Alice in Wonderland Opens January 24

Coralville - Travel down the rabbit hole and join Alice's madcap adventures in Wonderland in this fast-paced stage adaptation of the timeless film, presented by Nolte Academy.

This musical production features updated dialogue and new arrangements of classic Disney songs like "I'm Late," "The Un-Birthday Song," and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."

Tickets ($12-$22) are available online, by phone at 319.248.9370, and in person at the CCPA box office and Coralville Rec Center.


Source: CCPA newsletter

TCR's Alice Is Entrancing

by Matthew Falduto
Photo by Alisabeth Photography

TCR - As a boy, I was fascinated by Star Wars. Many of my made-up adventures involved piloting starships, swinging across chasms, and battling with lightsabers. My ten-year-old imagination soared in the free and unlimited way that children manage effortlessly. As we grow older, we lose that freedom to imagine as 'real life' weighs us down with jobs and car payments and laundry. This is frankly tragic, but expected. What is more tragic -- and less expected -- is a child losing her imagination. That's the basis for Theatre Cedar Rapids' intriguing production of Alice in Wonderland, which has been adapted by Jason Alberty.

As my daughters and I settled into our seats, we took measure of the stage. It was mostly bare, with a table or two and clothes on a rack. My youngest daughter -- she's almost five -- guessed that the actors might wear those clothes during the play. The actors mingled with the audience, and in fact the play opens with the actors breaking the fourth wall. We even hear the stage manager calling actors to places and cueing the lights. This creates a storytelling feel to the entire play which is very effective, particularly for shows aimed at kids. The audience feels part of the action.

Each actor, with one exception, portrays more than one character. Even Alice (Victoria Virag) is sometimes the actress and sometimes Alice Liddell, the girl who supposedly inspired Charles Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll, to write the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the source material for this play. While the play is called Alice in Wonderland, this is unlike any Alice adaptation you might have seen. We begin with Charles (Andrew Clancey) attempting to take Alice through the story we all know and love. However, Alice is a modern girl, not a 19th-Century kid, and she resists his attempts to follow the narrative. Instead, she insists Charles skip parts of the story that don't appeal to her; for instance, she's not interested in crying and creating a pool of tears as Alice does in chapter two of the book. As Charles tells her early on, this is her story, so he has no choice but to allow the modern Alice to follow her imagination wherever it takes her. That's the thrust of the story - the wonder and power of a child's imagination. We follow Alice as she re-discovers that wonder.

The ensemble is strong and the actors work very well together. Early on, Charles recites the Jabberwocky poem (which is actually part of the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, but methinks writer Jason Alberty just loves it too much to not use it), and the actors create the Jabberwocky creature together. It's the epitome of teamwork in acting, and the creature is wonderful to behold. Each actor has a chance to shine individually as well. Andy Lesieur is wonderfully insane as the Mad Hatter; James Trainor is perfectly goofy as the March Hare. Mary Pat Schulte commands the stage as The Queen of Hearts. When she arrives, we are asking, "Where have you been all play?"; we want more of that inspired lunacy. Kudos to director Leslie Chariper for just allowing her adult actors to play... for it is clear that each of these actors are having a blast with this show, being silly and whimsical and being like... well, kids. And the other child actor besides Alice -- second-grader Arjun Palaniappan -- is adorable as the White Rabbit.

Holding the entire play together are the two leads, Virag and Clancey. Virag expertly portrays that plucky 21st-Century girl we all know and love. We are rooting for her from scene one and are thrilled when she takes charge of the story and changes the Hatter and March Hare into characters she can relate to. Bravo to writer Alberty for creating a heroine my daughters can look up to. Clancey is simply excellent as Dodgson. He's stuffy and funny and keeps the action moving along.

There's so little to criticize in this show. Perhaps we hear the theme a few more times than we need to, but the show is aimed at kids, so a little repetition may not be a bad thing. Joni Sackett's costumes are delightful, particularly the Caterpillar's multi-colored one. The music between scenes is fun and lively, keeping the audience entertained as the necessary business of changing the set is accomplished. All in all, it is a charming show. I would strongly encourage you to take your kids to Alice in Wonderland. Both my-eight-year-old daughter and her little sister were entranced, literally sitting of the edge of their seats, their imaginations skyrocketing through the show with Alice. And well, so was I, their job-obsessed, bill-paying, laundry-doing dad!

Alice in Wonderland runs through May 19 (7:30 Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 Sunday) on Theatre Cedar Rapids' mainstage. Tickets are $25 Premium/$20 Standard ($15 Youth/Student).

Alice in Wonderland Opens April 27

Photo by Alisabeth Photography

TCR - This weekend, TCR will open a brand-new stage version of Lewis Carroll's classic tale Alice in Wonderland. This adaptation, written by Jason Alberty, takes a slightly different spin on the story.

"In many ways, this is the Alice that everyone knows," says director Leslie Charipar. "It has the same characters, the same conflicts, the same adventures. But in this version we sort of deconstruct the story to begin with, put it back together in the second act, and then deconstruct it again at the end."

The frame narrative involves a troupe of contemporary actors and a contemporary Alice, who is on a journey to rediscover her imagination.

"This version of Alice is about imagination, so we ask the audience to engage their imagination right off the bat," Charipar says. "There’s a ton of simple magic, which is my favorite. It’s the kind of thing that if you sit there and think for a second, you’d know exactly how we did it, but it’ll be much more fun if you just let go and suspend your disbelief for a little bit, and let the magic wash over you. As Alice and the audience’s imaginations grow, the line between fantasy and reality become blurred, and before we know it, we’ve created a fully realized fantasy."

Alice in Wonderland runs April 27 through May 19 (7:30 Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 Sunday) on the mainstage at Theatre Cedar Rapids. Tickets are $25 Premium/$20 Standard($15 Youth/Student).

Alice in Wonderland Cast List

TCR - TCR has announced its cast for Alice in Wonderland, a new adaptation of the Lewis Carroll's classic tale, adapted by Jason Alberty and directed by Leslie Charipar.


Actress #4 – The Caterpillar/7 of Spades - Theresa Alt
Actor #1 – Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll (Knave)- Andrew Clancey
Actress #5-The Cheshire Cat/Ace of Spades/Executioner - Amanda M. Eulberg
Actor #2-Mad Hatter (Manly) - Andy Lesieur
Actor #3-Dormouse (The Guinea Pig Sasha)/5 of Spades - Skylar Matthias
White Rabbit - Arjun Palaniappan
Actress #3-The Queen of Hearts - Mary Pat Schulte
Actor #4-The March Hare (Crazy Squirrel)/2 of Spades - James E. Trainor III
Actress #1-Alice Liddell - Victoria Virag
Actor #5-The King - Steve Worthington

Auditions for Alice In Wonderland begin February 18

TCR - Auditions for TCR's production of Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Jason Alberty and directed by Leslie Charipar, will be held at TCR beginning Saturday, February 18th at 2pm.

Youth auditions are on the 18th; adult auditions will be February 19th and 20th at 7pm. Callbacks will be February 21st at 7pm. The cast-list includes 5 male roles and 5 female roles with some double-casting. (See the list here).