Alice (in Wonderland)

The Milwaukee Ballet goes down the rabbit hole

This past weekend, the Milwaukee Ballet performed Alice (in Wonderland) with choreography by Septime Webre and music by Michael Pierce. I'm only sorry I didn't see it sooner so I could tell everyone how marvelous it is. I so wish that Milwaukee could have had more than just one weekend with Alice. But if critic and popular opinion have any sway, my guess is this joyous, dazzling version of Lewis Carroll's story will stand the test of time. So see it someday.

The ballet opens with a scene of Alice at home with her family. If you read the synopsis in your program (which you should always do for a ballet!), you'll learn that the choreographer wanted to set the stage with Alice's kooky relations who later become the characters she meets in Wonderland. Her ferocious mother is the Queen of Hearts, her submissive father the King, etc. Lewis Carroll himself even makes an appearance, later becoming the Mad Hatter. How clever!

From the moment the curtain rises, the costumes, staging, and sets cast their spell. I read another reviewer say that the overall effect was like a pop art painting come to life, and I couldn't agree more. The dancers were always positioned just-so, the lighting and colors beyond vibrant. The costuming was gorgeously rich with such exquisite detail that it's hard to name a favorite — though the simple whimsy of playing card tutus might top my list. Many costumes also had transformative elements, like white roses suddenly unfurled into red and a growing Alice whose skirt balloons like a circus tent.

Always the choreography and staging play off the inventive costuming to bring Alice's story to life. I loved the scene where Alice finds herself in a hall of doors — a rainbow of doors each manned by a different Milwaukee Ballet dancer. When Alice follows orders to "Drink Me" and swells to ten times her normal size, the doors and their dancers shrink to kids from the Milwaukee Ballet School manning child-sized doors. Even I, for the briefest moment, marveled at the scene before realizing — of course! — that the fully-grown dancers had been replaced with little ballerinas-in-training. 

The seemingly magical effects were so seamlessly performed, it truly was wonder to behold. I heard people saying "I love it!" out loud behind me and audibly sighing. Even I let a quiet "That's awesome..." escape — I couldn't help myself! This show invites you to fall head over heels into your imagination for one magical night. There's so much I still want to gush about: The beautifully contorting caterpillar (lots of gasps from the audience!) who later transforms into butterfly, the pink flamingos with their beaked hats and playfully pretty choreography, the fierce Queen of Hearts who, with one sharp swipe of her hand, commands "Off with their head!" 

There were groans from folks around me as the curtain fell, as if to say "Please don't let it be over!" While I dreaded the magic ending, I also couldn't wait to stand up and cheer. The moment the curtain hit the stage, the entire theater was up on its feet, whooping and thundering with furious applause. If the Milwaukee Ballet stages Alice again someday, you can bet I'll be eagerly bounding down the rabbit hole again — and hopefully I've convinced some of you to come with me.