In Colorado Springs, Theatreworks takes on an adaptation of the Jules Verne classic
Colorado Springs’ Theatreworks rarely avoids a challenge, and this year’s holiday offering is no exception. Adapted for the stage in 2013 by Laura Eason, Jules Verne’s 1873 novel about an aristocrat’s haughty bet to circumvent the globe in record time may be better suited to paper than stage. Still, Around the World in 80 Days played to an enthusiastic house for its opening Dec. 7 at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs Ent Center for the Performing Arts. Running through Dec. 22, the small cast delivered big with stellar acting and clever theatrics to make this family-friendly show well worth seeing.
From the Suez Canal to Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong and the Wild West beyond San Francisco, just eight actors portray a myriad of roles and even some inanimate objects to augment the fluidity of a minimalistic set. A somewhat laborious Act One picks up steam once the globe-trotting begins.
English gentleman Phileas Fogg, played with quiet reserve by newcomer Tyler Esselman, wagers his Reform Club cronies a hefty £20,000 that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. Flanked by his French valet, Passepartout, the pair risk Fogg’s fortune and both their lives in the race against time. Multiple continents, cultures and even controversy play out on stage. Most of the the action is credibly executed.
The storyline’s interloper is Detective Fix, bent on proving that Fogg is but a robber on the run. Outrageously flamboyant as the detective, Colton Pratt embodies the unrelenting spirit of Wile E. Coyote hunting the Roadrunner: cunning and persistent, despite continual face-plants. A versatile and well-known actor on local stages, Pratt recently appeared as Malcolm in Macbeth at Theatreworks and in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime at the Fine Arts Center.
Stealing the show, Theatreworks first-timer Peter Trinh plays the agile, comical and always-compliant Passepartout. With masterful coaching for his French accent, it’s no surprise that Trinh is a stand-up comedian who easily nails timing, delivery and physicality in every scene. He plays the perfect Yang to Fogg’s stoic and reserved Yin. A Denver native, Trinh’s recent credits include Everybody (The Catamounts) and Last Stop (CU Boulder).
Esselman plays Fogg with perfect disengagement — this in alignment with Victorian England’s arrogance toward exotic faraway places and cultures that, in the day, should be known but also judged as inferior. Esselman’s Fogg remains aloof but confident, removed and distanced from his own endeavor — that is until he is smitten with an Indian Princess in peril.
As Mrs. Aouda, Rasika Ranganathan is stunning in her portrayal of the ousted wife, graceful yet compliant, resilient and assertive — a modernized version of the only female character in Verne’s novel. Debuting with Theatreworks, Ranganathan has Chicago theater credits including Frankenstein (Lifeline) and television: Chicago Med. As Fogg’s love interest, with subtle intent, she softens the staid Fogg as stereotypes are washed away, affection takes root and differences are embraced.
A powerful ensemble
While Fogg, Passepartout, Aouda and Inspector Fix fuel the trek, the show’s ensemble really gives 80-Days its wheels. Male and female actors aptly take on diverse characters regardless of gender. Flashes of color, mist and luminous lighting effects complement the troupe’s movements — like dancing against backdrops that seek to depict varied venues.
The minimalist set is both an advantage and a challenge to the staging of 80 Days. In the opening scene, as set-up, the audience grasps the monotony of Fogg’s life from daybreak to nightfall in briskly paced, well-choreographed routines. Travelers move in harmony as they jiggle on makeshift trains and sway in replicated boats. An unexpected trek by “elephant” falls flat, the comedy of it not quite hitting the mark. Unlike the film — the first in 1954 and a remake in 2004 — there are no hot-air balloons in this version. This production challenges its audience to tap the imagination to be truly present in the journey.
Verne’s novel resonated with readers in its time with the outlandish cultural curiosities of elephants, strange garb, opium, cowboys and railroads reflecting progress, struggle, beauty, unrest and poverty across cultures around the globe.
While the cast is small and the set stark, the storyline resonates. Around the World in 80 Days is a sleeper of a holiday treat: a world of characters and cultures that speak to hope and acceptance in today’s fractured world.
April Tooke is a long-time Colorado Springs resident, long past performer and steadfast patron of the performing arts. By day, she works in administration with a local school district while always seeking out a next theatrical experience.
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