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A musical journey to Wonderland
More Tea? Alice, Laura Baldwin, as a guest at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party Alice in Wonderland Lichfield Garrick **** WITH The Lichfield Garrick artistic and
musical director, Adrian Jackson, at the helm it's no surprise that the
overall setting of this show is very much rooted in musical theatre
rather than pantomime. It is billed as a Christmas Circus Musical and
with theatres across the region trying to outdo each other with
alternative seasonal outings, it seems the rush to be bigger and better
has possibly diminished the fun atmosphere, preferring a more formal
level of production. There are overtones of the big West End shows,
Disney, Hollywood musicals, variety and the Circus and although those
elements are well-staged and segued it does make for a slightly
unfocused production. Steve Huison of Coronation Street and the
film The Full Monty fame plays the White Rabbit and effectively
linked Alice's journey through wonderland, although you would not have
known it was him under the layers of costume and makeup. Alice played by newcomer Laura Baldwin has a
fantastic Disney quality to her voice and set against some quality
arrangements, played live by the excellent Wonderland band, created some
spell binding moments through the evening and can be proud of her first
professional role. Alice finds the nothing is as it seems in Wonderland . . . Alice in Wonderland is directed by Ian Adams who
also plays The Caterpillar, The Duchess and the Mad Hatter and for me
was the highlight of the show. His vibrant personality, dancing and
showmanship added a true Christmas flavour, offering the closest we got
on the night to a Panto Dame when appearing as The Duchess during the
wonderful Latin American kitchen scene. Christina Thornton, like many others in the cast,
played multiple roles, hers being Alice's Mother, The Cook and The Queen
of Hearts. Being an original member of the cast of Evita and now with a
long list of musical credits to her name, proved how much this show
relies on elements of musical theatre. Her delivery was assured, mature
and confident. A great part of the staging was the use of a
revolving turntable, doubling visually as a circus ring, which delivered
an assortment of props and occasionally some of the wonderful young
children in the production on to stage in a variety of comical
disguises. The choreography throughout by Julie Paton was of
a very high standard ranging from contemporary ballet to a couple of
great tap dance routines. Another high point was the sound. This for me is
often a let-down of so many professional touring shows and the in-house
Garrick team seemed to have benefitted from having the time to develop a
great balance between the orchestra and the vocalists. Although it is billed as a family show it is a
production that clearly caters for a sophisticated theatre audience more
so than young children and it would have been nice to see a little more
raw comedy to include them at some point. Make no mistake this is a highly coordinated and
professional show with great costumes and staging and it's marvellous to
see and hear this level of West End quality out of London. It is also
commendable to offer something different to the traditional panto
but other than the inclusion of a tree and few other Christmas props
this is a show that would most likely be successful in any month and I
guess I was hoping at this time of the year for a bit more
wonder in wonderland. To 06-01-12. Jeff Grant
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