Word: gitano
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Opening on a very minimal, shoddy-looking set (a white sheet with a painted Big Ben and a blue sky), we are introduced to Phileas Fogg (Colum Amory), the British explorer who one day decides to have his valet Gitano (Keith Barsky) pack his bags for a trip around the world. With the plot thus taken care of, we can get on with the music...
...performed in neat, self-contained gobbets. Fogg's first number, "A Man Who Likes to Get Things Done," is accelerated from an already brisk tempo to create the sense of rush and meticulousness in which Fogg prides himself; this anal-retention is in direct contrast to the next number, Gitano's "Improvise," which feels more licentious and uninhibited, with a Spanish rhythm. This mood music then gives way to a series of clipped scenes, each with its own song: "Ze Sidealk Cafe" is cleverly lyricized, sprinkled with stock French expressions ("au contraire...laissez-faire...Camembert") and sung individually by chorus...
Other aspects of this 'musical' are not as impressive. The choreography, while intricate and interesting, is either poorly-executed, comes flying out of nowhere, or both. Gitano's "Improvise" dance leaps out at us without warning, backflips and all. We wonder why he is dancing, who the women dancers are, and why he looks so rigid and strained. There is no sense of progression or goal here. Similarly, during the two disjointed Indian dances, all onstage action freezes inexplicably. A rush-hour scene in New York City, however, is choreographed with ingenious commotion, presenting a smorgasbord of traffic, cops, spills...
...Harvard (except for Gitano) cast serves to sing the music, and not much else; they do very little acting throughout. Colum Amory as Phileas Fogg is characterless at first, but by the end gives some emotional depth to the tight British explorer. Wynne Love as Maureen has perfected her Irish accent, and simultaneously sings and acts with soul. The chorus is unanimated in the background, providing no action or interest of note. The script doesn't allow for the actors to do very much else besides sing, and as the show progresses we are struck with the distinct impression that...
...Fogg drops his straight-laced lifestyle and starts to dance the hot Spanish number performed in the third scene, throwing all propriety, consistency, and logic to the wind. A balloon holding Gitano comes crashing with great bravado like a deus ex machina through the roof of the stage, and, with a load of Irish children, a Chinese dragon, and a cheerleader, the grand finale is performed as a bewildering spectacle of confusion. Like a ride through "It's a Small World," Eighty Days is choppy but full of energy, disappointing on the order of the musical but impressive...