Around the World in 80 Days

CRASH AND VERNE Smith, left, and Douglas trot the globe.

Photo: Sean Williams

Phileas Fogg thinks he’s learned everything he needs to know about the world from the journals of the Royal Geographic Society. It’s not unlike the way we think we know the gist of Verne’s story—even those of us who read the novel as kids have had our memories reshaped by the numerous pop-culture references to the original. (Eason pokes gentle fun at this effect in a second-act joke on those of us waiting for the hot air balloon.)

Eason’s affable adaptation plays up elements of Verne’s novel that are sometimes forgotten: the romance between Fogg and Mrs. Aouda, for instance, or Verne’s portrait of British imperialism at its strongest. Above all, though, 80 Days is an adventure story, and Eason moves stylishly if not always swiftly from set piece to set piece in Verne’s tale, from the cuckoo-clock orchestration of Fogg’s London life to such minor motifs as teacups sliding across a shipboard table.

The clunkier moments are tied to the intricacies of Richard and Jacqueline Penrod’s Victorian puzzle-box set. In lieu of a balloon, the Lookingglass-style spectacle comes in other forms of transportation—an elephant ride, a sled and a sailing ship, all neatly rendered but requiring so much setup time as to significantly slow down the action. But ideally paired composer Kevin O’Donnell, master of the twee underscore, glosses over the slow zones, and dynamic work from Smith and Douglas as Fogg and his valet-of-all-trades Passepartout, respectively, helps us savor the days.