Theatre Review: Around the World in 80 Days
My husband and I just saw this play last night (opening night) at Taproot Theatre in Seattle, WA. We thoroughly enjoyed the program – even more than I expected! The play is based on a novel of the same name by Jules Verne, born in France in 1828. Verne, in some ways, was one of the first science fiction authors of our time, as the inventions he came up with in his imagination have become reality today.
“Around the World in 80 Days” is known as one of the most realistic of his plays, in that he does not feature these futuristic inventions. Rather, he features a wager: Phileas Fogg, a bit of a stick-in-the-mud who prides himself on precise estimations, bet that he could circumnavigate the world in 80 days. The play follows Phileas, as well as his French man-servant, Passepartout, around the world via steamship, rail, and various other modes of transportation employed on the spur of the moment.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the play was watching four actors and one actress play over 20 individual characters. In addition, they did not employ CGI, mechanics, or any other trickery. Rather, the players successfully used a few props and their ingenuity to give the play life. The play was humorous – almost slapstick, with a bit of Monty Python tossed into the mix. We both found it to be great comedy, and I felt inspired to go back and read the book. If you go, we can recommend Olive You, a casual Greek restaurant and Wild Mountain Cafe (get the fried chicken – yum!) for a great dinner. Let us know what you think!
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Tags: restaurants, Reviews, theatre
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
wow, that sounds GREAT! I really miss seeing live theatre. I don’t think I’ve been since college, when of course, I didn’t really appreciate it. Sounds like a great idea for a future date night!