Guest Stars: You Never Know Who You Might See Making a Cameo in NextStop's '39 Steps'

Evan Hoffman, producing artistic director of Herndon's NextStop Theatre - formerly the Elden Street Players - says the first two weekends of the company's debut production, Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, has been amazing.

"We had the most wonderful opening night, with a fantastic celebration of everything we've been doing," Hoffman told Patch this week.

The show, which opened two weekends ago, enjoyed a special "red carpet" opening with local officials like Mayor Lisa Merkel, members of the Town Council, Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust and others.

"People have been really positive about the show," he added.

The 39 Steps, based on one of Hitchcock's films, combines both elements of comedy as well as a juicy murder mystery, though many say the stage version is even better than the movie.

Hoffman said he couldn't be happier that, at only halfway through the show's four-week run, which extends through Oct. 20, The 39 Steps is on track to be Elden Street/NextStop's most highly-attended production of all time.

"We've had really strong houses," Hoffman said, describing how full the theater has been for each show thus far.

One element that could be contributing to the show's popularity are the surprise "cameos" that special guests have been making so far.

Supervisor John Foust made a cameo during the show on opening night, and other guests have included Jimmy Cirrito, owner of the popular Jimmy's Old Town Tavern downtown, as well as Delegate Tom Rust of Herndon.

Rumor has it Cirrito will be coming back a second time before the show's closing, as well as Mayor Lisa Merkel.

One of the most exciting guest stars that's appearing in the show every night, as one of the lead characters, is Nick Rose.

Rose was one of the founders of Elden Street Players, and wrote and directed Elden Street's debut production himself - amazingly, all while still a senior at Herndon High School many years ago. After leaving the Elden Street Players, Rose went on to become a professional actor in many top productions in Cincinnati, Hoffman said.

Rose came back to Herndon especially to appear in The 39 Steps, as NextStop's debut production. 

"People love him. He's really a riot in the show," Hoffman explained, describing the many roles Rose plays such as the show's main villain, as well as a female innkeeper and many other characters.

Hoffman said, since Elden Street Players became a professional company and changed its name to NextStop Theatre, much remains the same, but there's just an extra layer of excitement to everything, and the support of the community has been amazing.

"It feels very different, but also still very much the same, particularly since we still have many of the same faces around," he explained. "But there's definitely a palpable excitement and newness to what we've been doing."

Hoffman said it's been gratifying to see how many of Elden Street Players' loyal fans are still supporting them, while also seeing many of the new fans that they've been attracting since becoming NextStop.

"We've had our loyal fan base all along, and they're still here - but there's so many new faces in the house that are hearing about us now," he said. "It's really exciting, and also very vital to our future."

'The 39 Steps' has 10 shows remaining - five this week between Thursday and Sunday, as well as five shows next week. Closing night is Sunday, Oct. 20.

For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit www.nextstoptheatre.org/.

KEEP UP WITH NextStop Theatre year-round by reading the company's blog on Herndon Patch here.


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