respects our kids' intelligence

the music is catchy and diverse

fluent and enjoyable

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS

BASED ON JULES VERNE'S CLASSIC BEST SELLER
BOOK, LYRICS AND MUSIC BY YARON KAFKAFI
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most beloved MUSICAL

The musical was produced in Israel 3 times since 1999 and is scheduled for a 4th revival with The Haifa Theatre by October 2023.

ALL-STAR CASTS

3 different “all-star” casts played the leading roles, featuring Israel’s top comedians as Passepartout.

1999

2007

2017

2025

BOX OFFICE HIT

Each production was profitable and financially successful.

A futuristic Classic

The story was written in the 19th century and yet foresees not only the tours of the future but also the harmony between cultures, and a multi-cultural wedding in the end.

The Synopsis

Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a wager of £20,000 set by his friends at the Reform Club.
Since Fogg fits the vague description Scotland Yard was given of a bank robber, Detective Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal and follows him until he will obtain a warrant.
While in India, Fogg and Passepartout come across a procession in which a young Indian princess, Aouda, is to undergo sati. Upon learning that the woman is doomed to be burned alive, Fogg decides to rescue her. She joins them for the rest of their journey.

After many adventures, they return to England on time but then Fix arrests Fogg. A short time later, the misunderstanding is cleared up – but it’s too late. Fogg has lost the wager.
The Day after Fogg recognizes his love for Aouda and asks her to marry him. As Passepartout notifies a minister, he learns that they are actually one day earlier and Fogg may still win the wager.

The Original Version

An opportunity for the younger generation to get to know the original story and a world long gone.

ACCLAIMED BY CRITICS

Critics love the show and described it as clever and enjoyable for all ages.

Yehuda Biton
"HaAretz" - Dec. 5, 1999

Yaron Kafkafi's direction is meticulous and rhythmic, and the music is catchy and diverse. He is excellent at merging music with staging and plot, thus creating harmony between the different layers.

Anat Lev-Adler,
"Yediot Ahronot" - Dec. 12, 2007

The Musical "Around The World In Eighty Days" does what hasn't been done here in a while: respects our kids' intelligence. …Two hours overflowing with pleasure.

“Israel Hayom”
December 2017

A production that aims high; fluent and enjoyable. Immensely succeeded in getting and keeping the attention of both kids and their parents.

Israel's most-selling newspapers.

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The Theme Song

Performed by the 2017 cast.

Starring Harel Skaat, Zvika Hadar, Roni Dalumi and Hannah Laslo.
Directed by
Avichay Hacham.
Produced by
Mayan Zelner

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2 scenes from the show

With English subtitles (Taken from the 2007 production)

Around the World in 80 Days

Starring Lior Ashkenazi and Eli Jaspan
Directed by
Yaron Kafkafi
Produced by Yochelman-Asher Productions 2007

A Difficult Man

Starring Eli Jaspan as Passpartout
Directed by
Yaron Kafkafi
Produced by Yochelman-Asher Productions 2007

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CATCHY TUNES

Kafkafi’s adaptation and catchy tunes make this musical an unforgettable show for young and old.
Original Cast
1999
Revival Cast
2007
Revival Cast
2017
Upcoming Revival
December 2025
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Full Synopsis with songs

Scene 1

ACT I

The story begins on October 2, 1872, when an English gentleman by the name of Phileas Fogg enters the Reform Club, as he has done every other afternoon of his life. Each evening he would return home alone, where only his manservant waited for him. No servant ever lasted for more than a week with meticulous Phileas Fogg. One morning a Frenchman enters the Reform Club searching for Mr. Fogg in order to apply for the currently available job of a manservant. The name of this man is Jean Passepartout . . .

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Song No. 1 - Difficult Man
Passepartout and the servants

The servants at the Reform Club warn Jean Passepartout of the terrible life awaiting him with Mr. Fogg as his master.

Scene 2

Passepartout meets Mr. Fogg and is told to begin the job that very day. Fogg goes back to playing whist with his friends and, during the game, talks about the recent robbery at the Bank of England that was carried out by someone who looked like an English gentleman. The other gentlemen speculate that the police will never find the thief, since the world is large enough for him to hide in, but Phileas Fogg insists that the world is not as large as it once was. Thus was born the wager of circumnavigating the world in 80 days, with Fogg promising to return by 9:00 P.M. on Saturday, December 21, 1872.

Song No. 2 - Around the World
Fogg, Passepartout, the gentlemen, and the cast.

In this song Phileas Fogg tells Passepartout about their extraordinary upcoming mission. They say good-by to the gentlemen at Victoria Station. In the following days rumors of this strange wager spread, and the citizens of London make bets among themselves.

Scene 3

Meanwhile, Phileas Fogg and Passepartout arrive in Egypt. They do not know that Scotland Yard has sent a detective by the name of Fix to try and catch the Bank of England thief. Fix has reached the conclusion that the robber is none other than Mr. Fogg, who is using this wager as a means of escaping from England with the stolen money. Fix plans to arrest him as soon as he receives the arrest warrant from England.

Song No. 3 - I Will Catch Him
Fix

Fix swears that he will follow Fogg to the ends of the earth in order to catch him.

Scene 4

Upon arriving in India, they take a train which crosses the entire Indian subcontinent from Bombay to Calcutta. Fifty kilometers before reaching their destination, the train stops, and they discover that the railroad track has never been finished. They must go by foot through the jungle, and, while walking, come upon a suttee ceremony in which the wife of a deceased rajah is being forced to be cremated alive, together with her husband's corpse. Phileas Fogg cannot stand aside while this young woman is burned alive, and decides to rescue her. Passepartout saves the girl using a surprisingly strange idea. The young woman turns out to be a princess named Aouda. Fogg suggests that she accompanies them to Calcutta, and the Princess agrees.

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Song No. 4 - The British Gentleman
Fogg and Passepartout

Fogg is self-satisfied and praises the English way of logical thinking, as opposed to the Frenchman Passepartout, who believes in emotion.

Scene 5

In Calcutta Fix meets Fogg, Passepartout and the Princess. Since the Princess has no relatives in Calcutta, she accepts Fogg's offer to join them on their way to Japan. Fix succeeds in separating Passepartout from his master, and Passepartout is sent alone to Japan.

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Song No. 5 - Between the Sea Waves
Fogg and Aouda

Mr. Fogg and the Princess are left behind, and the two of them enjoy their cruise to Japan on a military ship.

Scene 6

Due to his cold, unemotional character, Phileas Fogg has neither friends nor girlfriends. On the other hand, the Princess has been growing very fond of Fogg, and tries desperately to think of ways to capture his attention.

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Song No. 6 - Look at Me
Aouda and the sailors

The Princess laments the lack of attention from her saviour, Phileas Fogg, who cannot see further than his own nose. She tries to make him jealous by dancing with the sailors on the ship.

Scene 7

Meanwhile, Passepartout has arrived in Japan and has no means of support. He is hungry and decides to give a street show in order to make some money.

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Song No. 7 - I Love With All My Heart
Passepartout and the Japanese

Passepartout befriends the passers-by in the market place by touting all of his talents and means of help that he can offer them in exchange for something to eat.

Scene 8

Phileas and the Princess hear the fuss that Passepartout is making in the street, and the meeting between them is very emotional. They arrive at the port a few minutes too late for the luxury liner, and are forced to take a steamboat across the Pacific Ocean. There is not enough coal to run full speed ahead, and Phileas Fogg comes up with the brilliant idea of buying the ship from its captain and feeding the fire with all the wooden parts of the ship.

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Song No. 8 - Around the World (2)
Fogg, Passepartout Auda, Fix and the cast

Back at the Reform Club in London, the gentlemen again doubt Fogg's chances of keeping on schedule. Fix, who is still in Japan, finally receives his arrest warrant for Phileas Fogg. And, on the ship, the sailors and three enthusiastic guests are on their way to America. Suddenly, the chief sailor notices a strange object in the ocean.

Intermission

Scene 9

ACT II

At the California Hotel in San Francisco, Fogg rewards the strange man whom they found floating on a raft in the ocean. They had given him a lift, and he had allowed them to burn his wooden raft in order to reach the coast of America. They meet Fix again in the hotel, but he cannot arrest Fogg yet because they are not on British soil. A grand ball is taking place tonight in the hotel.

Song No. 9 - Dance with Me
Aouda, Fogg and the cast

Phileas Fogg doesn't know much about dancing, but the Princess, who is already totally in love with him, volunteers to teach him to waltz.

Scene 10

Phileas Fogg wants, so very much, to share his feelings with the Princess, but he has never learned how to express his emotions. he tries, but the bar singer with his love song, keeps confusing him while he tries to express himself.

Song No. 10 - Refusing Love
Fogg and the bar singer

Poor Phileas can state his true feelings only in his heart.

Scene 11

The next day Fogg, Passepartout, Aouda and Fix take a train from San Francisco to New York. A tribe of Indians attacks this train of white men, kidnaps Passepartout, and forces Phileas Fogg to go after his servant and attempt to rescue him. This time Aouda saves the day by talking to the Indian Chief, using both reason and emotion. But only the Chief's wife understands the depth of her ideas. Passepartout is set free and a feast takes place.

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Song No. 11 - Indian Song
Chief's wife and the cast

The Chief's wife sings about the brotherhood of mankind, that we are all flowers of different colours in the same meadow.

Scene 12

Passepartout knows that this delay is costing his master the wager, but Fogg comforts him and promises him that they will find a way. The Chief's wife tells them about a strange craft that they do not know how to operate. Fogg identifies it almost immediately as a hot air balloon.

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Song No. 12 - The Voyage in the Hot Air Balloon
Fogg, Passepartout, Aouda, the gentlemen and the cast

After thanking everyone, the four of them take off in the balloon in the direction of England. The gentlemen back in London sum up Fogg's progress.

Scene 13

They reach England with enough time left to win the wager, but the moment they step on British soil, Fix arrests Fogg, in the name of the law, for robbing the Bank of England.

Fix reports to his supervisor, who tells him that the robber has turned himself in already. Fix sets Fogg free, but it is too late. The clock strikes 9. Phileas Fogg has lost his wager.

The next day, back at Fogg's mansion, Passepartout and the Princess are concerned for Phileas' well-being. Passepartout decides to break down the door when his master suddenly asks the Princess to step in. He tells her that only now, after losing the wager, has he come to understand the really important things in life, such as his love for her. He kneels before her and asks for her hand. The Princess agrees.

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Song No. 13 - When Love Decides
Fogg and Aouda

Phileas and Aouda finally express their feelings for each other.

Scene 14

An even greater surprise awaits Phileas Fogg. Passepartout goes to the Priest to set a date for the wedding, only to find out that today is Saturday and not Sunday as they had all thought. Passepartout rushes back to Phileas and Aouda to inform them that there still may be time to reach the Reform Club, if only they hurry.

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Song No. 14 - Happy Ending
Entire cast

The stress in the Reform Club is palpable, and everyone looks at the hands of the clock. At the first strike of the hour 9, Phileas Fogg enters the Reform Club through the front door, and, in spite of all the odds, wins the wager.

The End

Scene 15
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Song No. 15 - The Epilogue
Entire cast

Phileas Fogg and Princess Aouda marry and live happily ever after.

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Video Clips Archive

2017

  • Around the World in 80 Days - Main Song
  • Around the World in 80 Days - 2017 Trailer
  • Around the World in 80 Days - Complete Show

2007

  • Around the World in 80 Days

    Video clip from the 2007 production.

  • Around the World in 80 Days

    The 2007 production - complete show.

    Directed by Yaron Kafkafi
    Produced by Yochelman-Asher Productions 2007

1999

  • Around the World in 80 Days - 1999

    All the songs from the 1999 first production of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. The cast members are telling the story in their own words.
    Directed by
    Yaron Kafkafi | Produced by Yochelman-Asher Productions 1999

  • Would You Look At Me?

    Galit Giat as Princess Auda has feelings for the British gentlemen who saved her life. This song expresses her frustrated for not being able to get Mr. Phileas Fogg's attention.

    Directed by
    Yaron Kafkafi | Produced by Yochelman-Asher Productions 1999

  • Around the World in 80 Days

    Video clip from the 1999 production. (Directed by Rani Saar)

Photos courtesy Linda Beizer

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