"Around the World"

[Wellesnet]

This week marks the 70th anniversary of "Around the World", Orson Welles's 1946 Broadway adaptation of Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in Eighty Days":
http://www.wellesnet.com/around-the-wor ... years-ago/

[tadao]

I thoroughly enjoyed the Lost Musicals versions of the show at Sadler's Wells in London. Describing their format as 'Semi-staged' would not do it justice, I recall in particular that the 2013 performance had an effective and extensively worked up and energetic staging within a blackbox theatre and cast in evening attire, with piano accompaniment. Lost Musicals don't appear to have performed for the past couple of years; I hope they'll return!

The Lilly holds a collection of stills of the original production, documenting the staging of the entire show in wide angle and numbering around 60 images if I recall correctly, on fairly small format (4"x3"?) prints. When I viewed them during my visit in 2008, I idly speculated that it would be a fun pet project to synchronise them with a recording from the Lost Musicals team as a simple reconstruction of the show!

[Edit] I should add that as an addition to a Welles-tangential section of a DVD library, the Special Edition 2 disc DVD of the Mike Todd film is a worthwhile purchase. The initial impetus towards the production apparently derives (fairly tortuously) from the Welles show and Alexander Korda's interest in it, although the ultimately resulting film cannot be said to be very Wellesian. Brian Sibley provides a thorough and informative commentary over the long duration of the film, with Welles mentioned briefly at a couple of points; and Welles narrates a slightly reworked vintage tribute to Mike Todd that is included as a special feature. I had avoided purchasing it in the hope of a Blu-ray announcement from Warner Archive, but gave in and bought a cheap used copy after enjoying the movie on TV and was glad I did. Sadly, the argued superior 30 fps version of the film is lost to view and indications are not good for its re-emergence.
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/around-the-world-in-80-days-won-best-pic-oscar-in-56-still-unrestored-now-truly-a-lost-film.306139/
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingto8.htm

[Black Irish]

Recently discovered a Welles-Brecht connection. Welles was slated to direct Charles Laughton in Galileo in collaboration with Brecht himself. And Brecht claimed that Welles’ “Around the World in 80 Days” was the best piece of American theater he’d seen. Any other info? Is Welles’ “frame within a frame” film concept a “Brechtian” idea? Are Welles’ characters “alienated” from the audience - in that the familiar seems strange and vice versa?

I talk about Brecht's V-effekt influencing German Expressionism and how Citizen Kane, according to Welles, didn't draw from cinematic Expressionism but from theater he had staged prior to coming to Hollywood, which, by nature of its time and place, would have been very conscious of Brecht as both author and director.

I read that Welles devoured everything Brecht wrote for and about the theater in preparation to Direct Galileo- which he never did

[Wellesnet]

AROUND THE WORLD — Orson Welles' ill-fated Broadway collaboration with Cole Porter — will be recalled in an upcoming podcast from Porchlight Music Theatre of Chicago. Wellesnet's Ray Kelly took part in the podcast, which will be available on Spotify, YouTube and Facebook beginning Tuesday, January 19.
https://www.wellesnet.com/around-porter-welles/

[Jesse Reiswig]

Dear Ray,

Very much enjoyed the podcast and I was so glad that Porchlight Music Theatre were smart enough to bring you in as resident expert. Thank you for doing it and sharing your great knowledge and research. I wish there had been time to go more in depth into the production history, but I was glad that the program gave an opportunity for a wider audience to hear a 1940s Welles radio broadcast as well.

Jesse

[RayKelly]

Very much enjoyed the podcast and I was so glad that Porchlight Music Theatre were smart enough to bring you in as resident expert. Thank you for doing it and sharing your great knowledge and research. I wish there had been time to go more in depth into the production history, but I was glad that the program gave an opportunity for a wider audience to hear a 1940s Welles radio broadcast as well.

Very kind of you. Porchlight has an entire series like this and it is well worth checking out.

[Colmena]

I gather that this production also included segments on film.
Was this footage saved? If so, can it be seen? Where is it?

"Just askin'..."-- as they say.

[RayKelly]

I gather that this production also included segments on film.
Was this footage saved? If so, can it be seen? Where is it?

Sadly, the footage has been lost.

[Colmena]

Well, maybe it will turn up in a library in Italy, like the lost footage from Too Much Johnson....?

[RayKelly]

Well, maybe it will turn up in a library in Italy, like the lost footage from Too Much Johnson....?

You never know. From what I understand the trunks included footage from Too Much Johnson, The Merchant of Venice, Portrait of Gina, and other material related to the processing of Nella terra di Don Chisciotte and something from Don Quixote.

[Terry]

Fun reconstruction of one of the films, showing how it interacted with the action on stage. Genius-level creativity from Mr. W, not surprisingly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2LIEfZkox8

[Le Chiffre]

That strobe must have been an ingenious effect. Sounds like Welles was really trying to blur the line between theater and film. Good luck to Vincent Longo on this project. He did a good lecture on Welles's drawings at the centennial Welles fest in Woodstock.

[Wellesnet]

Cole Porter's Around the World songs online:
https://www.wellesnet.com/cole-porter-s ... the-world/