Curiouser and Curiouser

Lookingglass Alice – Lookingglass Theatre Company

Known for original, story-centered productions developed by their multitalented ensemble members through physical and improvisational rehearsals, Lookingglass Theatre brings back their highly popular mashup of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  and Through the Looking-Glass for a return visit. It’s been more than ten years since “Lookingglass Alice” was first presented by this inventive theatre company, to wild, popular and critical acclaim. The production is created in association with the Actors Gymnasium, a northside theatrical school devoted to instructing circus arts and physical performance of all kinds. The company likes to boast that it teaches its participants how to fly–both physically, emotionally and creatively. In “Lookingglass Alice” this is precisely what the actors and the audience experience together.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, is famous for authoring his two children’s classics, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass in the late 19th century. Dodgson was many things: a writer, a mathematician, a deacon in the Anglican Church, a photographer and a logician. This brilliant man adored fantasy and loved dabbling in the science of reasoning and word play. Because of his passions, Dodgson would’ve undoubtedly loved this brilliant adaptation of his novels that ensemble member David Catlin both adapted and directed.Most of Catlin’s modest-size cast of extraordinary actor/gymnasts do quadruple duty in this show, playing so many different characters that the audience is stunned when only five actors appear for the curtain call. The exception is Lindsey Noel Whiting, who alternates with Molly Hernandez in the singular, and highly demanding role of Alice. Both young women are not only brilliant actresses, each possessing a continual flow of charm, curiosity and childlike wonderment, but are also accomplished gymnast/aerialists. 

Lewis Carroll’s story unfolds loosely, opening with Alice playing with a ball of yarn by the fireplace with her cat. Suddenly she discovers the author of the book staring at her from the other side of the looking-glass. Soon Lewis Carroll joins Alice, with the little girl climbing through the mirror and tumbling through a topsy-turvy world of whimsy and wonderment. 

Alice pursues The White Rabbit, played by Michael Rodriguez Cintra, across a chessboard landscape and runs smack into the gigantic Red Queen, played with haughtiness and a hair-trigger temper by Kareem Bandealy. A master of the unicycle, the incomparable Micah Figueroa, stepping in for the brilliantly versatile Samuel Taylor, plays both Lewis Carroll, The White Knight and the White Queen. They all lead Alice on a merry chase through a kingdom of opposites and mirror images. Kareem Bandealy, Adeoye and Michael Rodriguez Cintra play the confoundingly crazy trio of the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the sleepy little Dormouse at a tea party, during which dozens of chairs are flung everywhere. The Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Humpty Dumpty, the Caterpillar and other strange characters from Carroll’s novels popup out of nowhere and delight the audience with their wit, humor and unbelievable physical dexterity.

This wondrous production couldn’t be accomplished this successfully without the theatre’s tight partnership with a number of supporting artists, beginning with David Catlin’s superb and electrifying direction. Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi’s eclectic choreography embellishes her circus and movement design; Lee Brasuell’s extraordinary rigging skills that launch the actors into space and safely bring them back to land is breathtaking; Christine A. Binder’s and Ray Nardelli’s unusually inventive lighting and sound design add so much to the atmosphere of Wonderland, and some especially creative costumes, designed by the gifted Mara Blumenfeld, all lift the entertainment to another level.

Curiouser and curiouser, the comedy and confounding cleverness of David Catlin’s script, brought to life by such an energetic and versatile group of actors, make this production feel Springtime fresh and brand-spanking new. Audiences experiencing this 90-minute one-act fantasy for the first time, as well as those who, like me, are returning for a repeat performance with Alice and her friends, will be simply blown away. Patrons, young and old, will marvel at the magic, mayhem and majesty of this remounted production. The welcome return of this wonderful family show, at a time when parents are looking for quality, worthwhile family entertainment after the pandemic shutdown, is both timely and thrilling. This is a must-see production, which is guaranteed to leave audiences breathless.     

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas   

Presented May 13-July 31 by Lookingglass Theatre Company, Housed in the Water Tower Pumping Station, 821 N. Michigan Ave. (entrance on E. Pearson), Chicago.

Tickets are available by calling the box office at 312-337-0665 or by going to www.lookingglasstheatre.org.

Further information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Ed. note: Hello, everyone. Kevin, one of the other reviewers, here. Due a clerical mix-up, both Colin and I ended up seeing this show to review it last night. Colin generously agreed to share the space for some of my thoughts, and hopefully both of us raving about this production will encourage you to see it.

First, and it almost goes without saying, but I enthusiastically endorse all of Colin’s praise for the cast and crew of this show. They are all clearly masters of their craft and their talent and passion are apparent in every moment of the show.

Adapting a literary classic is a tall order. Hew too closely, and it’s predictable and boring. Go too far, and you leave the the audience wondering why you bothered to call it an ‘adaptation’ in the first place. I think the key to a good adaptation from one medium to another is to find the thing the new medium does that the original cannot. Here, with the incredible assistance of The Actors Gymnasium, Lookingglass does that by pairing Carroll’s twisty-turny language with equally impressive twisty-turny gymnastic feats. With a less clear vision or less talented acrobats, the theatrics could easily get in the way of the story. Far from that, the frenetic energy of the acrobats gave a rhythm and a tempo to Carroll’s tongue-twisting nonsense. I walked away from this production “getting” the original Alice in Wonderland in a way I don’t think I did before.

Something I’ve always loved about live theater is getting to see the seams. Having to use my imagination to meet the show halfway is part of the immersive experience. Those three guys on each other’s shoulders? That’s a caterpillar. They said it’s a caterpillar, so I see a caterpillar. The act of agreeing with the three guys on each other’s shoulders is more satisfying and interesting that a perfectly rendered CGI caterpillar could ever be. An even more difficult feat than staging a well-known and well-loved book is trying to portray the limitless imagination of a children’s story in a way that doesn’t feel like a letdown, something smaller than what’s in my mind’s eye. Lookingglass’ solution is to invite you to bring your imagination with you rather than leave at the door, and the effect is nothing short of stunning.

The last thing I’ll say is probably the most important thing: this show was fun. It had the energy of a little kid running up to you to show you the thing they just made, bursting with joy at having made it and getting to share it. Happily, that little kid made some truly world-class art, so you don’t even have to pretend to want to put it on your refrigerator. Not only to see the cast members I didn’t get to see last night, I will be seeing this again, and encourage you to do the same.