The cast of ‘Alice By Heart’, Photo by Chris Anderson
Thaumatrope Theatre’s production is my first experience of Alice By Heart, a one-act musical by the creators of Spring Awakening, and it resonants with me in ways the classic source material does not. With music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater and book by Sater and Jessie Nelson; it drops us into a London underground tube station beneath the ravages of World War II. Amongst the civilians and soldiers taking shelter, we meet young Alice (Jasmine Haughey) and her best friend Alfred (Luca McPhee). He is dying of tuberculosis; to cope with this tragic circumstance, they disappear into the world of their favourite book, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Reprimanding Alice for being so dangerously near Alfred during his quarantine, a nurse (Tega Aror) tears the book apart. But Alice knows it “by heart” and, their own fraught circumstances informing the narrative, a fever dream re-imagining of the story unfolds around them, punctuated by the bombs, sirens and searchlights of a harsh reality that keeps intruding. Alfred’s White Rabbit alter ego is urgent and desperate, the obsession with time and the looming dread of it running out now poignant and eerie.
There is an abundance of clever wordplay in Sater’s lyrics that reference and echo Carroll’s whimsical nonsense-speak. As the familiar characters—Dormouse, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Mock Turtle, Queen of Hearts et al.—stomp, stammer and scold; their playful distractions gradually reveal themselves to be aspects of Alice and Alfred’s conflict and connection as they come to terms with his imminent death.
Director Caitlyn Grant and choreographer Gabby Noga (who also filled in for an absent cast member at opening) make visually dynamic and extensive use of the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. The song and dance numbers are full of elegant synchronization as the large ensemble come together in caterpillar conga lines and similarly waggish formations. The spectacle is rather muted and sombre though. The story’s dismal circumstances are ever-present and the aesthetic of this staging never fully transcends the bleakness.
Montserrat “Monts” Cadena’s set elements are minimal, limited to a handful of chairs, benches, tables. Plastered in period war leaflets, the exposed catwalks of the theatre are a surprisingly potent evocation of a cavernous space under bombardment. With floods of clashing colour, Isabella Cesari provides a vivid and gently dazzling array of vibey moods.
Haughey and McPhee are entirely persuasive as the vulnerable and emotive core of the musical. The remaining ensemble are committed as both a communal entity and popping out in colourful turns as the iconic personae of Wonderland. Though full of dynamic gestures and compelling bits, the gestalt of this is lacking a certain anarchic spark and feels more like a workshop than a full production. It could be more frantic, more phantasmagorical, more full of textured stuff to sharpen the world-building.
It doesn’t help that Cass Iacovelli and Will Carriere’s sound design and mix favours the band and buries a lot of the vocal performances, obscuring lyrics and lessoning the immersion and emotional impact. Some microphone malfunctions at opening contributed to the issue.
Despite some glitchy tech and meagre design elements, the talent and enthusiasm of the performers and creative team still radiates. Their noble efforts do convey the lyrical and punkish charms of the material. Two understated yet striking visuals that left a lasting impression upon me: the entire cast collapsed into a lethargic heap around Alice and the moment we see the red blotches in Alfred’s handkerchief, his “red roses” piercing through the fanciful shenanigans with an achy reminder of his very tangible affliction.
Alice By Heart
running May 30 to June 1, 2024
Theatre Passe Muraille, Mainspace (16 Ryerson Ave.)
running time: 80 minutes (no intermission)
The cast of ‘Alice By Heart’, Photo by Chris Anderson