“Around the World in 80 Days” is a very familiar title.
It’s the name of a book, multiple television series and more than one movie, featuring plenty of comedy, adventure, action and romance.
There are probably not a lot of people who know that “Around the World in 80 Days” is also a play adapted by Mark Brown and based on the novel by Jules Verne.
Arizona Theatre Company’s production of this play will be performed on the Herberger Theater stage through April 13.
The main question is, can it live up to the book, or even the movies? Can it capture the excitement — the adventure — all on one relatively small stage?
The answer is yes. It can.
Arizona Theatre Company’s rendition of “Around the World in 80 Days” is stunningly realistic and completely worth the price of its ticket.
Despite a bit of a slow start in the opening scenes that may have you wondering if you made the right decision in going to see the show (you did), as soon as the initial scenes are over, there is nothing but well-deserved laughter from the audience.
If it’s not apparent from the title, “Around the World in 80 Days” is about a group of travelers who set out to make a round-the-world trip in only 80 days — something that was not quite so realistic during the year it takes place: 1872.
It all starts when Phileas Fogg, a wealthy man, makes a wager that with the new-fangled transportation methods, such as steamboats and trains, it’s now possible to travel the world in just under 80 days.
And as the Herberger website perfectly states, the tumultuous journey is filled with “exotic locales,” “great fun” and “villainy, a damsel in distress and narrow escapes.”
The small cast is extremely gifted and versatile, most of the actors believably portraying several different idiosyncratic characters throughout the show.
Phileas Fogg is portrayed by the talented Mark Anders. His French companion and personal servant, Passepartout, is played by Jon Gentry.
Jon Gentry is incredibly essential to the show. He portrays his character perfectly and was responsible for about 90 percent of the hysterical laughter from the audience with his unbelievable ability to make absolutely anything that comes out of his mouth hilarious, even if it’s not really a joke to begin with.
His character highly resembles Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther films and, quite honestly, Gentry makes the production. His character is exceptionally entertaining and remarkably endearing, making him the crowd favorite by far.
The rest of the cast includes Kyle Sorrell as Sir Francis, Yolanda London as Aouda and Bob Sorenson as Detective Fix — all of which extremely versatile actors who bring to life more than one character.
But back to why you should go see this show: As hard as it must be to make it seem as though people are actual traveling throughout the world on a stage that doesn’t budge an inch, the cast and crew make it easy to forget that the characters aren’t actually traveling the land and high seas.
The traveling scenes are realistic, fun, innovative and majorly creative, especially the scenes where the characters are traveling by train and by wild animal. And you will love how the Arizona Theatre Production crew craftily figures out how to produce that animal.
The lighting and sound are also indispensible to the play, aiding in the show’s realistic qualities and believability. Brian Jerome Peterson, the sound designer, and David Lee Cuthbert, the lighting designer, are crucial to the production of the show. And David Saar, the director of the show, deserves a round of applause.
The set is authentic and beautiful, thanks to Carey Wong, the scenic designer and Gregory Towle, the projections designer. The use of backdrops, colorful maps and projections make every part of the journey to a new continent picturesque and striking. And the ability of the crew to create several countries and make them come to life on the stage, with such little props, is very impressive.
The music also aids to the adventurous feel and comical quality of the production, with whimsical music playing between scenes and the native music of the different countries traveled to adding authenticity to the show.
Besides the wonderful cast, lighting, set and sound, the script is brilliant. The jokes, witty dialogue and character interactions make the play a family-friendly and thrilling work of art.
Everything comes together to create an unforgettable theater experience.
Tickets can be found at the Herberger website or the Herberger Theater Center box office.
Editor’s note: Curtain Critic is the Downtown Devil weekly theater review.
