Musical 'Wonderland' excites, delights

A spunky modern-day Alice, with curly mop-top of red-hair and a slinky red dress, takes us on a romp through the eight levels and 20 songs of "Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure," the new musical that officially opens Saturday in the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.

This home-grown twist on Lewis Carroll's classic Victorian fable is a fun ride with a variety of pop numbers in various styles - from salsa to rock - by composer Frank Wildhornand lyricist Jack Murphy.

The play's signature song, "Finding Wonderland," delivers an emotional message that "we move too fast, we miss so much" and "seldom see all the miracles in front of us."

It's a long journey (2-hours-plus) in an imaginary world where a frustrated author (a descendant of the real-life Alice who inspired Carroll) is on a quest to reclaim the child-like wonder and romance that we all need to make life worthwhile.

The lively Janet Dacal, as Alice, is so appealing in the role that we'd follow her anywhere. With a strong voice, great dance moves and flair for comedy, Dacal is a perfect fit for the role.

At this stage in the play's on-going development, the parts seem greater than the whole as there are characters and songs along the way that excite and delight but there may be one or two more ballads than necessary.

The audience loves a comedic boy-band number sung by The White Knight (Darren Ritchie) and his back-up buds. He's a "freelance, outsourced" knight who helps Alice rekindle her love for her husband Jack (also Ritchie).

Ritchie excels in the role and his mellow voice blends well with Dacal's on their duets "Don't Wanna Fall in Love" followed by "Love Begins."

Alice starts her journey with the rousing, rocking "Worst Day of My Life," which sets up the story:
Famous from a first novel, Alice has little time for her husband and daughter Chloe (Julie Brooks). The marriage is on the rocks. She's got writer's block. And she's not ready for a gala party being held in her honor.

The snooty party guests will become characters in a fantasy where Alice chases Chole down a high-tech rabbit hole (the sets, enhanced by computer-animated graphics, are fantastic) into Wonderland.

To get her life in order, Alice must play a symbolic chess game and become a queen by reaching the eighth square on the board.

That means eight stops during which she must defeat the witchy Mad Hatter (Nikki Snelson) who comes off as a bit over the top at first but gives a knock-out performance of the rocking "The Nick of Time" in the second act.

The nervous, frantic White Rabbit (Edward Staudenmayer) is a scene stealer while Karen Mason as the dim-witted, dithering Queen is fun to watch, especially during her jazzy cabaret number "Off With Their Heads."

There are more bright spots: Jose Llana as a sassy Latino Cheshire Cat from the barrio, Tommar Wilson as a oh-so-cool jazz-loving Caterpillar and Tad Wilson as the hard rocking Meat Loaf-type Jabberwock each give memorable performances of clever songs.

Brooks is charming as Chole (you'd never know she is in her 20s) and her song "Home," is a tender reminder that there's no place like it.

There is a surprise visit by Carroll himself (also played by Ritchie) who reminds Alice (and the audience) that we must be vigilant against those who try to stifle the imagination - and to pose Carroll's unanswerable riddle "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

Dacal's Alice closes the show with song, "Finding Wonderland," which involved going through a looking glass "to see the child that was always in there looking back at me."

"Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure" plays the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts through Jan. 3; tickets are $38.50-$72.50; (813) 229-7827