Having never read Jules Vern's "Around the World in 80 Days," I can't say for certain whether this was a good translation to the stage or not. I'm almost willing to argue, though, that it isn't. My sense is that the book must have been a whimsical story that relied on the exotic locations for much of its magic. The story is about a wealthy Brit who bets that he can go around the world in 80 days and has a singular focus to do so. Along the way, he encounters many fascinating scenes and falls in love. Over time he comes to realize that his focus has led him around the world but robbed him of actually seeing the world.
This is a typical Lookingglass production in that it's an adaptation of a much loved piece of literature. The fact that it's a children's story isn't uncommon. Mary Zimmerman's "The Secret in the Wings" was based on fairy tales and "Lookingglass Alice" was based on "Alice in Wonderland" (or is it "Through the Lookingglass?"). "Lookingglass Alice" translated the Lewis Carroll story partly through playful spectacle. The shenanigans of the story were translated into visual jokes that worked well. In this production, the magic of exotic lands was never well translated visually. While the performances were largely very good (I especially enjoyed watching Phil Smith), the production never felt delightful. It lacked the visual poetry of Mary Zimmerman's Lookingglass productions and what I could hear of the text wasn't enough to make the show terribly interesting. When Phineas Fogg (what a great name) reports that he's going around the world again because he never saw it the first time, the audience should feel something but I didn't. It wasn't the final point in an argument or exploration as it should have been. I left the production thinking it was kind of fun but slight.
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