a review of alice in wonderland at gct
> >
> >
> Children's theatre can be a dangerously long evening, even when one has
> a child on the stage, or is just there to be supportive. Alice in
> Wonderland can be dangerously adapted for the stage, even if one has the
> best intentions for both child and adult alike.
>
> Last night's production of Alice in Wonderland at the Germantown
> Community Theatre (a dangerously small space:)) was neither dangerously
> long or dangerously adapted, and in this writer's opinion, was some of
> the best children's theatre in quite some time in Memphis.
>
> A simple stage design awaited us on our arrival, with a large book
> >> containing large pages, waiting to be turned. The actors made their way
> >> to the stage in a single file, lamenting the fact that they had no
> >> Alice. In an ingenious little moment I presume was conceived by
> >> Marques Brown, the cast chooses an Alice out of the audience, and off we
> >> go (we even have a disgruntled audience member leave, shouting "no
> >> fair").
> >>
> >> Alice, played with lilt and charm by Sidney Marr, recites some of her
> >> lines just a bit pedantically, but she is comfortable enough on stage to
> >> keep the action moving at a refreshingly frantic pace. One thing that
> >> can make for a long evening in children's theatre is the children not
> >> picking up their cues, but this Alice (and all of her fellow actors)
> >> really do a great job picking up the cues. Subsequently, the pace is
> >> picked up and kept up, and all of a sudden it was intermission. Really.
> >> Miss Marr takes us on a great journey down the rabbit hole after she
> >> puts down her IPod, and she deserves to be center stage, which is where
> >> she was most of the night.
> >>
> >> Special mention should be given to three other actors, namely William
> >> Durden as the Hatter, Michaela Amos as the Duchess, and Rachel Moore as
> >> the Queen of Hearts. Mr Durden was delightfully daffy as the Hatter,
> >> doing a good job with his delivery, and as I mentioned earlier, was one
> >> of a company of actors who kept the action going by picking up his cues.
> >> Bravo for that, and please keep doing it:).
> >>
> >> Ms Amos as the Duchess did a wonderful job with a role that was not in
> >> the recent film with Johnny Depp, but I'm glad she and the role were
> >> included here. There was intention and through-line to her character,
> >> and when she gave her baby to Alice to get ready for the croquet match,
> >> Alice revealed the baby as really being a pig-to which a very young
> >> patron was heard to exclaim, "That was weird!". Indeed it was weird-and
> >> the thanks for that goes to Ms Amos by setting us up wonderfully with
> >> her deliberately deadpan delivery and delightful timing (once again,
> >> thanks for picking up the cues).
> >>
> >> The Queen is a memorable character anytime anyone reads or sees Alice in
> >> Wonderland, and this Queen does royally well. Rachel Moore is
> >> menacingly adept at making her repeated requests for severance of head
> >> and body from anyone who displeases her, and her stage presence is
> >> perfect for what she is asked to do. Ms. Moore recites her lines with
> >> adroit aplomb, and I know I keep saying it, but-she picked up her cues
> >> so that the second act flew by as well.
> >>
> >> I must close with kudos to Mr Brown for what I presume is his deft hand
> >> at getting all these youngsters to stay committed to what they are doing
> >> on stage and being in the moment. He is credited with the sound design,
> >> so I assume he made the interesting choices of music we heard. The only
> >> fault I would say I found last night was Mr. Brown's misuse of the
> >> possessive in his printed remarks welcoming us to Wonderland. It's is
> >> short for it is, so we should read "the play calls upon ITS cast-not
> >> IT'S cast (sorry, I've been a proofreader in New York when I wasn't
> >> singing). Maybe you can print out some new inserts for next week. The
> >> show deserves to be sold out-so maybe you'll have to print extra maps to
> >> Wonderland.
> >
> Stephen Len White
Posts
4 days ago
