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My critical views of and suggestions for Wonderland

The characters Alice meets throughout her journey through Wonderland are reminiscent of people she knows in the real world, ala Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Alice seems to recognize the first few characters from her real life, but after that her memory seems a bit shady. When she first meets Tweedledee and Tweedledum (as a pair of Siamese twins) in the elevator that takes her to Wonderland, she asks them if they were just at the party she was at. Moments later, the same two actors portray the Caterpillar and El Gato (the Cheshire Cat), and she recognizes them again, going so far as to remember the Cheshire Cat as the man who asked her to dance at her party – paralleling their dance as Alice and the Cheshire Cat.

However, she doesn’t seem to recognize the White Rabbit (aka her agent), her White Knight, Jack (aka her husband, Jack), the Queen of Hearts (aka her publisher), or the Mad Hatter (aka someone from the party who is obviously involved in the publishing process and who intimidates her).

I found myself wondering about her memory lapse especially after her encounter with the White Knight. After all, if she recognized some stranger who asked her to dance at her book party, wouldn’t she recognize her own husband? Other than a possible book error that may be in the process of being corrected, perhaps the writers are trying to show her confusion with real-world people connections and memories intentionally lapsing in Wonderland.

Other critics have mentioned that the ending is unemotional and sudden. I can agree that it was a bit confusing and perhaps tied up too quickly, between the final chess sequence and the sudden dream sequence before all is resolved. For one, the Queen seems to acquiesce too quickly when she declares it Chloe’s unbirthday. For someone with that much power to suddenly become that obliging was questionable.

Perhaps, after “Finding Wonderland,” when the family is reunited, Alice and Jack could sing a reprisal of something together as they walk through the door, adding some connection to their journey through Wonderland as Alice and the White Knight.

The show seemed to come to an end so suddenly and quickly, with no major crescendo – it could be likened to anticipating fireworks, and then hearing the “BOOM” but seeing no bright colors.

The latest publicity indicates that the show’s authors, directors, and producers are listening to their audiences and critics, and have already been working on rewrites for Wonderland. This show is truly alive with changes to the book and the music!

All that said… I truly love the concept behind Wonderland, and look forward to seeing how the show continues to develop! I appreciate being among one of the first audiences to see it as it goes through its transformation. I feel as though I have been involved as part of the creative process, and I intend to follow this project to its end, when it will hopefully appear on Broadway. I only see a bright future ahead for Wonderland!

If you’re able to see Wonderland, here’s my suggestion: Throw any preconceptions out the window and just enjoy it!

P.S. A note to theatre-goers:

The theatre is NOT a bar. At the Wonderland performance I attended in Tampa, the theatre allowed certain beverages inside the theatre. That’s all well and good, but there were two men who took advantage of it, treating the performance like a sporting event. They came in with an alcoholic beverage in each hand, and cheered at a specific moment that was not meant for cheering.

Halfway through the first act, they got up for more drinks, and returned with — you bet! — a drink in each hand. And they were reseated — with the show still going on, though I believe they received a little talking-to from the ushers. Of course they drank during the intermission, but when they left again during the second act for more drinks, they never returned. I can only assume the ushers finally had enough and didn’t let them back in.

I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of theatre-going — I was flabbergasted! People, theatre performances are NOT sporting events, nor bars, and they should be treated with proper respect. Consider the performers on stage! It’s just rude, and there’s no getting around that.

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