REVIEW: Alice in Wonderland Jr. a summer treat from FLT

I attended opening night of Alice in Wonderland Jr. at the Florence Little Theatre. I have never seen a summer performance before and was delighted with what I saw. The cast weaves a magical spell over everyone in the audience.

My blue hat is off to the cast, crew, and the director Robinson Boyce. It could not have been easy to take 40 children and produce this show. The sheer logistics of that many children coming together to put on a performance are mind boggling to me.

To begin, the sets were fabulous. Everything was brightly painted and cheerful and set the stage for Alice’s wild romp through Wonderland. Angie Ketchum did a marvelous job with the costumes, as well. Each costume showed a keen eye for detail.

This play is only an hour long. It is the perfect length of time to keep young minds engaged without getting distracted. My daughter was fascinated with every song they performed. All of the kids are so talented and invested in the show. They maintain professionalism at all times — even the wee, tiniest actors. It is impossible to pick a favorite scene with so much talent, but I did absolutely almost fall out of my chair laughing at the scene with the Tweedles (Colby Witt, Corbin Witt). These two young actors absoutely nailed their performance.

The three Alices were played by Ashton Sankeur, Samatha Weisbeck and Kaylee Worthington. Alice leaves her sister, Mathilda (Robin Bowman), and goes on an adventure through wonderland after spotting the White Rabbit. She follows the White Rabbit and is led to a door with a lock. The play shows that Alice is seeking to find her identity. Is she too tall? Is she too short? Is she pretty enough? Within the length of the play she comes to find happiness with her self just the way she is. Each Alice does a superb job, and I loved the way they transition from the various heights.

Throughout the play we see the White Rabbit (Margaret Lee) as she moves throughout the scenes. This young actor is quite a leader on the stage. She is unflappable and has a great stage presence.
The tea party scene with the Mad Hatter (Andrew Chard) is excellent. His version of “The Unbirthday Song” brings cheer to even the youngest faces in the audience. He and the March Hare (Garret Lochner) do a great job playing off one another. (My own child wants to know when we will begin celebrating her unbirthday.) There is quite a surprise laugh in this scene, but you have to see the play to find out what it is!

I loved the performance of “Zip a Dee Doo Dah” led by the Caterpillar (Chandler Collins). The song is upbeat and makes you want to stand up and start clapping your hands and rapping to the beat!
The dancing chairs and the suite of cards also were a crowd (and a Flossip) favorite. What play is complete without dancing chairs and cards that move? Every single chorus member stuck out at one point or another. From the little girl that had more rhythm than I have in my little finger to the child that knew everybody elses lines — they were all shining stars on stage. I wish that I could list each by name.

I have to commend Ashton Sankeur on her performance as Alice in “Simon Says.” She moved like lightning through the speed round. The Queen of Hearts (Leah Mainard) is quite scary and intimidating (and costumed perfectly), and I would be dancing fast as well if she was barking out orders and threatning to take off my head!

The Cheshire Cat is played by three actors (K. Lee Graham, Tyrone Williams, and Taylor Gray). Their motions and actions are so cat like that you truly believe they are brightly colored, talking cats. Their comedic timing is spot on and they bring a lot to the performance.

The dancing flowers were a highlight of the play. They represent the "pretty girls" that everyone wants to be. These young women were simply sublime singing in their sunglasses.

The evening was truly magical. I have seen my children’s expressions at over the top shows at Disney World, and they were just as thrilled at this play at Florence Little Theatre. I encourage everyone, regardless of age, to see this play and support the arts in Florence.

— The Flossip is a local anonymous blogger (http://theflossip.com) who writes reviews, to-do’s and not quite the news.