Allen, Jürgen Hooper, Tyler Meredith, and Ema Zivkovic. Understudies include Frankie Bolda and Jay Hemphill. The IRT last produced The 39 Steps in 2011, and some of the scenic design by Linda Buchanan will return for this reimagined production.

The Theatre will host supplemental programming during the run of the show, including Artist Conversations that provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on the production, a Sensory Friendly performance, an ASL/AD performance, and the special Opening Night celebration. There will also be a Teacher Appreciation Night for Indiana educators.

Tickets are available now for The 39 Steps.