Alice musical stops short of reaching Wonderland
Since Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865, the novel has never been out of print, with the classic tale following Alice falling through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world. The books will never go out of style, with characters like The Hatter and The Queen of Hearts, bound to live on for many more years yet.
However, Neil Eckersley’s Wonderland takes on a whole new approach to the timeless story of Alice, bringing it into the modern age with a musical adaptation and a mix up of characters. The contemporary tale follows the story of Alice, a single mum who is still desperately in love with her ex-husband, who has just lost her job and car and lives with her daughter in a block of flats.
Alice, played by Kerry Ellis, along with her daughter Ellie and neighbour Jack, are transported into the magical, and incredibly mad, world of Wonderland. Although the show is a modern take on the story, Alice still meets the classic characters, including the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat, who all guide her through a journey of discovering what she needs to change about herself, and try and get her loved ones back home.
The show stars Coronation Street star Wendi Peters as the Queen of Hearts and is packed full of infectious songs, which have the traits of singalong musicals. Various impressive scenes, including a huge talking looking glass and even a dungeon, make the stage look magical.
Young actress Naomi Morris, who played the role of Alice’s daughter Ellie was incredible and one that you should expect to see more of in the future as she was confident, charming and a very good singer. However, the real star of the show is without a doubt the Mad Hatter, played by Natalie McQueen, her take on such an iconic character was simply brilliant and funny.
Although thoroughly enjoyable, the show lacked charisma and the choreography needed to be much sharper, with various members of the cast often looking lost on stage. The Queen of Hearts was only in two scenes and at times, the show is just too different from the original tale.
It was also hard to relate to the character of Alice and the neighbour Jack, and although they are both fantastic singers, they didn’t quite get the audience on their side like other characters.
The show is still a fun night out and with so much colour and lively characters, it is extremely entertaining and well worth a watch.
Wonderland runs until Saturday at The New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and is set to return to the Midlands at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in July 2017.
