adventures in wonderland
Okay, because there was actually a lot of things I wanted to say about the Wonderland musical and everything I related to thatdork were quickly dispatched via brief text messages, I thought I would regale my beautiful LJ with my thoughts about the premiere and what I had seen prior to that. (Plus, clearly I need to think of new things to throw in my LJ other than oxygen).
Finding Wonderland
First off, I've always loved the idea of Alice's Adventur
es in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and admired the way that Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll crafted the literature. Nevermind that he was slightly off his rocker and was shrooming it like nobody's business. Nevermind that he was mostly a mathematician first--okay, maybe I liked that he is a mathematician first and foremost. Heck, I practically grew up with various retellings of Alice in Wonderland and reading his works on children's games of mathematics and logic (I've actually picked up a few of them when I was at uni--they were really very good!). Perhaps the only person who must love the Alice in Wonderland theme in the family more than me is my sister.
That said, when thatdork told me about the new Wonderland musical just coming off fresh from the Broadway presses, I literally squeed. Seriously, an Alice in Wonderland musical that wasn't Disney-based? Whut? Really? Immediately I had a dozen questions waiting to spill out. Where could I get a copy of the songs so I can hear first before going to see the musical blindsided? Would the smoking and utterly shroomish Caterpillar be there? How would they depict Cheshire? WHAT ABOUT THE MAD HATTER OMG IS HE GOING TO BE PROMINENT I REALLY HOPE HE IS!?! OMG THE MAD HATTER IS A WOMAN HER OUTFIT IS SO COOL IN THE PICTURES IS SHE GONNA BE PSYCHEDELLICALLY SICK IN THE PERFORMANCE?!
My anxieties toward the first time I watched the musical (weeks before it actually premiered with the final cues and line-changes) was clearly not evident, but I was still worried. Hopefully I'd like it, enough to tell my sister to watch it with me when it actually did come out.
And boy, oh boy. The first time already blew my mind. I chortled all throughout the Caterpillar's introduction, falsetto-ing the ever-prominent Wonderland question of "Who. Are. YOU?" And his Legs. I cannot even begin to describe that without laughing fondly at how they modernized the Caterpillar. My reaction to El Gato was highly similar, I was laughing again. The Spanish touch was fantastic (I almost wanted to dance along with Alice, honestly!). And the White Knight? Clearly stole the show with his fantastic voice and his killer boy band gyrations.
Then the Mad Hatter finally showed herself and oh goodness. That was it. I might have been biased to begin with, considering the Mad Hatter is my absolute favorite character of Wonderland's fantastic cast of characters. (Caterpillar second, then Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, but they're hardly used for the most part.) But boy oh boy. I totally wanted her costume. And her hat. And her mind-sapping machines.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the first showing, even though I was told things would change and be tweaked for the actual premiere.
Through the Looking Glass
My sister--already jealous that I'd gone to see a Wonderland variation--agreed to come with me to the opening night. And my goodness, they've completely tweaked the songs, some of the routines, and the lines to provide a more consistent, cohesive structure. The final product was definitely much better than the planning stages. And this is definitely a good thing.
Just a few favorites and changes that I thought were phenomenal:
Some of the things I wasn't so fond of (though these are very minimal):
Ugh. Okay. I swear, that's practically it. I loved both times I saw the musical. And once I stop obsessing, I should totally back to my regular LJ-silent self!
Until next time!
Finding Wonderland
First off, I've always loved the idea of Alice's Adventur
es in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and admired the way that Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll crafted the literature. Nevermind that he was slightly off his rocker and was shrooming it like nobody's business. Nevermind that he was mostly a mathematician first--okay, maybe I liked that he is a mathematician first and foremost. Heck, I practically grew up with various retellings of Alice in Wonderland and reading his works on children's games of mathematics and logic (I've actually picked up a few of them when I was at uni--they were really very good!). Perhaps the only person who must love the Alice in Wonderland theme in the family more than me is my sister.
That said, when thatdork told me about the new Wonderland musical just coming off fresh from the Broadway presses, I literally squeed. Seriously, an Alice in Wonderland musical that wasn't Disney-based? Whut? Really? Immediately I had a dozen questions waiting to spill out. Where could I get a copy of the songs so I can hear first before going to see the musical blindsided? Would the smoking and utterly shroomish Caterpillar be there? How would they depict Cheshire? WHAT ABOUT THE MAD HATTER OMG IS HE GOING TO BE PROMINENT I REALLY HOPE HE IS!?! OMG THE MAD HATTER IS A WOMAN HER OUTFIT IS SO COOL IN THE PICTURES IS SHE GONNA BE PSYCHEDELLICALLY SICK IN THE PERFORMANCE?!
My anxieties toward the first time I watched the musical (weeks before it actually premiered with the final cues and line-changes) was clearly not evident, but I was still worried. Hopefully I'd like it, enough to tell my sister to watch it with me when it actually did come out.
And boy, oh boy. The first time already blew my mind. I chortled all throughout the Caterpillar's introduction, falsetto-ing the ever-prominent Wonderland question of "Who. Are. YOU?" And his Legs. I cannot even begin to describe that without laughing fondly at how they modernized the Caterpillar. My reaction to El Gato was highly similar, I was laughing again. The Spanish touch was fantastic (I almost wanted to dance along with Alice, honestly!). And the White Knight? Clearly stole the show with his fantastic voice and his killer boy band gyrations.
Then the Mad Hatter finally showed herself and oh goodness. That was it. I might have been biased to begin with, considering the Mad Hatter is my absolute favorite character of Wonderland's fantastic cast of characters. (Caterpillar second, then Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, but they're hardly used for the most part.) But boy oh boy. I totally wanted her costume. And her hat. And her mind-sapping machines.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the first showing, even though I was told things would change and be tweaked for the actual premiere.
Through the Looking Glass
My sister--already jealous that I'd gone to see a Wonderland variation--agreed to come with me to the opening night. And my goodness, they've completely tweaked the songs, some of the routines, and the lines to provide a more consistent, cohesive structure. The final product was definitely much better than the planning stages. And this is definitely a good thing.
Just a few favorites and changes that I thought were phenomenal:
- Che's small "invisibility" storyline. They actually continued the running joke a few more times throughout the musical, which made him more comical than before.
- The duet for "Home"! It definitely sounded much better as a duet, and showcased Chloe's voice much more than her brief solo in "Worst Day of My Life." Chloe was much more interactive with the set this time around, too, so it didn't feel like she was just sitting there singing for most of the first number.
- The White Knight's cronies and their boy band routine manifested in "One Knight" and returned at another full blast in a more tweaked "Together." I warned my sister about the boy band routine, but even she turned to me after with "this completely blew my expectations on it." She loved both numbers, of course, and so did the crowd. Honestly, the entire theatre practically laughed and clapped and cheered the guys on.
- The ballet routine during the Victorian Gentleman scene with a costume-Alice was a nice touch. I didn't really care much about the Victorian Gentleman scene to begin with, but the simple addition of the actual Alice in Wonderland dancing to a soft melody was touching.
- MORE SNOGGING! Oh yes. You could definitely tell the chemistry between the two lovebirds. Not complaining. I thought it was treeeees fabuleux!
- The queen's numbers were lengthened. Which was practically good stuff. She hardly showed up as is, and she's such an adorable character. She and the White Knight were probably my sister's favorites in the show. Oh, and El Gato, of course.
- Kate Shindle added a Mad Hatter twitch, which I didn't catch on to my first time seeing it. It was great. You could seriously tell that she was off the rocker, even as she belted her songs. If Wonderland and Looking Glass Land had fates determined by singing, The Mad Hatter would have destroyed everyone by now.
Some of the things I wasn't so fond of (though these are very minimal):
- I loooove the "Through the Looking Glass" song, and I was hoping that they'd lengthen it (come on, "Defying Gravity" was a freaking 7-minute routine >__>). They did, somewhat, but they kind of changed the sing-song lines that I really liked. Kind of sad. I would have to wait to hear it out of the upcoming soundtrack copy to reserve more judgment on it.
- Some of the lines that I found funny were totally omitted! "Off with her soul" I liked, though I do understand their desire to uncheesify the ending. Still! At least they kept even more of the hilarious ones.
Ugh. Okay. I swear, that's practically it. I loved both times I saw the musical. And once I stop obsessing, I should totally back to my regular LJ-silent self!
Until next time!