NeverWonderLand
Presented by: Boom Kat Dance Theatre and ETC-Ensemble Theatre Company
Featuring: Lili Fuller, Joe Sofranko, Sarah Haworth, Cory Bretsch, Nathan Parsons, Juliana Tyson, Amanda Giuliano, Chris Downey, Michael Garrido, Matthew Krumpe, Janet Krupin, Nolan Chung, Lizzie Fabie, Meagan Harvey, Rachel Hershee and Michelle Lukiman
Procuded by: Rachel Saltzman and Narcissa Vanderlip
What if Alice (of Wonderland) and Peter (of Neverland) were brother and sister? That is the basis of the tale told by the folks of Book Kat Dance Theatre.
London, 1900. Alice and Peter, brother and sister, have been living in a world accelerating at locomotive speed, regimented by Time. Overwhelmed by a harsh, impersonal, and cold society and misunderstood at home, Alice and Peter wish to escape. We meet them on the day when that longing comes to fruition.
"NeverWonderLand" is the story of how two young children discover a new land and, along the journey, discover themselves.
Now, this experience was entirely new to me. I don't have much theatre experience at all, let alone a small community theatre production. I didn't realize what this was going to be when we arrived. I thought it was going to be a play with some songs and dancing like a small musical.
In truth, there is no dialogue at all. The story is told completely via dance, music (modern songs by numerous artists) and a few lines of projected text. Now, anyone who knows me will probably tell you this is something that is way outside of my wheelhouse. I don't do dancing and I barely do musicals (although that might be changing somewhat). I've just barely begun my journey into the world of theatre so this performance was a bit of a shock.
Mostly, because I found myself thoroughly enjoying the show. It is captivating.
The idea of Alice and Peter being brother and sister is fascinating to me. It seems so, well, obvious. I can't believe that no one has thought of it before. It's pretty brilliant if you ask me and is ripe with some great story potential and Boom Kat has mined it well!
The folks at Boom Kat did a wonderful job with the story. It is told with unique dance numbers and a nice mix of multimedia and sparse set design. The costuming, choreography, and performances were all great. They took two completely separate worlds and brought them together pretty much seamlessly, even evolving the characters to fit their more "known" looks. It all comes together to make up a really interesting prequel to these stories.
I want to point out a few performers that really stood out to me. In a company that is full of extremely talented performers these few just really caught my attention.
Lili Fuller plays our heroine Alice. She was marvelous. A perfect embodiment of the character. She really blew me away. Absolute perfection.
Nathan Parsons who played Captain James smoldering and left me wondering why this guy didn't play gambit in X-Men 3. The guy is pretty electric. Jack Sparrow should watch his back.
Juliana Tyson as The Queen of Hearts was deliciously evil. Her facial expressions and mannerisms were so perfect and funny. A great villianous and a great match with Nathan Parsons' Captain James.
Amanda Giuliano as Tinkerbell really brought this most famous fairy to life. Even while running around with a fairy doll, you really had to keep your eyes on Amanda. She made Tink real.
Michael Garrido as Toodles as well as a few other small parts, Michael was the guy your eyes went to whenever he was on stage. He was a bit of a scene stealer if you ask me. Excellent performance(s).
Matthew Krumpe as Mad Hatter and what seemed like every other part possible. This guy was a workhorse and he always had 150% in whatever role he was portraying at the time. He brought intensity, comedy, and gravitas to his parts. He made for a fantastic Mad Hatter that Johnny Depp could take notes from.
Highlighting these few people should not take anything away from the rest of the company. They were all wonderful. I could go down the list of every cast member and shout their praises! Joe Sofranko made an excellent Peter, mischievous and innocent, he really brought Peter to life. Chris Downey was quite funny as the White Rabbit (in human form); I could go on and on. This is a cast with an extremely bright future. I see great things ahead for each and every one involved in this production.
Musically, you'll hear a lot of familiar tunes, contemporary and some orchestral pieces. I'll not spoil the songs for you. Each one is utilized rather well and helps tell the story of these two lost siblings.
Overall, NeverWonderLand is a intricately choreographed and well made production. There are some downright amazing scenes here. The Chess and hall of Mirrors scenes stand out amongst my favorites. I'll admit I did get a little teary at one point in the show as well, this is 100% due to the performances of Joe Sofranko and Lili Fuller. Their scene together near the end was just beautifully done and really tied up the whole show perfectly. The cast did a wonderful job giving us an emotional core for the characters that we could relate to. The show does get a little dark at times, which I was both shocked, and intrigued by.
This is certainly not a show for everyone. It is a story told almost entirely through dance, albeit pretty great dancing, so if you aren't at the least intrigued by this, it may not be for you.
I really enjoyed the show. It was fun, smart, exciting and well, magical. It's a show you can take the whole family to see. Maybe not the youngest kids in your family, but probably good for 10 and older.
You have one weekend left to catch this show so if you live anywhere near Los Angeles, I'd make the trip to check it out.
NeverWonderLand
Miles Memorial Play House
Santa Monica, CA
July 24 - August 22
Friday & Saturday, 8PM
Sunday, 2 PM
For more information visit http://www.boomkatdance.org/
On a side note, we would love to thank all involved for having us out to check out the show. We greatly appreciate it and look forward to the next Boom Kat production!
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