Stampeding elephants! Raging typhoons! Runaway trains! Unabashed slapstick! You can join fearless Phileas Fogg and his faithful servant Passpartout (“fits in anywhere”) as they race to beat the calendar. London’s Fogg has agreed to a hazy, outrageous wager putting his fortune and both lives at risk. They set out to circle the globe in 2.62833676 months. But every step is dogged, hounded even, by a detective who thinks Fogg’s a run-away robber. Danger. Romance. Surprises. Exotic destinations. Victorian colonial mind-sets. This is a major departure from the multi-Oscar 1956 movie. Five actors devise 39 characters across seven continents in Mark Brown’s broad, wild and comic adaptation of Jules Verne’s celebrated adventure. Comparisons have been made with the far-out stage trip version of “The 39 Steps.” “Smart enough to make sophisticated adults laugh out loud. And shamelessly silly enough to keep children interested and entertained!” —The New York Times. FYI: Mark Brown wrote a stage adaptation of Fielding’s Tom Jones, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge and more. (http://www.markbrownwriter.com/).
Around The World in 80 Days runs Jan. 20-Feb.12 at Hawks Mainstage Theatre, Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. Weds.-Sat.: 7:30 p.m. Sunday: 2 p.m. Tickets $18-$36