WONDERLAND Musical in 2 acts. Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Jack Murphy; Book by Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd; Additional dialog by Phoebe Hwang Marquis Theatre, Broadway. 17th April, 2011. (world premiere as Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure at the Straz Center in Tampa, Florida on 5 December 2009, followed by a run at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas) SYNOPSIS Wonderland is a story about a new Alice who has lost her joy in life. Estranged from her husband, alienated from her daughter and in danger of losing her career, Alice finds herself in Wonderland where she encounters strange though familiar characters that help her rediscover the wonder in her life while searching for her daughter. STORY Act 1 Author Alice Stetson and her daughter have just moved to Queens, New York so that Alice can have some space from her husband, Jack. Her young daughter, Chloe, laments about the move and her family’s demise, as Alice notes that her life isn’t going in the direction she had hoped. Edwina, Jack’s mother, is cooking dinner for Chloe. Alice, who has just hit her head on the light of the building’s service elevator, receives her children’s book manuscript back from the publishers, who have coldly rejected it, saying it is too dark for children. She sadly makes a comment that Alice in Wonderland, the book Edwina had been reading to Chloe, was dark. As she lies down, she is awoken by a white rabbit who she follows down to Wonderland (“Down the Rabbit Hole”). In Wonderland, she encounters strange people and creatures who are dressed in the same dresses that the original Alice in Wonderland is known to wear (“Welcome to Wonderland”). She tries to discover why she has been brought there and finds a mysterious drink (“Drink Me”). She then encounters the Caterpillar, whose advice is to follow in the footsteps of El Gato (the Cheshire Cat) to find out who she is (“Advice from a Caterpillar” and “Go With the Flow”). El Gato believes himself to be invisible, but he has lost the power; Alice learns from the Caterpillar that the characters in Wonderland “don’t have the heart to tell him”. El Gato leads her to the White Rabbit, when White Knight makes a grand entrance. He and his cohorts promise to save her at all means (“One Knight”) and invites her to the Tea Party (“The Mad Tea Party”). At the party, the Mad Hatter announces with flair that she intends to rule things in Wonderland (“The Mad Hatter”). She reads Alice’s tea leaves, commenting on Alice’s bad qualities as the Queen arrives. The Queen announces that she is the ruler, and all must obey her, or it will be off with your head (“All Hail the Queen”). Alice promises to take the Queen a brand-new kingdom – the kingdom of Queens (a reference to her home in New York). The Hatter, angry, goes with Morris the March Hare to find her revenge on Alice who is a threat to the Hatter’s plans. The Rabbit, El Gato, Caterpillar, and Jack the White Knight all agree to help Alice find the service elevator that brought her there. Alice just wants to go home, as she and Chloe, in their new apartment, yearn for the way things used to be (“Home Reprise”). The Mad Hatter, who uses the name “Maddie”, and the March Hare ascend the rabbit hole to Chloe’s bedroom. They convince Chloe to come with them to help with Alice and Jack’s marriage treatment to bring the family closer together (“A Nice Little Walk”). Chloe goes with them to Wonderland. However, the Hatter takes Chloe to the Land of the Looking-Glass as a prisoner, the Hatter’s side of the kingdom, given to her by
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