Review: MOMIX's ALICE Returns to The Joyce Theater

MOMIX has brought ALICE back to The Joyce Theater this holiday season, beginning with a packed opening night on December 16. The show will run through January 4. 

Conceived and directed by Moses Pendleton, this reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice in Wonderland originally premiered at The Joyce in 2022 to a sold out crowd. The show is not a straightforward retelling of the story, but a reimagining that explores the story’s essence in a new way. 

It feels simultaneously familiar and brand new, honoring the childhood story many know by heart while constantly subverting expectations. Just when you think you know what comes next, the choreography veers in an unexpected direction, offering surprise after surprise. This unpredictability becomes one of the show’s greatest delights, keeping its audience as curious as Alice herself and fully immersed from beginning to end. 

Seeing this work on stage feels right, as if it should have always existed. The story of Alice in Wonderland is a perfect muse for Pendleton’s work, evoking nostalgia, wonder, and boundary pushing imagination -- all hallmarks of MOMIX’s style. 

The dancers are at the core of this experience as they demonstrate their talent not only as dancers, but illusionists, acrobats, actors and athletes. Many performers take on multiple roles throughout the evening, transforming seamlessly from one character or physical state to another.

One particular scene features dancers bouncing, tossing, and climbing atop what appear to be large exercise balls in perfect synchronization. In other moments, costumes morph into new forms as dancers manipulate them mid-choreography, while wheeled devices transport bodies across the stage with fluidity. Props appear to defy gravity and come alive at a dancer’s touch. Each element is handled with such precision that the illusion feels effortless, even when it’s clear to the logical mind that the physical demands of executing this choreography are not.

What makes this all even more impressive is the ensemble’s unity. Though each dancer holds a distinct presence and individuality, they move as if connected. In fact, every element of the show feels meticulously curated and in sync, from the set to the lighting to the costumes, props and music. Each is a part of the choreography itself, carefully woven into the larger work with seemingly no room for error. The precarious nature of the show could cause nervousness among the audience, however, the expertise displayed instead creates a deep sense of trust. You can fully immerse yourself in the performance with confidence that you are being guided by artists in complete control, despite the daring maneuvers and impossibility of what is being accomplished on stage.

The audience’s response throughout the performance is telling. Gasps, laughter, and spontaneous applause ripple through the theater as many adults are transported back to childhood with all of its dreams, nightmares, and wild imagination. ALICE taps into something universal -- childlike wonder -- reminding us of the thrill of being carried away by a story without questioning its logic.

The opening and closing scenes beautifully frame this journey. The feeling culminates in the final moments, when Alice’s dress expands to fill the stage as she ascends. It seems to be a visual metaphor for how the evening leaves you — floating and light as air before being gently transported back to reality as the curtain descends.

ALICE is exactly what you hope for in a live performance: an all-consuming escape into another world. It asks you to leave reality at the door and never look back. Some productions strive for this level of immersion, but MOMIX achieves it effortlessly. It feels from beginning to end as though you’ve jumped into a storybook and fallen down the rabbit hole with Alice, and for those 90 minutes, there’s nowhere else you want to be.