I’ve been working on a one-act version of “Around the World in 80 Days.” With most theatres only streaming productions, I feel shorter plays (no intermission) are going to be more popular. And for years my friend David Emmes has been pushing me to do a one-act version.

I’m changing it up a bit from the two-act version, so I went back to the book to look up a few things. I came across this passage from the book. It’s been 20 years since I wrote the script and I can’t remember what I was thinking when I transformed what Verne wrote to what I wrote. (Frankly, I can’t remember how I do that with most of my adaptations. When I go back and look at what I’ve done, I usually feel like someone else wrote the scripts.) And it appears I took another section of the book and put it in the scene after the watch business and before ‘Passengers will get out here!’

Anyway, I felt it was fun to revisit.

What Jules Verne Wrote

The next day Sir Francis Cromarty asked Passepartout what time it was; to which, on consulting his watch, he replied that it was three in the morning. This famous timepiece, always regulated on the Greenwich meridian, which was now some seventy-seven degrees westward, was at least four hours slow. Sir Francis corrected Passepartout’s time, whereupon the latter made the same remark that he had done to Fix; and upon the general insisting that the watch should be regulated in each new meridian, since he was constantly going eastward, that is in the face of the sun, and therefore the days were shorter by four minutes for each degree gone over, Passepartout obstinately refused to alter his watch, which he kept at London time. It was an innocent delusion which could harm no one. The train stopped, at eight o’clock, in the midst of a glade some fifteen miles beyond Rothal, where there were several bungalows, and workmen’s cabins. The conductor, passing along the carriages, shouted, ‘Passengers will get out here!’

What I Wrote

SIR FRANCIS. At half-past twelve the train stops at Burhanpur. Towards evening, we enter the Satpura Mountains, and the next morning, at eight o’clock-

PASSEPARTOUT. Four o’clock.

SIR FRANCIS. (looking at his watch)  No, it’s eight o’clock.

PASSEPARTOUT. (looks at “his” watch) My watch says it is four o’clock.

SIR FRANCIS. I’m afraid your watch is slow.

PASSEPARTOUT. My watch? A family watch, monsieur, which has come down from my great-grandfather? Slow? It doesn’t vary five minutes in the year.

SIR FRANCIS. Have you adjusted your watch since leaving London?

PASSEPARTOUT. It is a perfect timepiece!

SIR FRANCIS. I don’t doubt that. But since you are constantly moving eastward, the days are shorter by four minutes for each degree gone over. Therefore, you will need to adjust-

PASSEPARTOUT. I will not adjust my great-grandfather’s watch!

SIR FRANCIS. Very well. The next day, at eight o’clock-

PASSEPARTOUT. Four o’clock.

SIR FRANCIS. The train rushes through a glade some fifteen miles beyond Rothal. (sotto voce) It’s eight o’clock.

PASSEPARTOUT. I heard that.

SIR FRANCIS. Ah, we’re speeding along now.

PASSEPARTOUT. It says here that India is very dangerous. Is that true?

SIR FRANCIS. Not all of India is dangerous.

PASSEPARTOUT. That is a relief.

SIR FRANCIS. The area we’re passing through now, however, is extremely dangerous.

PASSEPARTOUT. It is?

SIR FRANCIS. Yes. Thanks to Feringhea, the King of the Stranglers.

PASSEPARTOUT. King of the Stranglers?

SIR FRANCIS. Yes. He and his men, in honour of the goddess of Death, strangle victims of all ages. This area can scarcely be travelled over without corpses being found in every direction.

PASSEPARTOUT. How horrible.

SIR FRANCIS. Yes.

PASSEPARTOUT. I hope we get out of here soon.

SIR FRANCIS Don’t worry. This locomotive is guided by an English engineer and fed with English coal. We’ll be in Calcutta before you know it.

The train stops.

The INDIAN TRAIN CONDUCTOR enters.

INDIAN TRAIN CONDUCTOR. Passengers will get out here!

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The great thing about having a Christmas show along with other scripts means that this is the most wonderful time of year for productions of my shows. This holiday season has been a busy one. December 6 is a particularly busy day. I have 5 productions opening that night. I’m very grateful for theatre choosing to do my shows.. Here are some of the productions around ye olde globe.

December 3 – 22. Around the World in 80 Days at the Istanbul State Theatre in Istanbul, Turkey

December 6 – 15. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at Sapulpa Community Theatre in Sapulpa, OK.

December 6 – 22. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at Clarion Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, CA

December 6 – 22. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at Peninsula Community Theatre in Newport News, VA

December 6 – 15. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at Epping Community Theater in Epping, NH

December 6 – 15. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at the Evendale Bell Tower Center in Cincinnati, OH

December 10 – 28. Around the World in 80 Days at the Waterfront Playhouse in Key West, FL.

December 12 – 14. Around the World in 80 Days at Mansfield Timberview HS (I love it when schools do my shows)

December 13 – 22. Around the World in 80 Days at Savannah Rep PLAYShop in Savannah, GA.

December 19 – 29. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at the Lake Country Playhouse in Hartland, WI

Last Month

I’m not sure what productions I had last month, but I do know of these two.

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at the Volcano Theatre Company in Volcano, CA

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge at the Southfields Theatre Group in Southfields, England

The post It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year appeared first on Mark Brown - Writer.

The Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton, Ohio is producing my play Around the World in 80 Days. The show runs Feb 28 – March 17.

If the production is as good as the marketing, it’s going to be a smash hit! The Human Race Theatre has some of the best marketing I’ve ever seen. If you’re in the Dayton, Ohio area, please stop by to see the show.

The Cast

The cast looks like a fun one.

Lovely Carroll

Lovely Carroll plays Aouda. She joins (and this is off the top of my heard) Bruce Warren, Mark Shanahan, Brad DePlanche, Eric Hissom, Greg Wood, and Sheffield Chastain as actors who have done more than one production of the show. Lovlee was in the North Coast Rep’s production of Around the World in 80 Days last year.

Jared Joplin

Jared Joplin stars as Phileas Fogg. I don’t know him but I like that in his bio he writes “Jared is absolutely (liquid “u”) thrilled.” Anyone who references the liquid “u” is okay in my book.

Jake Lockwood

Jake Lockwood plays the Man of Many Faces (17 different characters). He has a fabulous name. It’s old Hollywood. Reminds me of Don Lockwood from Singin’ in the Rain.

Patrick Earl Phillips

Patrick Earl Phillips plays Passepartout. I think Patrick should add III to the end of his name. Even if he isn’t the third.

Darlene Spencer

Darlene Spencer will be Detective Fix. I’ve seen two other productions that have used an actress to play the role and both performances were beyond tremendous.

The Director

The show is directed by Joe Reed. If it’s the Joe Deer I think it is, he’s the Chair of the Department of Theatre at Wright State University and a huge musical theatre guy. Which means I need to get Tom Jones the Musical to him and see if he has any ideas about getting that puppy up on its feet.

The Info

Run to get your tickets!

Around the World in 80 Days

The Human Race Theatre Company
Performances are at the Metropolitan Art Center’s Loft Theatre, 126 North Main Street, downtown Dayton, Ohio.

Feb 28 – Mar 17

Tickets can be purchased three ways:
On line
Calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630
At the Schuster Center box office

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Years ago I was asked to write playwright’s notes for the playbill for the Colony Theatre’s production of Around the World in 80 Days. I wrote my notes and gave them to my wife to read. She read about 3/4 of the way and thought “My husband has lost it. He’s rambling. He’s all over the place.” And then she got to the last paragraph and said to me “I can’t believe you tied all of that together.”

And almost every review of the show said, “read the playwright’s notes.” Here’s what I wrote:

There’s no balloon! First and foremost. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s no balloon. I cannot stress this enough. I’ve said this from the very first day when several of my friends and I sat around discussing one of our favorite subjects—what novels would make good stage adaptations—and Around the World in 80 Days came up.  Someone said, “It’ll be great. We’ll follow the balloon from country to country.” I piped in with, ‘There’s no balloon.” I hadn’t even read the novel but somehow I knew there wasn’t a balloon in it. How I knew this little bit of trivia I’ll never know. It’s like my knowing that Hack Wilson holds the single season RBI record. It’s just something I know. There’s no balloon. There’s no balloon in the book. There’s no balloon in my script. It’s the curse of the movie, really. The first one. The one with David Niven. It won five Academy Awards. The film had a balloon. It’s what everyone remembers. But there’s no balloon in the book and there’s no balloon in this show. So if you’ve come to see a trip around the world in a balloon, get out of your seat right now and demand your money back. You’ll be sorely disappointed if you stay.

I wish I could tell you that I’ve been a lifelong Jules Verne fanatic. That I’ve memorized every one of his novels…in French. That I spent my childhood trying to dig to the Center of the Earth. That I go to Jules Verne conventions dressed as Captain Nemo. That I’ve decorated my bedroom to look just like Nemo’s submarine, the Nautilus.  I’m sorry. I’d be lying. But I once went on the Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ride in DisneyWorld…well I got in the sub, got panic-stricken with claustrophobia, and got right out. And I was in the Tom Hanks-produced mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. That should count for something.

My first draft of the script was nearly as long as Fogg’s journey around the world. (Oh, I should probably note here that it’s Phileas Fogg. Not Phineas. Almost everyone thinks it’s Phineas. It’s not. It’s Phileas. I don’t know why people think that. But they do.) It felt like eighty days. I was almost forced to put in a dinner break and serve food from around the world. Which brings me to the first bit of historical information. In 1872, the year this play takes place and the year Verne wrote the novel, the first diner was started in Providence, Rhode Island. I note this not only because you can order almost anything in the world to eat in a diner, but also because I’m from New Jersey. The Garden State, my eye. It should be renamed the Diner State. New Jersey has more diners than any other state in the union (and in the world, for that matter) and is sometimes referred to as the Diner Capital of the World. Also, the first baseball game was played in New Jersey, as was the first intercollegiate football game. New Jersey also has a Trash Museum, a Spoon Museum, and the State Shell is the Knobbed-Whelk…but I digress.

So through a series of readings and workshops at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival in Orlando, Florida, I was able to get the script down to two hours. Among the many scenes I cut, I ended up cutting a very funny (at least I thought it was funny) scene with a Mormon. Although people laughed, the general consensus was they thought it was poking fun at Mormons. Okay, it was. But wait ’til you see this play. I poke fun at nearly everyone. How the Mormons escaped unscathed I’ll never know. But now that I think about it, the Mormon scene was right out of the book. So Verne is the one to blame. I mention this because I’m about to come to the second bit of historical information. In 1872, Brigham Young, Second Prophet of the Mormon Church, was arrested for bigamy. He had 25 wives. I’m undecided as to whether Young was the luckiest man for having 25 wives or the dumbest. I have one wife and I can’t decide which I am. (My wife is reading over my shoulder and has just whispered, “You better say you’re the luckiest or you’re a dead man.”) I’m the luckiest.

Which brings me to the third bit of historical information. In 1872, in defiance of the law, Susan B. Anthony voted for the first time. At the time, it was illegal for women to vote. She was arrested, taken to trial, and fined $100.00. She never paid it. I also believe she originated the saying, “I’m sticking it to the man,” but don’t quote me on that.

And I’d like to think that Susan voted for Victoria Woodhull. In 1872, Victoria Woodhull was the first woman nominated for the U.S. Presidency. Victoria, who used to perform a spiritualist act with her sister, Tennessee, advocated an eight-hour workday, graduated income tax, and profit sharing. Scandalous. She was also the first female stockbroker on Wall Street. Ironically enough, I hear tell that Susan voted for Horace Greeley.

And now, in a desperate effort to tie all of this together, let me come back to the non-existent balloon. The balloon you won’t see in this production. In 1783, a sheep, a rooster, and a duck (I know, it sounds like “walk into a bar” should follow) became the first hot-air balloon passengers in Versailles, France (France being Jules Verne’s birthplace). Verne worked as a stockbroker (like Victoria Woodhull) until he wrote Five Weeks in a Balloon. (Not to be confused with the forty-five-day-longer journey Around the World in Eighty Days). Verne’s inspiration for Around the World in Eighty Days was most likely George Francis Train (if only his last name was Balloon), who in 1870 traveled around the world in (there are conflicting reports here) sixty-seven or eighty days. George Francis Train was jailed on obscenity charges while defending Victoria Woodhull. The first U.S. manned hot-air balloon flight was by Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a Frenchman, in 1783. He flew from Philadelphia to Deptford Township, NJ. (New Jersey being my birthplace). Deptford is also home to the fabulous Five Points Diner. And in a moment of truth-is-stranger -than-fiction, I was born in Deptford Township, and their slogan is “First Flight in America.”

I hope you enjoy the show, but whatever you do, don’t whisper to the person next to you, “Where the heck is the balloon?”

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New Bern Civic Theatre in New Bern, NC is producing my play Around the World in 80 Days, Sept 8 -17. That makes two productions opening in the same week (Servant Stage is the other production).

Pay no attention to the helicopter. It didn’t exist in 1872, but would have made the trip a whole lot easier.

New Bern, NC, along the mighty Neuse River is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola. Seriously. I hear tell that if you open a fire hydrant, Pepsi flows through the town.

The Cast

The show stars: Patrick Gaskins, Austin Arrington, George Oliver, Wesley Gerard and Kelly Rogers. Neil Oliver is the understudy for Phileas Fogg.

Info

Around the World in 80 Days
New Bern Civic Theatre
September 8, 9, 15, 16 @ 7:30pm; September 10, 17 @ 2pm
Ticket Prices
• Orchestra — Advance: $18, Door: $20, Students & Active Duty Military: $12
• Balcony — Advance: $17, Door: $19, Students & Active Duty Military: $10
Sales Tax
NBCT is required by the State of North Carolina to charge a sales tax of 6.75% on all ticket sales
Online Service Fee
$2 per ticket

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Servant Stage Company in Lancaster, PA will be producing my play Around the World in 80 Days, Sept 7 – 17. (I have another production opening the same week at New Bern Civic Theatre.)

I’ve seen some pictures of the Servant Stage production and the costumes and set look gorgeous.

Cast

The production stars: Dan Deal, Andrew Zahn, Kristen Brewer, Jacob Daniel Cummings and Brian McCreary.

Tickets

All tickets are pay what you want! Let’s hope someone wants to pay Hamilton priced tickets. Buy your tickets here.

Thanks

Thanks everyone at Servan Stage. Break loads of legs and have a great time.

Info

Around the World in 80 Days
Servant Stage Company
Sept 7 – 17
Lancaster Alliance Church
210 Pitney Road
Lancaster, PA 17601

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The Hedgerow Theatre Company in Rose Valley, PA is going Around the World in 80 Days. And according to the reviews they’re doing a bang up job of it.

“Director Damon Bonetti and his ensemble of five gifted comedic actors (portraying 39 characters) breathe great comedic life into Brown’s script, while still finding its heart.” ~ DC Metro

“It’s precisely the sort of thing you want to witness on a lazy summer night.” ~ Newsworks

The production stars:

Jared Reed as Phileas Fogg.
Sarah Knittel as Passepartout (In the past I’ve seen two different women play the role of Passepartout and both actresses killed it. I hear Sarah is doing the same).
Mark Swift as Detective Fix.
Hanna Gaffney as Aouda.
Zoran Kovcic as Everybody Else.

Damon Bonetti directs.
Set designer Shaun Yates
Sound designer Aaron Oster
Costume designer Janus Stefanowicz

Runs: July  6 – August 13.

And if you think the Hedgerow Theatre Company is some Johnny Come Lately theatre, you’re in for a big surprise. The theatre has been around since 1923! Yes, 1923!

Congratulations to everyone at the Hedgerow Theatre Company (especially the dressers, who are the real magicians of the show) for putting on such a wonderful production. Thanks so much.

*Just for fun, check out the Hedgerow Theatre blog and click the link on my name to see my alternate life as a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.

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The Omaha Community Playhouse, the country’s largest community theatre (more on that in a bit), is producing my play Around the World in 80 Days. It runs January 20 -February 12.

I hate to point these things out but my OCD gets the better of me. Here’s the poster for the show. Can you spot the mistake?

The Largest Community Theatre

So it turns out that the Omaha Community Playhouse is the country’s largest community theatre. It is 94 years old, has 35 full-time employees, more than 1,000 volunteers and 5,000 season ticket holders!! Holy hell-o kitty!? Amazing. I know a lot of LORT theatres that don’t have those kind of stats.

Around the World in 80 Days

The show stars:

Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek as Phileas Fogg; Ablan Roblin as Jean Passepartout; Teri Fender as Aouda; And I’m guessing two more actors. I can’t find any information on them. They’re sort of like the professor and Maryann from Gilligan’s Island. And the rest.

The director is Carl Beck, a pillar of Nebraska Theatre. Now I have a connection, sort of, to Carl and the Playhouse. Years ago, back when I was starting out as an actor, I sent my headshot and photo to Carl several times for a job at the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, the professional touring wing of the Playhouse. I never got a job there. I never got a phone call. I didn’t even get a rock. The theatre was much better off without me. Believe me. But I’m glad that I’m finally showing up at the Playhouse. I knew I’d get there one day.

I love this photo. It’s a shot of the costume plot. It looks a lot like one of the many charts I made when I was writing the script.

Thank You

A big thank you to Carl, Kimberly Faith Hickman (Artistic Director) and everyone at the Omaha Community Playhouse for producing one of my shows. I really appreciate it.

I don’t always drink tea. But when I do, I make it English Breakfast.

The Skinny

Around the World in 80 Day

Omaha Community Playhouse
6915 Cass St, Omaha, NE 68132
Jan 20 – Feb 12
Buy tickets here.

Answer

My watch is off by 16 years!

The Statue of Liberty.

The play takes place in 1872. The Statue of Liberty wasn’t completed until 1888.

Although most likely there were drawings of it in 1872.

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Hey everyone in the Santa Clarita, California area, hie thee to the Canyon Theatre Guild this month to see their production of Around the World in 80 Days.

If you have kids, go see the show either October 8, 14, or 15. Kids under 15 are free! What a deal.

Here’s the Skinny

Friday @ 8PM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/14
Saturdays @ 2PM . . . . . . . . . 9/24, 10/1, 10/15, 10/29
Saturdays @ 8PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/8, 10/22
Sundays @ 2PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9/25, 10/9
Sunday @ 6PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/23, 10/30

T i c k e t P r i c e s ~
$19 Adults
$17 Juniors (-18) & Seniors (62+)

BOX OFFICE: 661-799-2702

The Canyon Theatre is located at 24242 Main Street, Newhall, CA 91321-2911

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A little while back I wrote about the Perry Awards and how Maurer Productions OnStage received 8 nominations for their production of Around the World in 80 Days.

This production was special to me because it was the first show of mine to be produced within twenty minutes from where I grew up. I’ve been produced all over the world. The USA. Canada. England. India. Turkey. Bangladesh. And the foothills of the Himalayas. But it took sixteen years for one of my plays to be done near my hometown.

Anyway, the Perry Awards were handed out last week and Maurer Productions OnStage nabbed three Perrys. Outstanding supporting actor (Kurt Penny), Outstanding Props in a play (Who knew such a category existed?), and Outstanding production of a play.

Congratulations to everyone at Maurer Productions OnStage for putting together a tremendous production. The awards are well deserved.

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