Alice in Wonderland at Lindenwold High School

Theater: Lindenwold High School
Show: Alice in Wonderland
Seen: March 15, 2008
Submitted: March 17, 2008
Reviewer: Jack Newman

When chatting with a hookah smoking caterpillar, singing with a garden of giggling flowers, and playing croquet with a pack of ill-tempered cards, where else could one be but in Wonderland? Lewis Carroll’s beloved yet bizarre story about a young girl who awakes in a whimsical dream world was penned in the mid 19th century as Alice in Wonderland. This original story would receive a popular sequel in Through the Looking Glass, and both of these tales have subsequently been melded into various stage and cinema adaptations, including the iconic Disney cartoon.

Lindenwold High School took their stab at this wild story last weekend in a musical romp through Wonderland that was true to Carroll’s bizarre and colorful imagination. After falling asleep in her own “boring” world, Alice (Dana DiBerardino) awakes in a zany land full of eccentric characters and mythical creatures. Dana made the interactions with these diverse characters believable primarily through consistent delivery of the often convoluted dialogue and expressive frustration at the nonsensical atmosphere.

One of Alice’s first peculiar encounters is with the ever belated White Rabbit, played cleverly by Tyler Garamella. Tyler’s umbrella-swinging rendition of “I’m Late” was nicely executed, utilized at a couple points throughout the show. Alice’s journey continues as she argues with the lethargic and monotonous Caterpillar (Sherron Randall). Randall’s patient delivery of his character’s molasses-like lines clashed nicely with Alice’s rising frustration, making this scene one of the most humorous.

Physical comedy was also utilized effectively throughout the show, in particular, at the “Un-Birthday” tea party and in the battle of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (Robert Phillips and Sam Ford respectively). Matt Weil as the Mad Hatter and Brianna Melecio as the March Hare flopped madly about their raucous luncheon while the “Tweedle” duo of Phillips and Ford donned buckets upon their heads and took part in a goofy slow motion brawl that the audience relished.

Musically, the show didn’t quite do justice to some highly recognizable Disney themes, yet each song was certainly delivered with a dose of zest. On the other hand, Wonderland came to life visually in a vibrant, colorful set deigned by the likes of Olfa Hernandez and her crew. The flower garden in particular combined a breathtaking backdrop and a slew of floral costumes (designed by Laurette Ambe, Gabriela Flores, and Mariela Flores) into a scene that was a dazzling treat for the eye.

Carroll’s Wonderland is again, a bizarre land to trek through, yet the artists at Lindenwold took the journey with enthusiasm, an admirable feat in a world quite as ordinary as our own.

by Jack Newman of Delaware County Christian School