Steampunk ‘Alice’ inspires wonder
Allison Cripe
Mesa Legend
The lights go down, the crowd gets quiet, the metal ‘Imaginarium’ onstage starts to glow a bright green, and its show time. “Alice in Wonderland”, directed and adapted by Jordan Deffenbaugh, is not an exact replica of the original Lewis Caroll children’s story published in 1865.The beauty of any ‘‘Alice” production is that no two Wonderlands are ever alike.
It’s all up to the director, the set designers and all the artists behind to bring their unique version of Wonderland to life. Mesa Community College has decided to do a steam punk version, which is apparent from the wonderful scenic designs by Kara Thomson as well as costumes and puppetry from Mallory Prucha.
Having ‘Alice’ told from a steampunk perspective makes it feel current as well as taking the audience back to the time period the original was written in. “Our time, the transition between the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, is a lot like what life was like when Alice in Wonderland was published 150 years ago.” said Jordan Deffenbaugh from the Playbill.
The show begins in a metal train station, travelers pacing quickly in Victorian wardrobe, boots, and bowler hats. They are ignoring the lost girl who is asking for help.
Alice, played by actress Ausette Anderies, appears in a wonderful costume, a blue and white girlish dress with several layers, a white cloak, short boots, and her hair tied in a bow. She is searching for her cat Dina but gets side tracked by the sight of a rabbit, played by Laurence Lilagan, declaring that he’s late and then running off. She follows him down a rabbit hole, landing in Wonderland. Many delightful scenes follow and are true to the original story. The “Eat me” and “Drink me” transformations where Alice changes size, the caucus race, and of course the tea party with an energetic Mad Hatter, played by actor, Chance Boyd. Actors use puppetry instead of costumes for characters such as the Dormouse brought to life by puppeteer Gina Hoyt.
Bill the Lizard was also an intricate puppet, handled by Xavier Morris. The enthusiasm and energy from all cast members lasts throughout the entire children’s play and mixes well with the electric backdrops. Sets and costumes prove throughout the show to have attention to detail. In this production, there are numerous pieces of eye candy. In all of these scenes and interactions with the characters, Alice finds herself getting more lost. Although the design is different from the original source material, this production retains the original’s spirit. of “Alice in Wonderland” is a visual marvel, thanks to the tireless ingenuity of the production team and actors. Catch the last show Saturday Oct. 24th, 2 p.m. at Mesa Community College.
