Merriment returns to the Westport Country Playhouse under the guidance of new Artistic Director Mark Shanahan. He is launching the Playhouse’s 94^th year – dubbed the “Season of Laughter” – with “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced spoof of Alfred Hitchcock and his 1935 spy thriller.

Inspired by John Buchan’s 1916 novel, Hitchcock’s film – starring Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll – contained the thematic elements that would mark his celebrated cinematic career: an innocent man wrongly accused of murder, a sinister plot inducing distrust of authority, a beautiful Blonde who may or may not be trusted and – inevitably – redemption.

Adapted by Patrick Barlow, the plot begins in pre-W.W.II England as suave Richard Hannay (Joe Dalafield), bored with “elections and wars and rumors of war” (a surprisingly timely observation), decides to seek “mindless and trivial” diversion at London’s posh Palladium Theater. 

That’s where Hannay spots a sexy, black-clad femme fatale Secret Agent who latches onto him, informing him of an international spy ring trying to steal British military secrets and – before she’s murdered in his flat – urging him to go to Scotland to find a particular Professor and the 39 Steps. But what are the 39 Steps?

Slapstick reigns supreme as director Mark Shanahan adroitly puts his excellent ensemble of actors (Sharone Sayegh, Seth Andrew Bridges, Evan Zes) through their zany paces, playing 150 different characters, often in the same scene, quickly tossing props and changing costumes.

As noted in his biography. Shanahan not only understudied the role of Hannay on Broadway but also directed this show at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey. An obvious connoisseur of comedy, he’s skillfully aided in this physically challenging task by Movement Coordinator Steve Pacek.

The fiercely funny farce includes allusions to Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Dial M for Murder,” “North by Northwest,” and others, including a cameo appearance by Hitchcock in silhouette. A credit to ingenuity, it’s a parody of Hitchcock’s style and the entire genre of film noir. Plus honorable mention to the various scenic designers and clever lighting effects coordinators that enable the many sight gags – a razzmatazz feat of sheer stagecraft brilliance.

Not to be missed, the most excellent murderous mayhem of “The 39 Steps” runs through November 9. For tickets and details, go to westportplayhouse.org or call (203) 227-4177.

The psychological thriller “Conclave” revolves around the selection of a new Pope, a mysteriously secretive process that begins with the death of the Holy Father whose private chambers are immediately sealed as Roman Catholic Cardinals from all over the world descend on the Vatican to be locked in the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes for his successor.

“Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith,” intones British Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the anguished, reform-minded Dean of the College of Cardinals who presides over the proceedings. “Let us pray that God grants us a pope who doubts.”

As the various ‘contenders’ are introduced, it becomes obvious that the most prominent are outspoken American liberal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci), homophobic Nigerian Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), conservative Italian Gioffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), and ambitious Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow), the late Pope’s chosen Camerlengo, or chamberlain. Scene-by-scene, the intrigue mounts.

Suspicions rise with the arrival of a new Cardinal–whom nobody knew about– Archbishop of Kabul Vincent Benitez (Carlos Diehz). The unexpected arrival of a nun serving under attentive Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) plunges the meeting into turmoil. Plus rampant political unrest inevitably rattles the Vatican’s walls.

As in every election, there are accusations of misconduct – involving money, power and, inevitably, sex. Plus there’s a word in the dialogue that sent me to the dictionary – simony – an archaic term for the buying and selling of church positions or privileges.

Based on Robert Harris’ speculative novel of the same name, it’s adapted by Peter Straughan (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”) and directed by Edward Berger (Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front”), who – working with cinematographer Stephane Fontaine – obviously relished revealing the intricate details of scarlet ceremonial pageantry, aesthetic ballot procedures, and clandestine rituals like generating black-or-white smoke as a signal to Vatican-watchers.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Conclave” is a provocative, ecclesiastical 8, playing in theaters.