Mr. F Reviews: Wonderland

UPDATE: Wonderland closed on May 15, 2011 after 31 previews and 33 performances.

Well, it's official Wonderland has opened on Broadway ... and it is a hot mess! Now, to be honest I am easily impressed by most Broadway theatre. Most shows have something great that makes me walk away and say 'wow', but this show had little to no point.

My history with this show takes me back to the summer of 2010. I was searching for a musical to produce with a middle school group and came across a show called WONDERLAND. Not the same version that is on Broadway. So, like any modern director, I turned to YouTube to see if this show has been produced before. I came upon clips of the regional run of the Wonderland show. I was intrigued by a modern retelling. After all, it had been only a few months ago that I written and directed my own modern version of the Wizard of Oz (titled OZ). So, I came across the concept album, added it to my iPod and on my way to Minnesota (to visit family) listened.

The concept music was pretty good, a few exceptional songs. So, on April 1, 2011, I heading into New York, alone, to see a show that none of my friends wanted to see. The beautiful Marquis Theatre was packed with hopefuls, like myself who were hoping to be in for a treat. Boy were we wrong.

The show felt as though we went from one scene to another with no rhyme or reason. Now before any of you go crazy on me, I know the original Alice in Wonderland was a series of vignettes, this is not! Each scene tries to relate to the last and tell some sort of story - but it falls short of that.

As far as the cast goes - I could seriously do without Janet Decal as Alice. She sounds all whiny and "complainy" the whole show. I wanted to just shout to her "END IT ALL ALREADY", but alas, I didn't. Edward Staudenmayer as the White Rabbit was a nightmare! He sounds like he needs a serious cough drop and I couldn't tell if his character was a coward or just plain stupid. The highlights of the cast came from Darren Ritchie (white knight) and Carly Rose Sonenclar (Chloe). The White Knight and his Knight boy-band were some much needed comedy and talent. And Carly's voice is that of an angel! The rest of the cast has talent and yet became forgettable.

The set projections were also pretty good at best.

Rating
Cast: C+
Set Design: B-
Lighting: C+
Music (songs): C+
Orchestra: A-
Direction: C

Best overall actor: Darren Ritchie
Best overall actress: Carly Rose Soneclar

Let me know what you thought:

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