Alice in Wonderland has been a popular choice for adaptation for school musicals over the years; I agree with The School Musicals Company; ‘the sheer eccentricity of the story, the quirkiness of the characters and the bizarre nature of Alice's experiences’ all contribute to what can be a stunning and colourful production for upper KS2 or KS3.
Wonderland the Musical is carefully woven to create an arc of Alice's adventures, keeping her perspective the central theme. Most distinctive is that there are not one, but eight ‘Alices’, each a little changed by her experiences in Wonderland. There are other appropriate adaptations to a 21st-century musical of this famous tale; the play opens to Alice's parents having a disagreement over childcare arrangements and the costume guidelines steer away from the Disney blue dress and white apron, suggesting that the Alices are in dungarees and t-shirts. The initial Alice 1 should be dressed in black and white; though as she embarks on her adventure, the other Alices should wear colour. Belcher, the writer and composer, talks about ‘giving [Alice] the opportunity to talk to her parents about letting a little colour and fun back into their rather black and white lives’.
The School Musicals Company website suggests that this production should be aimed at 10- to 13-year-olds, with 36 speaking parts. As ever, this very approachable company is keen to assist in adaptation of the script for smaller and larger casts and has provided an MS Word version of the script for inevitable changes. For those who might be daunted by the staging of such an intricate storyline, there are plenty of suggestions for how to show Alice falling and then shrinking and growing in turn, as well as suggestions for costumes, make-up, and props.
The songs for this play are as varied and as entertaining as you would expect. We begin with a pompous ‘Dinner Party’ opener and move to the chromatic ‘Falling’ with an effective second part echo which adds to the swirling nature of the song. The White Rabbit's ‘Oh, My Ears and Whiskers!’ includes a very accessible harmony. The ‘Caucus Race’ is brilliantly comic, with overtones of gaming music from the 1990s. ‘All Alone in Wonderland’ is definitely a highlight – bluesy and a nicely challenging vocal part which is indicated to be sung as a solo. A firm favourite will be ‘The Mad Hatter's Party’ – surely there is space for a disco ball lighting in this one? Challenges lie ahead in 5/4 ‘Lobster Quadrille’; this song will need a lot of work but will be worth the effort. Eleven songs overall contribute to a weighty musical, but with appropriate time and rehearsal, I am confident that you will love these.
