Today, it seems that anyone with a laptop can create a visually rich story set in a galaxy far, far away. So how does good old-fashioned theater compete with the fantasy potential of 21st-century CGI? We could do worse than turn to that masterful 19th-century fantacist, Jules Verne. In his Around the World in 80 Days, Verne doesn’t travel to other galaxies, but finds the many worlds within our own, spinning a trip through exotic locales that fascinated the 19th Century West—India, China, the Seven Seas and America’s Wild West.
In Milwaukee Chamber Theater’s campy take on Verne’s adventure travelogue, the story becomes a launch pad for some imaginative theatrical magic. As Verne’s Phileas Fogg circumnavigates the globe, Keith Pitts’ multilevel stage transforms into steamships, passenger trains, an elephant, and even an ice-boat. Director Patrick Holland has imposed a Victorian “steam-punk” aesthetic on the production (think Terry Gilliam’s Brazil or the odd anachronisms of comics like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). The transformations are clever enough to get their own "oohs" and "ahhs," and even some applause. But unfortunately, they are few and far between.
Instead, what emerges is a detail-driven, story theater, with a heavy dose of schtick. There are long passages of “tell-don’t-show” descriptions of the journey, and Mark Brown’s adaptation focuses more on story details and jokes than on character. As a result, Fogg (Matt Daniels) lives up to his name—he’s a vague and misty bundle of English propriety and resolve. And the one-note Inspector Fixx (Bobby Spencer) doesn’t live up to his comi
c potential. The dependable Norman Moses fares better by stretching out his various accents and caricatures. And Marti Gobel finds newsboy energy when she needs it, but settles nicely into Fogg’s noble love interest, the exotic Indian Auoda.
The evening’s greatest pleasure is Chris Klopatek’s turbo-charged turn as Fogg’s manservant, Passepartout. Klopatek, who will leave town shortly to study acting in California, knows how to concentrate energy with crisp gestures and just the right vocal rhythms. With more of his intelligent vitality, this 80 Days wouldn’t seem quite as long as its title.
Chamber Theatre’s “80 Days”
Today, it seems that anyone with a laptop can create a visually rich story set in a galaxy far, far away. So how does good old-fashioned theater compete with the fantasy potential of 21st-century CGI? We could do worse than turn to that masterful 19th-century fantacist, Jules Verne. In his Around the World in 80 Days, Verne doesn’t travel to other galaxies, but finds the many worlds within our own, spinning a trip through exotic locales that fascinated the 19th Century West—India, China, the Seven Seas and America’s Wild West. In Milwaukee Chamber Theater’s campy take on Verne’s adventure travelogue,…
