Wonderland

I just went back to look up previous Wonderland incarnations. It's incredible how many drafts this thing went through and to remember that so many people were pegged to be Alice. Wildhorn had Lauren Kennedy and Brandy Burkhardt in mind before Janet Ducall got the part, and originally the Queen of Heart was an Acid Queen a la Tommy type written for Cheryl Freeman before it was rewritten for Karen Mason!

I'm there tomorrow night and going into this with no prior knowledge. Looking forward to it. I do enjoy a theatre trip to Sunderland!

So has anyone seen Michelle Pentecost in the roles? What is she like?

I did want to see full lead cast but think it's possible i will end up seeing her one way or another next week so want reports.

Next week she will do weds and sat matinee as Alice and weds night as Hatter.

Saw this tonight. An enjoyable evening of theatre, nothing new but pleasant enough. Strong cast and some good songs in there but also slow at times. Set was ok for a tour but a bit flimsy at times.

Unfortunately the theatre had run out of programmes which was surprising because it was less than full, assuming they just didn't print as many as usual based on advance sales. I would say give this a go if it comes near but don't go with to many expectations. 3 stars from me.

I didn't think I would like this show (the deviation from the original story thing) but ended up loving it and went three times in a week.

Saw three combinations of roles;
Kerry as Alice and Natalie as Hatter
Michelle as Alice and Natalie as Hatter
Kerry as Alice and Michelle as Hatter

I don't think anyone would be disappointed if they saw Michelle. She is incredibly talented, acts it so well and has a beautiful voice and how hard it must be to play both of these parts considering how much they interact with each other and even sing a duet. But Natalie and Kerry just have that something extra special. Natalie is sublime as Hatter. Snarling, Sarcastic and moody. She is menacing and playful and utterly brilliant. Kerry is Kerry. When she sings you could hear a pin drop. Sublime, effortless and real star quality. This production needs this.

Wendy Peters sings a couple of songs and eats a few jam tarts. That's it.

Stephen Webb is sublime as the "hero" of the show.

My query is though why does all publicity photos have an opened street sewage grate when that's not featured in the show at all? Confusing.

All in all I adored this and am hoping for a cast recording. Please do go and see it if you can!

I saw this yesterday afternoon and enjoyed it. I didn't know anything about it beforehand, or know any of the songs but I liked the music and the staging. I really enjoyed the start before they went to Wonderland, but the Wonderland scenes took a bit of getting used to. It was quite strange - but that's what you'd expect from Alice in Wonderland. It did grow on me, and I thought Michelle was great as Alice.

I am really missing this show. Need to schedule in a little road trip I think!

Caught this in Birmingham earlier this week. Gosh it was bad. Nothing to do with the cast, who were almost unanimously excellent (bar Michelle Pentecost who was VERY annoying as Mad Hatter, and in my opinion only, not a very good actress). Wendi Peters seemed like she was in a different show - and that's the show I wanted to see. Dave Willetts still has a cracking tenor voice and Kerry Ellis was also brilliant, as was the young girl who played her daughter - what a talented little lady! Some great characterisation, especially from the Cheshire Cat. Absolutely off his face and I really liked it. Theatre was unfortunately pretty empty, with extremely 'polite' applause after songs, but a fair amount of cheering at the end. No standing ovation.

Direction was pretty shoddy on the whole (I understand there have been maaaasvie problems with the director) and pretty dull and uninspired choreography and I thought the production values were rather poor. That first scene in front of that god-awful cloth of a block of high-rise flats with the ensemble having just a few inches of playing space was excruciating. The stage was far too bare on multiple occasions and the initial use of cloths were really embarrassing, especially the lift with painted on buttons that meant the whole cloth shook every time an actor 'pressed' it in haste. I believe the tour was designed to fit the Edinburgh Playhouse, an utterly stupid decision seeing as this is the largest theatre in the UK and therefore any venue smaller than this (which will be most, but in this instance the No.2 touring venue New Alexandra) means that there are elements of the set that simply cannot fit and therefore aren't used. A big shame.

But none of that compared to the utter embarrassment that is the show itself. An entire score of bland, boring and limp pop songs (even when they're sung well), a ridiculous amount of ballads and a section in Act 1 that felt like more of a series of short vignettes followed by a song. The very worst part was the formulaic, basic, clumsy, cheesy and excruciatingly clichéd book. An absolutely non-existent plot where, as What'sOnStage rightly pointed out, hardly any of the threads are anywhere near satisfyingly concluded. If this is a re-worked version, I cannot even bear to think what the original Broadway production was like. A not-so-brilliant production of a really, really poor musical performed by a cast that are better than the material they have.

This should get no more than 2*.

Have to agree with theatremadness I'm afraid. I saw the show on Thursday night in Birmingham. Thought mostly the same, although no fault to any of the cast who performed well inspite of poor choreography and direction. The material is nowhere near strong enough and production values really poor. The cast sung really well however and I did actually enjoy it although it does not compare well with other shows. However Kerry was magnificent with her effortless vocals and the other leads great too. Just don't expect too much and you may enjoy it.

I saw this in Birmingham too. I actually quite enjoyed it - yes, it's cliché and very sugary in its message, but still entertaining, I thought. The sound design, however, was appalling. You couldn't make out many of the lyrics (and this was true of many of the performers ). Wendi Peters was funny as the Queen of Hearts and McQueen was good as the Mad Hatter (although she was a casualty of poor sound design; she certainly hit the notes and acted well though).
Kerry Ellis, I thought, was actually quite weak and was the main victim of poor sound design. Her voice was very nasally and you couldn't make out many of her lyrics in several songs. I also don't think her voice had the same power and resonance as it did a few years ago. She struggled with some of the notes here and there.
I enjoyed it though and may see it again when it returns to Wolverhampton. But for Heaven's sake, do a proper sound check!!!