Danisha Crosby, Round House Theatre
Back from the Round House production of Around the World in 80 Days, which we are urgently warned in the program does not feature a balloon. That was a movie thing. There was no balloon in Jules Verne's book.
What I love about the productions at RH recently has been the musicality of the dramaturgy and the heavy emphasis on dance in the blocking. It isn't a musical, but it's musical. In AW80, actors suggest the motions of trains, boats, and other conveyances through their choreographed leans, shakes, and jolts.
And then of course there is the audience-pleasing coconut-clopping "horses," a nod to Monty Python that brought a smile to my face as I pictured King Arthur and Patsy rather than Passepartout trotting on stage.
Silliness ensues throughout; world cultures are caricatured on an equal opportunity basis, though I do wonder why I should be more uncomfortable with the gross caricatures of Asians than of the Brits and Americans. Because it's acceptable to laugh at ourselves but not at others?
Through the spirited jaunt, Phileas Fogg (performed by Mitchell Hebert) is a stoical pillar of gentlemanly sensibility - mathematical and precise. How does such a man launch himself into such an adventure? It's a mystery; perhaps hubris is a powerful enough force to tempt a man from logic, for along the way he is rewarded with the illogic of falling in love.
Around the World in 80 Days plays at the Round House Theatre, Bethesda, Maryland, through May 30. This concludes the 2009-2010 season for RHT, and it is the first season that I have thoroughly enjoyed every single production (even the one WaPo hated, The Picture of Dorian Gray). I'm not even sure I could pick out my favorite (leaning toward Asher Lev); all were thought-provoking, but AW80 was certainly the most entertaining.
What I love about the productions at RH recently has been the musicality of the dramaturgy and the heavy emphasis on dance in the blocking. It isn't a musical, but it's musical. In AW80, actors suggest the motions of trains, boats, and other conveyances through their choreographed leans, shakes, and jolts.
And then of course there is the audience-pleasing coconut-clopping "horses," a nod to Monty Python that brought a smile to my face as I pictured King Arthur and Patsy rather than Passepartout trotting on stage.
Silliness ensues throughout; world cultures are caricatured on an equal opportunity basis, though I do wonder why I should be more uncomfortable with the gross caricatures of Asians than of the Brits and Americans. Because it's acceptable to laugh at ourselves but not at others?
Through the spirited jaunt, Phileas Fogg (performed by Mitchell Hebert) is a stoical pillar of gentlemanly sensibility - mathematical and precise. How does such a man launch himself into such an adventure? It's a mystery; perhaps hubris is a powerful enough force to tempt a man from logic, for along the way he is rewarded with the illogic of falling in love.
Around the World in 80 Days plays at the Round House Theatre, Bethesda, Maryland, through May 30. This concludes the 2009-2010 season for RHT, and it is the first season that I have thoroughly enjoyed every single production (even the one WaPo hated, The Picture of Dorian Gray). I'm not even sure I could pick out my favorite (leaning toward Asher Lev); all were thought-provoking, but AW80 was certainly the most entertaining.
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