Review: Wonderland

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Wonderland.
My tickets for Wonderland were bought extremely spontaneously, with myself and my Mum only buying our tickets 20 minutes before the show began. It's actually quite rare for me to leave buying tickets to the last minute like this, but it meant we got a fantastic price for great seats, so it was definitely worth it. I had very mixed feelings about the show. There is a large amount of aspects that are great about Wonderland, but sadly there is also a large amount of bad aspects. I'll begin with what I feel can be improved, and will then move on to what I thought worked well. I believe that the root of the shows problem is the book. For those reading this that aren't quite aware what a 'theatre book' is, it is the written dialogue and the backbone of a musical. The book was not well written, with the vast majority of the show making little to no sense. The thought of "What the heck am I watching?' wondered into my mind a few times. Perhaps with a complete re-write of the book, Wonderland could  possibly become a very good show. I genuinely think the book caused around 65% of issues within the show. The book makes Wonderland come across as a pantomime (thinking about it, I think Wonderland would make a glorious panto!). At times, the show seemed stuck with deciding what kind of musical it was. On the one hand, there are some really childish moments. On the other hand, there is some heavy adult innuendo. Once again, this issue leads back to the book. The vast majority of the cast do a terrific job, however I feel as if Kerry Ellis has been miscast as Alice. Kerry didn't seem to be taking the show very seriously and she appeared to be giggling at various points. Having said that, she has a terrific voice. The Cheshire Cat did not work at all. I understand that the Cheshire Cat is supposed to be somewhat annoying, but it got to the point where it became painful to watch. I definitely feel the Cheshire Cat needs to be toned down a little bit. The lighting design itself was quite good, however I think it would have worked better to hide the lights more. As I've mentioned in many of my past reviews, I really, really hate being negative, but as a critic I need to be specific about what I didn't like. Luckily though, that's the end of my list of negatives, onto the list of positives (and there's quite a few!). The main stunner of this show is the music. I adored the music; every single one of the songs was brilliant. My favourite was 'I Am My Own Invention'. Sadly the Wonderland Original Broadway Cast Album has not been released into the UK iTunes Store, which is a real shame as I would have loved to have listened more to this spectacular music. Perhaps they should cut the dialogue and storyline from Wonderland, and turn it into a concert displaying only the music. I'd certainly go and see it again if that were to happen! The majority of the cast were excellent; there are some terrific performances. Cast members who stood out were Wendi Peters as the Queen of Hearts, Dave Willetts as the White Rabbit, Stephen Webb as Jack, Natalie McQueen as the Mad Hatter and Ben Kerr as the March Hare. All of the above cast members had their own songs, which were all delivered to perfection. For the vast majority, the set design was well done, especially Alice's flat. The only set I wasn't too keen on was 'The Looking Glass'. Overall, I don't think this is a dreadful show. Without a doubt, it keeps all of its audience entertained, even though it needs a lot of work with its book.

The featured star of Wonderland is, drum roll please... NATALIE MCQUEEN!

There are some wonderful performances here, but at the end of the show it was Natalie who was the star, no doubt. Her voice raised the roof, it was like no other. She portrayed the Mad Hatter perfectly; she showed a wide variety of craziness, evilness and niceness. I have heard she once portrayed Elphaba in Wicked, which is something I would love to see her do as I imagine she would be a terrific Elphaba.

Now for my final verdict on Wonderland. I give Wonderland...

I give this rating because: it has some major problems with this book, but has dozens of redeeming qualities including a phenomenal score and a top-notch cast.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer