Review of: Around the World in 80 Days from the
Schenectady Gazette
Curtain Call's
wacky ‘World' is wonderful By
Paul Lamar
Ben Turpin,
Red Skelton, and John Belushi: Jack Fallon
is channeling all three in this fresh adaptation
of Jules Verne's "Around the World
in 80 Days" by Mark Brown, now in a
wacky production at Curtain Call Theatre.
Many will remember the 1956 Oscar-winning
movie, starring David Niven, (and the 2004
version, with Jackie Chan) and wonder how
five performers on a nearly bare stage could
pull off such a spectacle.
But when the performers are as adept as
this quintet, and when the music and the
lighting convincingly conjure up one exotic
locale after another - well, the mind's
eye sees it all, including the elephant.
Brown has fun with the story of staid Phileas
Fogg (Steven Leifer), who bets three associates
at the Reform Club of London that he can
circle the globe in 80 days. This is, mind
you, 1872. He heads east, accompanied by
his new French manservant, the appropriately
named Passepartout (Carter Harris), and
pursued by Detective Fix (Joe Russo), who
thinks Fogg is a thief. Of course, they
all have numerous adventures with rather
stereotypical characters during their globe-trotting,
and it's up to the protean Fallon and Russo
to flesh them out in an instant. They do,
to great comic effect.
Obstacles present themselves - the typhoon
scene is especially well done - but Fogg
is unflappable: this punctual man has calculated
his arrivals and departures to the minute.
Egypt, India (where he meets Aouda, played
by Monica Cangero), Hong Kong, and Yokohama
are featured in the first act, and Act II
hilariously chronicles Fogg and company's
travels across the United States.
Casey Cieszynski, William E. Fritz, and
Joanna Palladino have managed props, lighting,
and sound, respectively, very well. If there's
any criticism, it's the look of the set,
which is cleverly designed and sturdy, but
unpolished.
The performers, however, have been polished
to a fare-thee-well by resident director
Steve Fletcher. Whether negotiating an accent,
changing clothes quickly, or popping their
heads in and out of windows, they play at
top speed. Cangero successfully adds a third
dimension to Aouda throughout, so the proposal
scene is touching. Harris's Passepartout
fusses and fumes Gallically, but he is,
at heart, a dear. An auspicious CC debut.
Russo scores with Monty Python nuttiness,
which his multiple roles call for. Leifer's
rich voice is one you'd walk a mile to hear,
and he matches his fine line readings with
a physical restraint that holds the center
of the play, as it must, when everyone else
is excitable.
Finally, Fallon. Mug meister! Sunday's audience
couldn't wait to see how this old pro would
spin his next character. Part of the fun
was watching him have fun performing, and
this is the kind of whimsical show that
allows for just such a double lens. Fallon
never failed to deliver.
Verne had a great imagination. I hope he
had a sense of humor, too.
