Reviewed by Judy Richter
San Jose Repertory Theatre's production of "Around
the World in 80 Days"
is sheer delight. It's not your usual holiday fare, yet it's upbeat and joyful
enough to blend into the spirit of the holidays. Playwright Mark Brown based his adaptation on the novel
by Jules Verne.
The novel also inspired a popular 1958 movie starring David Niven. I recently watched a tape of it
and was grateful for the fast-forward function to get through the seemingly
endless scenes involving various forms of transportation and scenery.
Brown's
adaptation and San Jose Rep's production do away with that excess of reality
and instead rely on the audience's imagination, the actors' skill and director Michael
Butler's
ingenious staging. This version uses only five actors, with three of them
creating an array of characters. Only Matthew Floyd Miller as the central character, Phileas
Fogg, and Gendell Hernandez as his servant, Jean Passepartout, maintain their
identities throughout the two-act play.
Butler's
clever staging is facilitated by Kelly Tighe's set, which features a
turntable operated by stage hands, red curtains on the side, gears atop a
proscenium, four desk chairs and large numbers 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 arranged in
a semicircle downstage. During the course of Fogg and Passepartout's journey,
these numbers convert into props and set pieces like an elephant and train. Todd
Roehrman outfits
all of the actors in unisex jump suits accented with stripes. These costumes
serve as a base for additions that allow the actors to quickly change
character. Kurt Landisman's lighting and Jeff Mockus' sound complement the stage
magic.
Miller
is a wonderfully precise, sure-of-himself Fogg, who bets several members of the
Reform Club that he can go around the world in 80 days, quite a feat in 1872. However,
he also reveals the transformation that Fogg gradually undergoes because of the
experiences he has and the people he meets. Hernandez has the physical skills
needed for the resourceful, cheerfully naive Passepartout. Mark Farrell and Howard Swain both create a panoply of
characters. Swain's main one is Detective Fix of Scotland Yard, who trails Fogg
and Passepartout on the mistaken belief that Fogg has robbed the Bank of
England. Anna Bullard also creates several characters, primarily Aouda, the Indian woman
rescued from immolation by Passepartout and Fogg. She joins their little band
and helps with Fogg's transformation.
The
overall result is a rewarding evening of entertainment with lots of laughter,
thanks to Butler et al.
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