By Tanner Tate
BYU is presenting Wonderland, a show that didn’t quite make it on Broadway, though it has some heavy hitters for Book, (Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd), Lyrics by Murphy and Music by Frank Wildhorn and Alice as its star. On Thursday, I drove with a good friend of mine to the familiar campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah to see their production of Wonderland. Wonderland is a musical with characters based in the original 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, (a pseudonym for Charles Ludwig Dodgson.) Wonderland was taken on preliminary adventures of its own in Tampa, Florida and Houston, Texas, before being premiered on Broadway in 2011. Wonderland didn’t last long on Broadway, likely a result of competing with shows such as The Book of Mormon, which opened only a month before, and Wicked, Jersey Boys, and Billy Elliot: The Musical already enjoying healthy runs. At the same time, shows such as Next to Normal, In the Heights, West Side Story, A Little Night Music, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson had experienced a mass closure only two months before Wonderland opened, leaving theatre-goers dejected about future prospects, with Wonderland being one of only two shows to open in the Broadway 2010-2011 season. This, combined with an economy still recovering, made for a less-than-desirable run for the show on Broadway, but BYU has brought the story back to audiences in earnest, delivering a lively, absurd, hilarious production that will delight audiences of all ages.Wonderland tells the story of a familiar Alice (Krista Saltmarsh) portrayed not as a curious and hapless young girl searching for adventure, but as a grown and jaded woman in the midst of a divorce and stressful career . Alice is putting to bed her young daughter Chloe (Ally Choe) when Chloe notices the White Rabbit (Daniel Wallentine) as he hops straight through her bedroom and into a mysterious doorway, beckoning for her to follow. And Chloe does. Alice awakens and finds Chloe gone, venturing through the same door and into the strange and magical realm of Wonderland. Determined to find Chloe despite the circumstances, Alice follows the White Rabbit as he leads her deeper and deeper into the dream-like landscape, encountering creatures such as the wise and cryptic Caterpillar (Nick Summers), the vibrant, exotic, convertible-driving La Gata (Betriz Melo), The White Knight (Ren Cottam) complete with his trusty band of merry men (Ethan Clayton, Brendon French, McCade Matheson, Cameron Robbins), the ever-arbitrarily-decapitating Queen of Hearts (Nikole York) and her fiery nemesis, the Mad Hatter (Makenzie Belnap) along with her sidekick Morris, (Taft Robinson) even meeting Lewis Carroll himself (Dayne Joyner) in the fray. With each character who stumbles into her path, Alice learns a bit more about herself as they give her small gifts to accompany her on her journey. This eventually leads to a climactic showdown between the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, and herself, all while still trying to find her daughter who is slowly becoming subject to the darker powers of Wonderland that may prove too powerful to counteract once set in motion.
BYU’s Wonderland boasts a plethora of enormously talented cast members, with vocal performances highlighted by Belnap, York, and Melo, (due credit to music director Gayle Lockwood); powerful acting demonstrated by Saltmarsh and Cottam; and remarkable talent for comedy exhibited by Wallentine and York. Each cast member had a firm understanding of the part their character was contributing to the larger story, and made no attempt to embellish their own performance, choosing instead to support the larger picture and making the show stronger as a result. This is the mark of truly learned performers. Also joining the central cast is a quirky set of characters played by the ensemble, who spent arguably the most time onstage in dance number after dance number, displaying an impressive array of costumes and a lengthy list of background characters to match. These ensemble members brought an extra layer of life to an already exciting production.
Saltmarsh is compelling as Alice, demonstrating a motherly hand toward her daughter coupled with the frustration and stress of pursuing a modern career path. Her anxiety is tangible as she loses track of her daughter, and Saltmarsh portrays the desperation any mother feels searching through the aisles of a shopping mall for a lost child with such eloquence that I found myself feeling that tangible fear. (I have no children.) At the same time, she is able to switch abruptly to giggling and even Latin dancing as the magic and absurdity of Wonderland begin to creep through the cracks in Alice’s cold demeanor, leading to a realization about herself and a character shift that brought a lump to my throat.
Joined in Alice’s family is her soon-to-be-ex-husband Jack, and Cottam brought a fatherly love to the stage seldom seen in a college production. From the moment Jack made eye contact with his daughter, there could be no doubt that Cottam had an extreme depth of understanding for his character. Later in the story, Cottam also portrays the White Knight, assisting Alice on her journey and reigniting the fire she feels for Jack. Cottam shifts from a gentle, soft-spoken father to a suave, prince-like gentleman in only minutes, seamlessly adapting to both characters. Alongside Alice and Jack is their daughter, Chloe, and Choe exhibits a fun and awestruck quality that all children are able to connect with.
Along for the ride are the goofy characters that are so memorable in childhood imagination. Once Alice arrives in Wonderland, we are introduced to the Caterpillar, and Summers delivers a jazzy melody that is reminiscent of the dive bars of the 1930’s. Though Summers’ voice becomes a bit thin as he reaches for the higher notes, his pitch is unblemished and his lines are clear as he becomes a beloved character through the course of the story. Next, Alice runs into La Gata and her jaunty gang of followers. Melo has a powerhouse voice and she puts it to good use in her role, also demonstrating a flair for comedy as she teaches Alice to forget her troubles and dance for a change. Along her journey, Alice is accompanied by the White Rabbit, who can inarguably be classified as the ‘audience favorite’ of the show. From beginning to end, Wallentine offers witty modern comedy to the rest of the show, not limiting himself to spoken comedy only, but also using his full physicality to bring uproarious laughter to every scene change and dialogue shift. Wallentine manages to never become overbearing, and remains a staple to the show without ever abusing his talent for comedy for ‘cheap laughs’, and for that, I personally commend him.
The show takes a darker turn as we are introduced to The Mad Hatter. Traditionally, the character is male, and it is a refreshing take on the story as Belnap brings a feminine quality to the character. Coupled with a remarkable voice she carries into the rafters several times through the production, Belnap struts her stuff as the antagonist of the show. Though her diction was hard to understand during her singing at times, resulting in a small loss of context, her trained voice rendered these instances obsolete. Her sidekick, Morris, is instrumental in bringing comedic relief to the more morbid scenes of the production, and he does so without encroaching on the necessary tone of those scenes; something that requires talent and restraint.
Following the introduction of The Mad Hatter, we are introduced to The Queen of Hearts. York also brings comedy to the stage with her character, though it is a more elegant style of comedy than is seen with many other characters in the production. Instead of a slapstick comedy effort that leaves the audience roaring in other areas of the play, York elects to portray The Queen of Hearts as a character of flourish, riding a hoverboard, (I’m not kidding, she rides a hoverboard everywhere she goes. That, in itself, could make the show worth seeing,) while ruling with an iron fist. As stated previously, York has a control over her voice that many people dream of having, with a straight-tone that brings chills to the spine of any trained singer.
At one point of the show, Alice even stumbles into Lewis Carroll himself, portrayed by Dayne Joyner. Joyner enters the stage riding a bike, and begins to sing confidently while continuously doodling figure 8’s on the stage with his bicycle. That, in itself, is a feat. Joyner also manages to play an eccentric yet classical character, another example of remarkable acting from a college student.
You may be asking: “A girl follows a rabbit who does stand-up comedy to a magical land filled with jazzy caterpillars, convertible-driving cat women, ex-husbands masquerading as white knights, a hoverboard-riding queen, and a belting Mad Hatter? Does this show even make any sense?” The truth is, sometimes it doesn’t. But as I watched the show, I realized that it was exactly what director Tim Threlfall and choreographers Nathan Balser, Nicholas Palmquist, Becky Phillips, Shani Robison, and Jennifer Tingey are getting at. As we dove deeper into Wonderland, I started to get the sensation that I was watching a dream unfold in front of me, and Threlfall and the choreographers do a marvelous job of making it seem that way. Contributing to this vision are costumes designed by Erin Bjorn, and makeup/hair designed by Brittany Troche, both fantastical and practical. Each accentuates the characters perfectly, and commendations are in order for the hefty project it must have been to design the sheer number of costumes needed for the ensemble.
Behind the scenes lies another host of commendable individuals: Doug Ellis, designer of the wondrous display of scenery that set the stage for the story, Marianne Ohran, designer of the lights that established a distinct mood for every scene, and Zachary Badreddine, who designed the sound. I hardly noticed his work at all, which is a high compliment to be paid to any sound designer. The show also boasts a full orchestra helmed by Christian Smith, who even gets to take part in some banter during the production.
Before bringing this review to a close, there is one thing I witnessed that I believe needs to be shared. Due to an unforeseen problem with the higher-range vocals of Krista Saltmarsh, who act as Alice, an understudy was called into action. This understudy is Jessica Sundwall, a junior in the Music Dance Theatre program at BYU, and a member of the ensemble in Wonderland. Saltmarsh is able to act onstage and deliver her spoken lines with no problem, but did not sing her music, as Sundwall sang her songs from offstage while Saltmarsh mouthed the lyrics. This was a remarkable display of trust between actors, and deserves commendation. As the cast took their bows, Saltmarsh entered last with Sundwall, the first in her Alice costume and the other in her ensemble costume, and the two bowed together, hand in hand. Saltmarsh gestured to Sundwall, and the audience’s cheers turned to a roar. As the cast rose from their last collective bow, and the director took the stage for some opening night remarks concerning important people playing a part in the production, I kept my eyes on Saltmarsh and Sundwall as they continued to clasp hands in an almost sisterly fashion, and Sundwall burst into tears, no doubt overwhelmed by what the pair had just accomplished. The two made brief eye contact and smiled, laughed, then turned their attention back to their director. Through all the dancing, the singing, the jokes, and the absurdity of the story I just witnessed, I knew, in that moment, the soul of Wonderland lies in the hearts of those who performed it; and that is the purest form of the art.
Brigham Young University presents Wonderland, Book written by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, Lyrics by Jack Murphy, with Music by Frank Wildhorn in the de Jong Concert Hall
Harris Fine Arts Center, de Jong Concert Hall, Brigham Young University, 150 E Bulldog Boulevard, Provo UT 84602
January 24-26, 29-February 2, 2019 7:30 PM, January 26, February 2 2:00 PM
Tickets: $20-$26
Contact: 801-422-2981, tickets@byu.edu
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