BAD ACTORS CLUB & ALLEY THEATRE DELIVER "AMBITIOUS" WORKSHOP ADAPTATION
The Looking Glass Wars
Based on the novel by Frank Beddor
Adapted by Todd Zeigler and The Bad Actor’s Club
Directed by Scott Davis
A review by Kate Barry.
Entire contents are copyright © 2010 Kate Barry. All rights reserved.
“One of you will follow the story, the rest of you will think we’re doing Alice in Wonderland,” said Producing Director Scott Davis at his curtain speech for The Looking Glass Wars. Keeping that in mind, I had to shake every expectation of rabbit holes, tea parties and whimsical adventures that is associated with Lewis Carroll’s classic novel. I haven’t really bought into the Wonderland craze that has been thrust upon us nor was I all that impressed by the recent Burton “remake”. I haven’t read the book in which the play was based; I was just there to watch a play. This current production is actually being work shopped by the company. What does that mean? It means this is a, “learn as you go”, production. The script is hot off the press and adapted from Frank Beddor's novel by Todd Zeigler (who plays Dodge in the show) and the company works together to take the story out of the book and throw it together on stage. With audience suggestion cards available in the programs, feedback allows for making a stronger show.
Okay, with that said, I’ll get back to my review. What did I think of the work in progress that is The Looking Glass Wars? I thought The Bad Actors Club took on a very hefty task of translating a novel into a play. It’s the tale of a woman’s battle with madness and imagination as she is stuck in a reality that she hates while the world she loves is being destroyed. Who is this woman? Alyss Heart/Alice Liddell played by Hallie Dizdarevic. Her childhood was spent in an insane asylum after she began to talk about Wonderland. We meet her on the day of her wedding where she whisks herself away into her, “most powerful imagination.” With the help of her childhood friend Dodge (Zeigler), Hatter Madigan, the Hans Solo of Wonderland (Kenn Parks) and the delightfully comedic Bibwit Heart (J.P. Lebangood), Alyss is on a quest. She must find, “the imperial viciousness,” Queen Redd (Bridget Witzke), who’s wreaking serious havoc and destroying her along with her ninja assassin, Cat, played by the ever so energetic Tony Smith.
As Alyss, Dizdarevic is a heroic princess teetering on the brink of insanity. Her conflict not only lies in saving her kingdom but in also deciphering what is real, what is not, and having the courage to acknowledge the difference. Witzke plays the deliciously wicked Queen Redd, a suitable antagonist for Alyss. With a guttural howl for heads to roll and a complete lack of tolerance for others, Witzke was just as evil as she was comedic.
Since this is a workshop project, I have a few minor suggestions for the folks over at The Alley Theatre. At the show’s open, we watch the credits on four screens located at the exits of the performance space. Are programs necessary if we see the names on the screen? These screens gave the piece a live action movie feel which seemed more apparent in certain scenes and less in others. The scenes were filled with so much action and thrills but ended so abruptly, why not go the whole-ten yards and add some cross fades or some special effects lighting such as appear in other places. The screens worked in the plays favor in the emotional scenes where Alyss recollects her life in London and in Wonderland. In other scenes, the screens just didn’t make the cut. The epic fight scenes where Hatter, Bibwit and Dodge fight Queen Redd’s army came across as grown adults fighting images on a screen like a child at an arcade, which is a shame because the fight choreography itself was very impressive.
This is a very ambitious piece and I’m glad that there are theater companies out there willing to take challenges like this. Indeed, The Bad Actors Club over at The Alley Theater has made a very impressive start with The Looking Glass Wars and I’m interested to see where the project goes from here.
Starring: Hallie Dizdarevic, Bridget Witzke, Todd Zeigler, Kenn Parks, Madeleine Miller, J.P. Lebangood, Tony Smith, Gregory T. Fugate, April Singer, Emir Dizdarevic
The Looking Glass Wars
December 9 - 18, 2010, 8:00 pm
The Alley Theater
& The Bad Actors Club
1205 East Washington Street
Louisville KY 40206
thealleytheater.org