It is hard to imagine Jules Verne’s classic 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days, with its globe-trotting storyline and cast of thousands, being effectively adapted for the stage. It’s even harder to imagine a meager cast of five actors assaying all the adventure tale’s characters. Playwright Mark Brown and Long Beach’s International City Theatre (ICT) haven’t only taken both of these unexpected routes but have succeeded near-brilliantly with them.
The
plot is fairly well-known, if not from actually reading Verne’s novel
than from one of several movie or TV versions, most notably Mike Todd’s
Oscar-winning 1956 production. Punctuality-obsessed British gentleman
Phileas Fogg accepts a wager that he can travel completely around the
globe in 1,920 hours — if not less — following his departure from London.
He takes with him his newly-hired manservant Passepartout, and together
they navigate a route utilizing a combination of trains, steamer ships
and even elephants (though not hot air balloon, which Todd’s film
added). The pair encounter a detective who suspects Fogg of being a
thief, religious cultists, a pretty Indian princess with whom the
impenetrable Fogg becomes semi-smitten, a rootin’-tootin’ cowboy and
marauding Apaches in the prairies of the US, and a variety of other
residents of the countries through which they travel.
ICT’s
fantastically talented cast of five brings approximately 40 of these
characters to vivid life during the play’s 135-minute running time. Jud
V. Williford is appropriately taciturn throughout as Fogg, whereas
Michael Uribes primarily plays Passepartout but also a number of
supporting roles. As the lone female, Melinda Porto naturally plays
Princess Aouda while also portraying a comical variety of other female
and male parts. Mark Gagliardi, who is well-known in southern
California as the current Genie in Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular
at Disney's California Adventure, proves himself an accomplished master
not only of physical comedy but of a diversity of international
accents. Rounding out the cast is Brian Stanton, very funny as the
wily-in-his-own-mind detective tracking Fogg and any number of other
roles. On opening night, Stanton and Gagliardi brought the house down
with hilarious improv when one of Stanton's mutton chops fell off
mid-scene.
This Los
Angeles area production was directed by Allison Bibicoff, who served as
Assistant Choreographer and Associate Producer of Broadway's
Tony-nominated Xanadu. Her playful spirit gives the production
a decidedly tongue-in-cheek approach; it would seem the script could be
performed most seriously as well. Bibicoff and set designer Staci
Walters here employ an ingenious wall depicting Fogg's trip route that
also contains hidden drawers and a series of Laugh In-like
windows through which props appear and characters speak. The
period-perfect costumes were designed by ICT resident Kim DeShazo.
Splendid entertainment for adults, teens and school-age children, Around the World in 80 Days runs in Long Beach through February 17th. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit the International City Theatre website.
Meanwhile,
another, real-life “Fab Five” is currently making an appearance on the
considerably larger stage of LA’s Ahmanson Theatre, where Backbeat is
having its US premiere through March 1st. Based on Iain Softley’s
1994 movie about the formational years of The Beatles, it is an uneven,
occasionally inert production (especially during the first act) but not
without its merits. These are primarily the excellent quintet of young
actor-musicians who play the five founding members of what would become
one of the world’s greatest bands: Andrew Knott, as domineering
ringmaster John Lennon; Daniel Healy, possessed of a lovely singing
voice, as Paul McCartney; Daniel Westwick as George Harrison; Oliver
Bennett as drummer Pete Best, who would find himself dumped in favor of
Ringo Starr; and Nick Blood (cool, toned and shirtless as often as
possible) as Stuart Sutcliffe, an aspiring painter who left The
Beatles just as the band's fame was exploding in 1962 and tragically
died shortly after of a brain hemorrhage.
Backbeat
is essentially constructed around a speculative love triangle between
Sutcliffe, Lennon and Astrid Kirchherr, a German photographer with whom
Sutcliffe did become romantically involved. The more speculative part
is the depth of Lennon's feelings for his longtime best friend, although
Lennon's widow Yoko Ono would remark that "hardly a day went by that
John did not talk about (Sutcliffe)." Leanne Best, as Kirchherr, has
little to do in the role other than be the camera-toting woman who came
between the two erstwhile artist-friends, but then character development
isn't this show's strong suit when it comes to virtually all the
pop-culture figures portrayed. Any younger viewers with little advance
knowledge of The Beatles' members will likely wonder what all the fuss
was about.
The book
by Softley and Stephen Jeffreys covers the three-year period during
which the boys groomed their sound and, eventually, themselves between
Liverpool, London and "decadent" nightclubs in Hamburg. The second of
these German clubs provides the show with some needed style and
diversity, populated as it is with drag queens and kings, a
leather-suited gay dancer, and a tuxedoed, Cabaret-esque
MC. Five-time Tony Award nominee David Leveaux directs the proceedings
with some visual flair, high decibels during the songs and, in Act II,
some heavy-handed but nonetheless welcome emotional wallops that the
first act sorely lacks.
Songs from The Beatles catalog comprise the show's score, including such classics as "Love Me Do", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Twist and Shout".
If the volume is more often than not excessive, I appreciated the
free-wheeling feel and lack of obvious choreography during the musical
moments. Those who go to see Backbeat expecting an
upbeat "Jukebox musical" crafted on Beatles songs will likely be
disappointed. There's some "dark night of the soul" stuff going on here
when it comes to the conflicts that can arise among friends/lovers who
are simultaneously heeding the call to be artists, all played out
against a frequently seedy backdrop. By the time band manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin enter the picture in Act II, one
may understandably conclude that The Beatles sold their souls to the
devil. Thankfully, this show's talented cast members don't have to do
so.
For more information about Backbeat or to purchase tickets for the LA production, visit the Center Theatre Group website.
Reverend’s Ratings:
Around the World in 80 Days: A-
Backbeat: B-
Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment