“Ingeniously directed...and stylishly designed...At its best, it has a childlike sensibility, creating a delightful elephant out of a cloak, a credible shipboard scene with just a couple of tilting chairs and a life preserver...Not all of the secondary figures are fully realized...But it’s still a neat trick, as is the deft stage magic...The show sometimes takes the adventure plot so seriously that it forgets to allow for silliness, though the giddy moments...seemed to delight the children most.”
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"Eason’s faithful and funny adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1873 adventure yarn packs plenty of entertainment for everyone...What’s particularly winning about Eason’s smart text and Heskins’ lively production is that they encourage youngsters to use their imaginations...Slapstick shenanigans, silent movie-style chases, and native dance gestures further animate the swift two-act proceedings, which Heskins paces beautifully...Sterling entertainment for kids and their families."
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"Laughter and oohs and ahs abound from an audience of all ages during this exuberant and wildly theatrical stage adaptation...Playwright Laura Eason’s inspired treatment is witty, smart and playfully reimagines this episodic saga for the stage...There’s old-fashioned wizardry galore due to director Theresa Heskins’ phenomenal staging. With breakneck pacing Ms. Heskins’ has the cast delightfully enact vignette after vignette with slapstick, verbal panache, and physical flair."
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"This play is a fun play enjoyed by people of all ages. Wonderful costumes, lighting and direction with fine acting makes it worthwhile to see. 'Around the World in 80 Days' has a little of something for everyone. Whether it is the adult reliving his childhood or that young person with a wonderment of a good story about a man who circles the globe in order to fulfill his wager, stories like this are always fun and spark one's inner youth."
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“Theatrical re-imaging of Verne’s timeless story...A talented ensemble...play over 125 characters in this high-caliber, globe-trotting tale. The interactions between the cast is phenomenal...I felt as if I was truly transported to other continents...The moments of comic relief were well-timed and had the audience roaring with laughter...The show did not feel dated...This whirlwind adventure offers something for everyone. There’s danger, comedy, romance, dance and theatrical magic mix."
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"While all this is indubitably rollicking good fun, I missed Verne’s sly, ironic sideswipes at stock market and empire (comments on colonialism given to Mrs Aouda came across as forced)...That aside, Theresa Heskins’s direction lacks nothing in verve and elan. James Atherton’s music is so much part of the action it is almost a character in itself, and the main roles are just as you could wish them."
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"In the beginning, the staging takes some getting used to. The first segment is a seemingly endless repetition of the entire cast shouting their every movement as they turn and step in unison...Overall, 'Around the World in 80 Days' is an enjoyable, professional, fast-paced, and funny show. It is far from profound, but it is delightfully charming, and a fine example of what the National Players can do as they journey around the country in 300 days."
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"A madcap romp lovingly directed by Philip Lehl, who taps into a sense of playfulness and delicious imagination, whizzing the five actors playing 39 parts around the George Theatre stage...It’s delightfully campy and often sweetly sincere in the hands of the half-dozen artists realizing the story...This is a show that entertains, that showcases the power of imagination, that reminds us what it is to play and explore."
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