Bart DeLorenzo directs the stage work based on the Jules Verne novel. Performances will begin Jan. 9, 2009, and continue through Feb. 1, 2009, with an official opening night Jan. 14, 2009, at the Drury Theatre.
In addition to Farley as Phileas Fogg, Around the World will feature Joe Faust (Steppenwolf's Mother Courage and Her Children), Anna Khaja (Stuff Happens), Brian Sills (The Lion King) and Michael Webber (Gypsy at Ravinia).
The fast-paced production, which is filled with rapid costume changes, "begins in 1872 in story-theatre mode as we learn that Phileas Fogg (Farley) has hired a new servant, Passepartout (Sills), because the old servant brought his shaving water two degrees too hot," according to press notes. "Fogg then wagers with colleagues at the Reform Club that he can make it around the world in 80 days, a possibility that has just been written of in the newspaper. To complicate matters, the bumbling, inept lawman, Detective Fix (Webber), has mistaken Fogg for a notorious bank robber and tenaciously dogs Fogg’s footsteps around the globe. In India, Fogg has a few days to spare and rescues Aouda (Khaja), a Parsi princess, from an involuntary suttee and she joins their journey until Fogg can assure her safety. The clock ticks and tension builds as danger, romance, and hilarious surprises abound in this whirlwind, family fare adventure across seven continents."
The design team for Around the World in 80 Days includes Takeshi Kata (scenic design), Ann Closs-Farley (costume design), Lap Chi Chu (lighting design) and James C. Swonger (sound design).
In addition to co-authoring the Off-Broadway musical Bat Boy, Farley has appeared onstage in Gulliver's Travels, George Orwell's 1984, The Black Rider, Marley's Ghost, The Seagull and the HBO movie "...And the Band Played On." He is currently at work on the new musical Stranger. Tickets are available by phoning (216) 795-7000 or by visiting ClevelandPlayhouse.
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Founded in 1915, the Cleveland Play House has presented the world premieres of Randal Myler's It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, Michele Lowe's The Smell of the Kill, Eric Coble's Bright Ideas and Seth Greenland's Jerusalem.
