[NEohioPAL]Berko review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Cleveland Play House)

[Roy Berko]

Alex and Noah Give A Mild “Thumbs Up” to CPH’s ‘Alice
In Wonderland’

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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Who better to review a children’s play then children? 
As I have done before with child centered plays, I
took my grandsons, Alex (10) and Noah Berko (8) to see
the Cleveland Play House’s ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND.’

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name
Lewis Carroll, was a British author, mathematician,
logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer who
lived in the mid to late 1800s.  His most famous
writings are ‘ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND’ and
its sequel ‘THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS.’

The original book was illustrated by the famous Sir
John Tenniel.  His drawings are those which usually
illustrate any telling of the story.  The volume was a
phenomenal success, but questions still arise over the
tale’s meaning.  It is generally felt that the story
is that of the author, and Alice is his alter ego.  
It is also conjectured that the entire story is a
mathematical formula which when solved gives the clues
for a positive philosophy by which to live one’s life.
 

The book has been transformed into numerous films,
television shows, ice skating shows and even an
interactive museum. 

The story concerns Alice who “falls” down a rabbit
hole and has a set of wonderful adventures as she
attempts to find her way out.  In reality, as the
Cleveland Play House production seems to indicate, she
may have just fallen asleep and dreamed the whole
thing.  Whatever.  An adventure it is and the
characters are vivid.  The March Hare, the Queen of
Hearts, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the
Cheshire Cat are known to most children and adults in
the English-speaking world.

The short, approximately one-hour adaptation by Eric
Schmiedl, is a perfect length for children.   Alex and
Noah were alert throughout.  Alex especially liked
“the caterpillar” and Noah’s favorite was the
vertically hanging table for the tea party with the
cups and saucers held in place by magnets.  He also
thought Nigel, Alice’s cat (Jared Nichols, who
marvelously morphed from person to feline) was “funny”
and was his favorite character.

They both indicated they found several scenes “too
long” and “boring after a while.”  These included the
trial and the tea party.  Noah said that he “didn’t
like it when the actors were whispering lines to each
other” during the trial scene.  

>From an adult perspective I found the pacing rather
slow.  I have always thought that children’s theatre
needs to have variety, action, the unusual and be
participatory.  This production did well on involving
the audience.  The unusual was taken care of with such
devices as the long caterpillar with all the legs
moving and the unusal placement of the tea party
table.  There needed to be more schticks and gimmicks,
more slapstick, more glee to really grab and hold the
kids attention.

A treat was the question-and-answer session following
the show when the kids asked probing and fun questions
of the cast.  These were well handled by Kristen
O’Connor, Philllip Carroll, Kevin Joseph Kelly, Colin
Cook, Jared Nichols and Gilgamesh A. Tagget.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:   Alex and Noah gave CPH’S ‘ALICE IN
WONDERLAND’  a mild but not enthusiastic “thumbs up.”

For tickets to  ‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND,’  which runs
through December 11 in the  intimate Studio One
Theatre  of the Cleveland Play House call 216-795-7000
or go on line to www.clevelandplayhouse.com. 




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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