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Bob Goody, veteran British stage and screen actor and co-writer of 1985 BBC1 comedy Wilderness Road, has died at age 71.

He passed away March 5 after a long battle with cancer that he chronicled in a book of verse.

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Born in Brighton in 1951, Goody trained at Rada and became known as a charismatic actor and poet. He fronted his own ITV children’s sketch show, Smith & Goody, in the 1980s with writer and comedian Mel Smith before penning Wilderness Road, a sitcom set in a seedy London pub, with Richard Cottan.

Goody’s TV acting roles included appearances in Bleak House, EastEnders, Lovejoy, the Lock Stock and Two...

Adapted by Tony nominated author Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and based on the book by John Buchan and the classic 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, 39 Steps is currently playingat the Union Square Theatre.39 Steps is a comedic spoof of the classic 1935 film, with only 4 'insanely talented' actors portraying more than 150 characters, sometimes changing roles in the blink of an eye. The brilliantly madcap story follows our dashing heroRichard Hannay Robert Petkoff as he races to solve the mystery of The 39 Steps, all the while trying to clear his name. The show's uproarious fast-paced 100 minutes promises to leave you gasping for breath... in a good way It's fun for everyone from 9 to 99.Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the company in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In The Spotlight' by acclaimed photographerWalter McBride...

Producer Douglas Denoff, in association with Fiery Angel, London, has announced that the two-time Tony Award winning hilarious hit comedy 39 Steps will re-open in New York City at the Union Square Theatre 100 East 17th Street starting April Fools' Day, Wednesday, April 1st for an open-ended run. Adapted by Tony nominated author Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, and based on the book by John Buchan and the classic 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, 39 Steps will officially open on Monday, April 13th.

Today in 2008, The 39 Steps opend at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 771 performances. The play is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play. The play's concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus the film's serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is...

New York (AP) — The actor-turned-director who ran two Massachusetts theater companies and earned a Tony Award nomination for directing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike on Broadway last year has died. Nicholas Martin was 75. Officials from the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston say Martin died Wednesday at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. They say he had been battling throat cancer. Martin was artistic director of Huntington Theatre Company from 2000 to 2008. There, he nurtured such Broadway-bound shows as Theresa Rebeck's Mauritius and Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps. He also was artistic director of the

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Today in 2008, The 39 Steps opend at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 771 performances. The play is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play. The play's concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus the film's serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is...

Today in 2008, The 39 Steps opend at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 771 performances. The play is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play. The play's concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus the film's serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is...

Director John Madden discusses his experiences on the set of this Best Picture Oscar winner, making its Blu-ray debut January 31

Director John Madden had primarily been known as a TV director before making the 1998 Best Picture Oscar winner Shakespeare in Love, which makes its Blu-ray debut January 31. I recently had the chance to speak with this talented director about his experiences on the set of this drama, which features an all-star cast including Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, and Ben Affleck. Take a look at what he had to say below.

I read there was quite a lengthy development process for this before you came on. Can you talk about the point where you did come on board?

John Madden: Yeah, well, as you know, there was one manifestation of the film, earlier, which was going to be directed by Edward Zwick.

Today in 2008, The 39 Steps opend at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 771 performances. The play is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock. Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play. The play's concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus the film's serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is...

Although it's easy to forget, the 90's were a hugely influential era, so much so that many of our modern day necessities were invented within it. In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee developed the Internet and its subsequent language (HTML); in 1995, the VHS welcomed its main rival and subsequent successor, the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD); and in 1998, male impotency met its match through the mass-production of Viagra. However, while the 90's marked an impressive era for technology, it was the evolution of television - especially comedy shows - that we should be most thankful for. Men Behaving Badly, The Vicar of Dibley, The Fast Show, Mr. Bean, Goodness Gracious Me, Never Mind the Buzzcocks - the list really does go on and on.  

Is it Legal? was first shown on British television in 1995 on ITV and was the brainchild of Simon Nye, the original creator of Men Behaving Badly. The series - which...

"Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps" will end its Off-Broadway run Jan. 16, producers announced today.The play, adapted from Hitchcock's 1935 film—which itself was adapted from John Buchan's 1915 novel—premiered in 2007 at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. It began Broadway previews on Jan. 4, 2008, at Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theatre and officially opened there Jan. 15. The show migrated to the Cort Theatre in April of that year, then the Helen Hayes Theatre in January 2009. Its Broadway run of 771 performances—the longest for a play on the Main Stem in seven years—ended Jan. 10, 2010. The Off-Broadway production began previews in March at New World Stages, where it will have played 23 previews and 318 performances by the end of its run."The 39 Steps" features four actors playing dozens of characters in a re-creation of Hitchcock's thriller. It was adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow.

Chicago – The stage may is noticeably stripped, and the absence of technical advancement well-viewed. But the brass creativity emanating from “The 39 Steps”, the rollicking adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s quieted film, is consummately endowed. In a certain albeit undeniable sense, the Master of Suspense’s screen canon has always been ripe for the satirical plucking. Permeated with harrowing plot twists, forlorn femme fatales, and disoriented- though always dignified- heroes, Hitchcockian thrillers offer the sort of dramatic abundance about which most Broadway producers can only daydream.

Play Rating: 3.0/5.0

Both John Buchan’s original 1915 novel and Hitchcock’s 1935 screen adaptation followed a quick-paced, English-flavored thriller conceit. The narratives employed heady espionage, boiling international conflict, and the staple of mistaken identity. The stage conversion of “The 39 Steps”, adapted by Patrick Barlow and with conceptualization by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, renders much of the same recipe. But slapstick and schtick are the go-to ingredients here.

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to present The 39 Steps, directed by Maria Aitken and adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow, based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, based on the book by John Buchan. The production will run August 11 - September 13 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre (media night: Sunday August 16 at 7:00 pm). The 39 Steps will make its West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre before starting on a national tour.

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to present The 39 Steps, directed by Maria Aitken and adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow, based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon, based on the book by John Buchan. The production will run August 11 - September 13 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre (media night: Sunday August 16 at 7:00 pm). The 39 Steps will make its West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre before starting on a national tour.

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, Broadway's longest running comedy, will play its 400th performance on Friday, February 20th. Now in its second smash year, the Tony Award-winning quick change comedy version of Hitchcock's classic film thriller is playing at the Helen Hayes Theatre (240 West 44th Street). The 39 Steps is adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Maria Aitken. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan.

Robert Portal makes a welcome return to the role of Richard Hannay in Patrick Barlow's adaptation of The 39 Steps, directed by Maria Aitken, currently in its third year at the Criterion Theatre. On Monday 2 February he joined the current cast members Tessa Churchard, Alan Perrin and Nigel Betts in this hilarious 100 minute whodunnit. Robert Portal first played Hannay from April to October 2007. Since that time the production has enjoyed incredible UK and international success and he returns to a role which is currently played by 14 actors in as many countries across the world.

Veteran actor Richard Briers and Bottom's Rik Mayall are to join Julia McKenzie in the third instalment of the latest Agatha Christie's Marple series. 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' follows the mystery sparked when a dying man utters the words of the episode's title in his last moments. Penned by Patrick Barlow, the two-hour film sees Miss Marple on the hunt for clues once again. Harry Potter stars (more)...