ARTS

Asolo's '20,000' presents an old adventure in a new light

Jules Verne classic become multi-media spectacular

Carrie Seidman
carrie.seidman@heraldtribune.com
Craig Francis and Rick Miller's updating of the Jules Verne classic, "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea" incorporates a myriad of projections, special effects and puppets at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. / Photo by Gary W. Sweetman

When the show begins at 7 p.m., you’re asked to leave your cell phone on and the play starts with an actor taking a selfie with the audience, you know from the get-go that “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” is not going to be typical Sarasota theater fare. The last of the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s 2016-2017 season lineup may be based on the classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne that was published in 1870, but its delivery and message are entirely 2017.

This multi-media stage adaptation by Rick Miller and Craig Francis (Miller also directs) updates Verne’s venerable adventure story about a crazed captain aboard a giant submarine. It keeps some of the novel’s important themes while adding a modern twist by touching on serious issues like the dangers of ocean pollution and human disconnection. But there’s nothing heavy-handed in the telling, with an astonishing array of video projections and special effects and a steady stream of rock ‘em, sock ‘em action that makes it all feel like a graphic novel come to life.

Modern-day doctoral student Jules (Brendan McMahon), who studies ocean pollution and loves Verne’s novel, is in his seventh agonizing year of trying to complete his dissertation, “Downward Spiral: Inevitable Collapse of Ocean Ecosystems.” For diversion, he turns to playing with action figures on a child-size puppet stage – the scene, including his magnified hands, is projected on a large screen behind him – and imagining traveling back in time to investigate an enormous aquatic creature with his academic advisor (Suzy Jane Hunt) as his distaff counterpart, Professor Aronnax.

After meeting up with an illiterate Canadian harpoonist, Ned Land (Marcel Jeannin), the trio is kidnapped by Captain Nemo (Serafin Falcon), who has created an isolated “utopia” inside his magnificent submarine, the Nautilus. All kinds of mishaps, adventures and arguments about freedom, dictatorship and isolation ensue until Jules and his friends escape, leaving behind a message about the need for care of the ocean’s fragile ecosystems and the equally important need for human communication and collaboration.

But it’s not the story itself that makes this production so winning, it’s how it is told, with a miraculous array of stunning projections by Deco Dawson, floating oceanic puppets by Shawn Kettner and Marcus Jamin, spooky lighting by Itai Erdal and an ear-shattering but effective sound design by Richard Feren. When they say multi-media, they really mean it. We jump back and forth, from Jules’ small scale action figure battles to huge and stunningly beautiful depictions of the undulating sea and gravity-less underwater scenes, magically created by the use of scrims and projections and lighting.

Moreover, in an instant – say, when the actors jump at the same moment -- the perspective can change from a side angle to an overhead (the dinner table scene is miraculous), or from a tiny boat on a tempestuous sea to the enormous tentacles of a giant squid. And watch out for that all too realistic floating angle fish that may come within inches of your head if you’re near an aisle.

In trying to incorporate all these special effects as well as a meaningful message, the story itself inevitably becomes a little convoluted and muddled. And while the actors are all convincing, there is little nuance in their cartoonish characterizations and an awful lot of volume in their sometimes unintelligible shouted lines. But there are certainly no dull moments in this hour and 45 minute production; sensory overload is probably a more real possibility.

You can even stay stimulated even during the 15-minute intermission by downloading an app (20,000, Kidoons Inc.) to your phone before arriving – thus the “leave your phone on” (muted) message at the start. It allows viewers to watch additional video, enter special codes, add Instagram-style selfies and, in the end, personally pledge a commitment to respecting and preserving our oceans and planet. Judging by the meager show of hands at the start, Sarasota has a way to go toward embracing this theatrical cell phone experience, but my (adult) son and I joined in and we thought it was grand.

Throughout the show’s run – through July 1 – the Asolo has scheduled a variety of related activities in conjunction with local aquatic and educational organizations, from Mote Marine and the South Florida Museum, to the Sarasota and Manatee County Libraries, including a “Family Day” on June 17. But even without the add-ons, #20Kshow – the hashtag for social media posts about the production, which are greatly encouraged – is a refreshing sea change.