Wonderland...

Ferguson Hall
David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts
Tampa, FL
December 4, 2009

When you meet someone for the first time, you are usually asked the same question. What’s your name, or the less polite who are you? On the surface they may seem interchangeable, yet for Alice, it took a trip to Wonderland to realize they can be mutually exclusive.

Wonderland is a new musical written and produced by a creative team assembled by the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts (formerly TBPAC). Marketed as a modern retelling of Lewis Caroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Wonderland delivers as such with laughter, song and delight.

Set in modern Manhattan, Wonderland follows the story of up-and-coming author Alice Cornwinkle. We learn about Alice’s irreconcilable differences with husband Jack which lead their daughter Chloe to runaway from home. Chloe leaves a riddle within a first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to find her. Alice takes an elevator “down the rabbit hole” into Wonderland to find the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the White Knight, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts. Chloe’s riddle states Alice must reach the eighth square through the eighth door and become Queen in order to find her again. Along the way, Alice learns about love, family, her new book’s title and who she is.

With a story with so many recognizable characters as Alice in Wonderland, precise casting is crucial. The caliber of acting was fantastic. With Julie Brooks as Chloe, Jose Llana as El Gato, Tommar Wilson as the Caterpillar, Nikki Snelson as the Mad Hatter, and Karen Mason as the Queen of Hearts, Wonderland is jam-packed with exhilarating performances. Fresh off of her run with In the Heights on Broadway, Janet Dacal delivers a superb performance as Alice. Dacal’s solid and believable portrayal of Alice leaves no question in casting decisions. Darren Ritchie’s stellar performance as Jack and the White Knight left me wanting more as the curtain fell at the end of the show. Bravo.

When I first heard that TBPAC was producing it’s own musical about Alice in Wonderland, I was skeptical. Although, when I read the list of actors contracted for the production I warmed up to the idea. By the end of the first act, I wondered why I questioned Wonderland in the first place.

Wonderland’s expert use of set changes, costumes, lights and song will surely entertain each audience during it's run. One note. The original book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is considered the epitome of literary nonsense. There are times when the entire company is dressed in the classic Alice attire, men and women alike. A two headed, three legged thing escorts Alice into Wonderland. I took these elements to follow the nonsensical tone of the book which allowed me to enjoy the show even more.

Wonderland is the first production of the Straz Center’s Broadway Genesis Project. The project is to produce and workshop productions poised for national tours and Broadway. With the exceptional production quality of Wonderland I would not be surprised to find it playing the Great White Way in no time. I applaud the Straz Center’s choice of Ferguson Hall. With 1,042 seats, you won’t have a bad seat with enough room to invite everyone you know. All in all, I endorse this production one hundred percent. I’m positive you’ll leave the theatre with questions just as I did, but wake up the next morning glad you saw it.



Wonderland is currently playing at the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts’ Ferguson Hall. See this production now while it’s still at ground zero. For more information and tickets please click here. Tickets start at $38.50.

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