A welcome tumble down the rabbit hole
 
By TRESCA WEINSTEIN, Special to the Times Union
First published: Friday, May 20, 2005

HUDSON -- Time & Space Limited's version of "A.L.I.C.E. in Wonderland" retains many of the characters, some of the dialogue and all of the head-spinning zaniness of Lewis Carroll's original.

Clocking in at one hour, with a cast of six playing multiple roles on an elegant, bare-bones set, "A.L.I.C.E." distills the essential metaphor of Carroll's classic: the confusing, illogical journey from childhood to adulthood, a fall down a rabbit hole that is best survived with humor, a strong will and a grain of salt.

Adapted and directed by Linda Mussmann in collaboration with the cast, this "A.L.I.C.E." begins with its heroine, played by 10-year-old Chloe Monahan, dozing not on a grassy knoll but in front of the television. "What is the use of TV without reality?" she muses in a typically cryptic yet sensible aside.

While the Narrator, played by Claudia Bruce, encourages Alice to ask questions and take risks, the White Rabbit (Hannah Jarrell in a spirited performance) serves not only as Alice's guide in Wonderland but also as a kind of postmodern stage manager, cuing scenes and directing props ("Enter little bottle," "Exit curtain," etc.). With an unpolished charm, Monahan prances and cartwheels across the stage, wondering not only where she is but also who and why.

Gerald Stoddard provides an enchanting piano soundtrack; he also provides the voice for 8-year-old Conor Monahan's cleverly mimed portrayal of the Mad Hatter. Bruce is a thoughtful Caterpillar and a shrill Queen of Hearts; Magdelena Rodriguez Holmes makes a wonderful Cheshire Cat who plays the accordion and sings "You're mad, I'm mad, everybody's mad" to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?"

The set, designed by Jun Maeda, a former resident set designer for La Mama in New York City, is an assemblage of rustic pieces that perform their double duties as smoothly as the actors. A long plank serves as Alice's recliner, a seesaw, a table for the Mad Hatter's tea party and a lane for the bowling ball with which the Queen plays croquet. Spools of many sizes become steps, toadstools and chairs. The minimal effects are equally clever: For example, Alice grows and shrinks with the help of a backlight that casts her changing shadow on a white curtain.

Pared down and speeded up, this "A.L.I.C.E." is even more dizzyingly off-kilter than the standard production. With less dialogue, but all of it loaded with layered meanings, "A.L.I.C.E." throws into relief the odd profundity of Carroll's nonsense.

Tresca Weinstein, a local freelance writer, is a regular contributor to the Times Union.