‘Around the World in 80 Days’ @ Theatre Frisco
Production photo by Alex Rain; graphics courtesy of Theatre Frisco
—Hannah Kneen
Calling all wanderers!
Around the World in 80 Days has made its way to Theatre Frisco’s Discovery Center. Adapted by Mark Brown from the famous 1873 Jules Verne novel of the same name, and well directed by Mikey Abrams, the show feeds the adventurous spirit with its silly humor, imaginative ideas, and wholesome characters.
The story revolves around wealthy Englishman Phileas Fogg (played by Blair Mitchell), who has decided he will attempt to circumnavigate the world in only 80 days, using all the new and exciting modes of transportation available—many of them newly invented. By 1872 when the fictional journey takes place, air balloons had been around for a while, but the transcontinental railroad in the U.S. (1869) had just opened, as had the Suez Canal (1869), and a timely connection to the Indian railways (1870). Readers ate it up.
Despite the skepticism of his London peers, Fogg is so confident in his capability that he makes a bet that will lose him an exorbitant amount of money should he fail. Accompanied by good-humored and resourceful servant Passepartout (Edward Treminio), he sets out to follow his meticulously organized travel plan—and return to London within the agreed upon time frame.
Unbeknownst to Fogg, he is being trailed by tenacious Detective Fix (played by Christian Black) who believes Fogg to the escaped bank robber in a recent London heist. Slowed down by warrants, storms (and an inability to properly introduce himself without revealing he’s a detective), Fix stalks Fogg on his global journey, doing his best (subtly, he thinks) to pry information out of Passepartout.
But subtle isn’t the name of the game in this show—everything in the world of the play thrives on theatricality, and the play is full of wacky hijinks and silly shenanigans just perfect for the ultra-theatrical slant of the show. The seven actors (who play a total of 39 parts) create this world as they go, with things they “find” lying around on the stage. (Bravo to prop designer Elise Knox and stage manager Elena Tirado.)
Several highlights include kazoos, upon which the performers enthusiastically play the theme from the Indiana Jones movies, a cluster of cloaks, a vacuum cleaner that becomes an elephant, bubbles standing in for opium, and of course, the classic Monty Python move of tapping coconuts together to imitate the sound of a horse.
Everything is mish-mashed and hodgepodge, but the controlled chaos suits the story perfectly. The journey, as the program notes, takes place “in the audience’s and actors’ imagination” as much as it does anywhere else.
To emphasize this point, most of the sounds in the show are foley sound effects—created onstage in such a way as to seem improvised from whatever was lying around when this little theater troupe decided to traipse through the story. In particular, actors Shaun “Willow” Breland and Rae Harvill did a fantastic job ensuring the foley (and the improvised prop collection) were hilarious when the moment was right, but unobtrusive otherwise. It gave the sound an “in the moment” feel that was charming.
Josh Hensley’s sound design topped up the foley sound nicely, but occasionally it was difficult to hear the actors over the music when they had lines. Otherwise the tech was very well incorporated into the spontaneous feel of the show.
The cast is enthusiastic and engaged. Christian Black’s performance as Detective Fix is utterly committed and extremely entertaining. Edward Treminio’s Passepartout has an endearing sort of charm. He put me in mind of Sancho Panza to the almost Don Quixote-esque Phileas Fogg. Meanwhile, Mitchell’s Fogg is the constant center around which the world of the story swirls and shifts. He is played with a certain gravitas that contrasts nicely with the silliness of the theatrical world he wanders through. Mitchell’s performance is well met by Molly Kessler’s rather down-to-earth Aouda, a woman Fogg and Passepartout rescue who then joins them for the journey and becomes Fogg’s love interest.
The only real criticism I have is in regards to clarity. Sometimes it was difficult to decipher what the actors were saying, whether because of funny accents, loud music, difficult lines, or a simple lack of volume. Cleaning up the beginning beat, as the actors enter and discover the book they are about to jump into, could go a long way to clarify the plot at the start. The theatricality and fun the actors were having (switching between characters and creating the story with clever props and costumes) came across brilliantly. But I think the show would have benefitted from being bookended a little more clearly—and if those tricky lines were easier to hear.
That said, I definitely had fun with this one. Jules Verne is famous for good reason and his adventurous stories and brave characters have a lot of charm. Theatre Frisco’s production has a lively style, and a terrific handle on the spirit of this tale.
WHEN: October 17-November 2, 2025
WHERE: Frisco Discovery Center (black box), | 8004 N. Dallas Parkway, Frisco TX
WEB: theatrefrisco.com
