A Classic Comes to Life

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Lookingglass Theatre 

 

Concluding their 30th Anniversary season with a big splash, Lookingglass Theatre brings to life one more big, swashbuckling  literary classic. Co-adapted by David Kersnar and Althos Low, and spectacularly directed by Mr. Kersnar, the production is staged in a style similar to the company’s recent popular and critically successful versions of Moby Dick and Treasure Island. The show features a menagerie of imaginative aquatic puppet creatures (designed by Blair Thomas, Tom Lee and Chris Wooten), spectacular special effects and miniatures (provided by Amanda Herrmann), breathtaking aerial work (created by Sylvia Hernandez-Distasi, with rigging designed by Isaac Schoepp, both associates with the Actors Gymnasium) and a massive, mobile, jaw-dropping scenic design by Todd Rosenthal. Additionally, Christine Binder’s impressive lighting and Rick Sims’ majestic sound design work hand-in-hand to help paint the underwater world of Jules Verne. Every character is enhanced by Sully Ratke’s meticulously-detailed period costumes. This production is a shining example of the strength to be found in perfect artistic collaboration.    

French author Jules Verne’s 1870 sci-fi classic, was subtitled “An Underwater Tour of the World.” More scientifically accurate than his Journey to the Center of the Earth and more exciting than his Around the World in 80 Days, this book remains, even to this day, one of Verne’s most popular novels. Originally serialized in a popular French magazine, the novel tells the adventurous story of French marine biologist, Professor Aronnax, his devoted and faithful young assistant, Conseil and Ned Land, a whaler and master harpooner, all of whom are rescued in the ocean and held captive for months aboard Captain Nemo’s extraordinary submarine, the Nautilus. Their adventures take them around the world beneath the surface of the seven seas.

It begins in 1866, when an expedition is assembled by the United States to seek and destroy a giant, mysterious aquatic creature that’s been attacking sailing ships. Thought to be a giant narwhale, Captain Farragut brings along a noted, French marine biologist to offer expert scientific advice, along with the Canadian harpooner to help kill the creature. In this adaptation, the captain is surprised to discover that Professor Morgan Aronnax is a female, as is her able assistant, Brigette Conseil. After Farragut’s ship is destroyed by Captain Nemo, his crew’s killed except for the three castaway guests. They’re taken prisoner aboard the Nautilus and kept under close observation.

 Gradually the mad and mysterious Captain begins to open up to his prisoners, educating, entertaining and confiding in them, particularly the esteemed professor. The captives are eventually entrusted with secrets heretofore unknown by anyone and they’re given limited run of the ship. Their palettes are treated to various delicacies of the deep; they’re introduced to uncharted lands and the world beneath the waves; the three are also given opportunities to explore aquatic wildlife, geological wonders on the ocean floor and archeological finds, often through the use of Nemo’s unique underwater breathing apparatus. The trio gradually come to witness and fear Nemo’s unpredictable anger and unforeseen mental and emotional degeneration. They soon realize that, if they’re to survive, given the opportunity they must escape their imprisonment.

Although Verne’s novel has already been translated into countless other literary forms, Chicagoans David Kersnar and Steve Pickering (writing under the name of Althos Low) have kept their adaptation truer to the original novel. However, they elected to change the gender of the novel’s protagonist and narrator, along with the Professor’s assistant, in order to broaden the audience for this all-male story and make it equally appealing and identifiable for female theatergoers. Their inspiration was that, during the Victorian era, several female writers assumed a masculine nom de plume in order to get published. If Aronnax wanted be taken seriously in the scientific world of that time, it’s conceivable that she may have actually been a woman writing as a man.

Kasey Foster completely inhabits the cerebral Professor Aronnax. Sometimes played like a kid in a candy store, Ms. Foster makes each new discovery a wonder that the audience shares through her eyes. Participating in the professor’s enthusiasm for new scientific wonders, Lanise Antoine Shelley makes a caring and devoted Brigette Conseil. Walter Briggs’ portrayal of Ned Land is both macho and courageous, with a just a hint of paternal protectiveness. And the always brilliant Kareem Bandealy brings layers of madness and revenge to his passionate and intellectual interpretation of Captain Nemo. The nine-member ensemble, which includes Joe Dempsey as a stalwart, sometimes humorous, Commander Farragut, the captain of the ship that the Nautilus demolishes near the beginning of the play, are all hard-working actors. Playing every character, from obedient members of Nemo’s crew to the much-anticipated giant squid, this company meets every challenge.

The father of the science fiction novel would be pleased at how well his much-loved Victorian story has translated to the 21st century stage. As Jules Verne did with his books, David Kersnar and Althos Low’s production taps into the audience’s imagination. While Lookingglass’ fine theatrical artists provide sights and sounds for the audience to enjoy, Kersnar’s production also encourages theatergoers to create some of their own rousing, thought-provoking experiences through their fancy. This is an exceptional theatrical offering that’s suitable for audiences of all ages, from middle school age to adult. It’s a whale of a tale that’s bound to bring new audiences to Jules Verne’s classic, and oceans of enjoyment by way of this unique, new voyage.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

 

Presented June 1-August 19 by Lookingglass Theatre, 821 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the box office, by calling them at 312-337-0665 or by going to www.lookingglasstheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.