Review: ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND at Lyric Opera Of Chicago

The final production of the Joffrey Ballet season is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This is a busy ballet created by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. The music by Joby Talbot is rich and aligns precisely with the choreography. Bob Crowley’s costumes also help tell the story. Some dancers appear as playing cards with numbers, while others become flamingos used in a croquet game.

The Cheshire Cat is a standout character, operated by a group of puppeteers and dancers. The performance earned well-deserved applause.

Alice, danced by Amanda Assucena, begins her journey down the Rabbit Hole where she encounters a range of strange and bizarre characters. One of them is the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, performed by Jonathan Dole. She follows the White Rabbit (Stefan Goncalvez) and the Knave (Alberto Velazquez) into the frightening home of the Duchess (Dylan Gutierrez) and her axe-wielding cook (Lucia Connolly). The Duchess' aides (Xavier Nunez, Valentino Moneglia Zamora, and Hyuma Kiyosawa) are especially eerie. A scene showing how sausage is made may be particularly disturbing for younger audience members. At one point, Alice even meets Sweeney Todd.

The final act centers on the Queen of Hearts, played by Victoria Jaiani, who is searching for the thief who stole her tarts. David Gombert plays her long-suffering king. The Queen targets the Knave as the thief and declares that he will lose his head. Alice attempts to change the Queen’s mind, but the Queen grabs an axe and begins chasing both Alice and the Knave.

In desperation, Alice topples one of the witnesses, triggering a chain reaction that causes the entire court to collapse. The audience then sees that they were all playing cards. At that moment, Alice wakes up. She is back in Oxford and returns to her normal life. It is left unclear what she may have inhaled at the party. She met Lewis Carroll there, and yes, there really was an Alice.

This production offers something for all the senses. The full company performs with strong energy and comedic timing. The Production Team, including scenic designer Bob Crowley, lighting designer Natasha Katz, projection designers Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll, and puppeteer Toby Olie, brought Wheeldon’s vision to life.

The run is short. Take the opportunity to follow Alice down the Rabbit Hole. The Joffrey Ballet is a perfect guide.