'Around the World' a ride for all ages

By Lisa Millegan
lmillegan@modbee.com

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SONORA -- Sierra Repertory Theatre's "Around the World in 80 Days" has the feel of those storybook kiddie rides at Disneyland.

The sets are quaint and colorful, and interesting characters and props keep popping out at you.

Adapted by Mark Brown from the 19th-century Jules Verne adventure novel, the play centers on Phileas Fogg, an English gentleman who decides on the spur of the moment to race around the world so he can win a bet with members of his club. He sets out with his faithful French servant Passepartout and picks up other companions along the way.

The crew encounters human sacrifice, mysterious temples, an opium den, wild Apache Indians and storms at sea.

Director and set designer Dennis Jones goes all out with the production, posting a huge world map as a backdrop that shows the travelers' route in bright red lights. An oversized newspaper reports their adventures and a large pocket watch drops down to keep their time.

In keeping with the larger-than-life theme, the acting is big, cartoonish and highly stylized. While this approach could be a disaster with a less skilled cast, it works here because every performer is consistent in maintaining the style.

Ty Smith is refined and proper as Fogg. The moral hero, he epitomizes the British values of courtesy, courage, reserve, generosity and duty.

But Smith's character is too perfect to be the real star of the show. He is upstaged by Jonathan Spivey as an inept inspector who believes Fogg is a robber; Philip D'Amore as Fogg's loyal servant Passepartout; and Dustin Tucker as an array of colorful characters from around the globe.

Spivey's inspector is the opposite of Fogg -- cowardly, excitable and stingy. Like Inspector Clouseau in "The Pink Panther" films, Spivey takes the character to hilarious extremes.

D'Amore gets laughs with his exaggerated French accent and gift for physical comedy. One of his finest moments is when he mimes climbing out of a train and then hanging under the cars just above the tracks.

Tucker, who appeared on Broadway in the 1999 production of "The Rainmaker," turns in a tour de force as a cowboy, sailor, Chinese clerk, Indian guide and a host of other characters. He makes each character a separate, memorable and very funny individual.

Gorgeous Laura Castle fills the only female role as Fogg's sweet and devoted love interest. John Bell rounds out the cast as an adept sound effects artist/ticket taker.

It's a credit to Jones' expert direction that the cast creates the impression of an elephant ride without the elephants and a bumpy sea voyage without a boat.

Tracy M. Ward's costumes span elegant British elite to exotic ethnic wear.

"Around the World in 80 Days" is top-notch, G-rated family entertainment. Like Disneyland, this show delights children without boring adults.

Bee arts writer Lisa Millegan can be reached at 578-2313 or lmillegan@modbee.com.