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Straz Center in Tampa, Florida on January 3, 2010

I recently had the distinct pleasure of seeing the world premiere of the new musical Wonderland: Alice’s New Musical Adventure, the first of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) Broadway Genesis Project. It began previews in Tampa on November 24, 2009, opened on December 5, closing on January 3, and then opened to previews in Houston on January 15, with an official opening date of January 20, where it will play through February 14.

Synopsis of Wonderland

According to the official Wonderland website:

Wonderland is set in present-day Manhattan and a timeless Wonderland. The new musical tells the story of author Alice Cornwinkle (a descendent of Lewis Carroll’s muse Alice Liddell), who is struggling with her career and her daughter, Chloe.

Alice is a children’s book writer in Manhattan who is suffering through a creative block, estranged from her husband and alienated from her daughter. It takes a trip to a strange-yet-familiar Wonderland for her to regain her life’s balance and again find the love and everyday magic that reside in us all – if we know how to look. Wildhorn’s score taps into numerous pop styles, and Murphy’s lyrics provide both wit and wisdom.

A bit of background on Wonderland

Early reviews I’d read stated mixed feelings, describing the music as very catchy, but the storyline as a bit difficult to follow. I saw it on the very last night of its Tampa run, and by this time I felt the storyline was quite easy to follow. Part of its charm actually lies in its fantastical, nonsensical diversions. Look at the story it takes its premise from – Lewis Carroll uses lots of nonsensical imagery in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.

In fact, I wonder if some of the critics who reviewed Wonderland initially may not have been very familiar with Through the Looking-Glass. Most people are familiar with the story of Alice in Wonderland, especially the Disney version. However, the musical Wonderland seems to take only basic elements from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and then uses even more elements of Through the Looking-Glass to tell the larger part of its story, involving the chess game that Alice must win in order to find her daughter Chloe and return home again. It is understandable that one might reflect on Wonderland with some confusion if one is only familiar with the first part of Alice’s story, her first adventures in Wonderland. Some familiarity with Through the Looking-Glass would definitely benefit.

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