Wonderland the Musical
Cliffs Pavilion
13th February - 18th February 2017
Cliffs Pavilion
13th February - 18th February 2017
I've always thought that Alice in Wonderland was a bit of an odd one. It always slightly shocked me, even as a child, that Disney could possibly make a film about a little girl who drank strange potions without her parents' permission and then went on to mix with strange folk from another land, who all seemed to be off their heads on some sort of acid trip. The Queen of Hearts in particular who, if not 'off her head', was constantly screeching "off with their heads" like some sort of demented Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) and eating jam tarts at strange tea parties. Curiouser and curiouser!
Anyhoo, all this aside, on discovering that this new musical version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland had been adapted into "a contemporary tale reflecting modern day life", I was keen to find out more. In this production with music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, Dracula) and lyrics by Jack Murphy, Alice is a 40 year old divorced mum of teenage daughter, Ellie. They live in a high rise flat and at the top of the show and during the first number, Worst Day, Alice is presented with the news that not only has her ex husband just got remarried, but that she has also been fired from her job. Poor old Alice becomes so disillusioned with life, she declares that she can't live in the real world and no sooner have these words sprung from her mouth, then up springs the White Rabbit ready to whisk her away to Wonderland for a good old fashioned life lesson.
Taking Ellie first and followed by Alice, with the help of Jack, her infatuated neighbour, they all descend down the metaphorical rabbit hole, which in this case and I assume for practical purposes, is the high rise flat's 'out of order' lift. And so the journey of self discovery begins with all the usual Alice in Wonderland characters popping up with advice, including the Mad Hatter, Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, March Hare and of course, the Queen of Hearts.
Anyhoo, all this aside, on discovering that this new musical version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland had been adapted into "a contemporary tale reflecting modern day life", I was keen to find out more. In this production with music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, Dracula) and lyrics by Jack Murphy, Alice is a 40 year old divorced mum of teenage daughter, Ellie. They live in a high rise flat and at the top of the show and during the first number, Worst Day, Alice is presented with the news that not only has her ex husband just got remarried, but that she has also been fired from her job. Poor old Alice becomes so disillusioned with life, she declares that she can't live in the real world and no sooner have these words sprung from her mouth, then up springs the White Rabbit ready to whisk her away to Wonderland for a good old fashioned life lesson.
Taking Ellie first and followed by Alice, with the help of Jack, her infatuated neighbour, they all descend down the metaphorical rabbit hole, which in this case and I assume for practical purposes, is the high rise flat's 'out of order' lift. And so the journey of self discovery begins with all the usual Alice in Wonderland characters popping up with advice, including the Mad Hatter, Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, March Hare and of course, the Queen of Hearts.
Stephen Webb as Jack plus ensemble (credit Paul Coltas)
Unlike a lot of touring productions, Wonderland has not had a West End run and debuted at the Edinburgh Playhouse just last month. The role of Alice is played by Britain's Got Talent contestant, Racheal Wooding, who did a fabulous job on Press night in a big role that probably won't be so daunting for West End favourite, Kerry Ellis, who shares this guest star role at other venues throughout the tour.
The staging, scenery and lighting are all visually outstanding and there are some great performances especially in the 'Looking Glass' scene with Naomi Morris as Ellie returning through the glass as a stroppy teen and also in her song Home. Likewise, with the shy Jack, played by Stephen Webb, returning as a super confident Knight, fronting a boyband with the hilarious song, One Knight, which really raised a few laughs - any lyricist who can put the words 'Curriculum Vitae' into a song completely deserves to get the job in my opinion.
Kayi Ushe, as the caterpillar, has a lovely sassy style to his vocals and you have to admire anyone who, like Dominic Owen as the Cheshire Cat, can sing and do a walking handstand simultaneously.
The staging, scenery and lighting are all visually outstanding and there are some great performances especially in the 'Looking Glass' scene with Naomi Morris as Ellie returning through the glass as a stroppy teen and also in her song Home. Likewise, with the shy Jack, played by Stephen Webb, returning as a super confident Knight, fronting a boyband with the hilarious song, One Knight, which really raised a few laughs - any lyricist who can put the words 'Curriculum Vitae' into a song completely deserves to get the job in my opinion.
Kayi Ushe, as the caterpillar, has a lovely sassy style to his vocals and you have to admire anyone who, like Dominic Owen as the Cheshire Cat, can sing and do a walking handstand simultaneously.
Headliners, Dave Willetts, who plays the White Rabbit never really gets to show off his singing skills until Act 2 when he sings I Am My Own Invention with Alice; and Wendi Peters as the Queen of Hearts is simply a wasted voice in the dressing room for most of the show, making a couple of appearances and only given the opportunity to show off her amazing vocals in Off With Their Heads also in Act 2.
The stand out performance for me was Natalie McQueen as the Mad Hatter who not only made the most of her bonkers role from an acting perspective, but also gave us some great vocals in I Will Prevail and again with Alice in This is Who I Am giving it the full 'girl power' punch.
The show, according to the production's website is suitable for 8 year olds but I have to wonder whether an 8 year old would find this show, with its new subject matter, all that exciting. The storyline is weak, to say the least and, frankly, I didn't really feel that I wanted to emotionally invest in any of the characters in a show that just tends to plod along at a pleasant but predictable rate. The music is good but I didn't go out humming the songs, as the write up in the programme suggested. I would love to see this production given some real grit and gumption in order to beef it up a bit - I mean, look what Wicked did to the Wizard of Oz for goodness sake?
Wonderland still has a wackiness about it which will probably appeal to fans of the original film but, sadly, didn't quite give me the high I had anticipated for this grown up contemporary version.
To find out if Wonderland is your cup of tea pop on to www.southendtheatres.org.uk for tickets or give the box office a call on 01702 351135
The stand out performance for me was Natalie McQueen as the Mad Hatter who not only made the most of her bonkers role from an acting perspective, but also gave us some great vocals in I Will Prevail and again with Alice in This is Who I Am giving it the full 'girl power' punch.
The show, according to the production's website is suitable for 8 year olds but I have to wonder whether an 8 year old would find this show, with its new subject matter, all that exciting. The storyline is weak, to say the least and, frankly, I didn't really feel that I wanted to emotionally invest in any of the characters in a show that just tends to plod along at a pleasant but predictable rate. The music is good but I didn't go out humming the songs, as the write up in the programme suggested. I would love to see this production given some real grit and gumption in order to beef it up a bit - I mean, look what Wicked did to the Wizard of Oz for goodness sake?
Wonderland still has a wackiness about it which will probably appeal to fans of the original film but, sadly, didn't quite give me the high I had anticipated for this grown up contemporary version.
To find out if Wonderland is your cup of tea pop on to www.southendtheatres.org.uk for tickets or give the box office a call on 01702 351135
Ask the Audience
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Jenny, 26, Eastwood
"I've not seen the show before. I read up about it on Wikipedia before I came and there are things that are different in this show to what it says on Wikipedia. I liked the White Rabbit, Ellie, the March Hare and the Queen of Hearts, who I thought we would have seen more of. I enjoyed the show - I thought it was very similar to Wicked actually." |
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Jan, 56, Eastwood
"I was a bit disappointed with the choreography but the singing was really good. I liked 'Who I Am'. There was a bit of a lack of clarity in some of the singing but overall it's been a really enjoyable show and has lots of 'feelgood factor' to it!" |