If somebody have been to counsel the concept of a balletic adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s 1865 kids’s basic, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” what components would you need it to have? Zany merriment? Loopy costumes? Kaleidoscopic colours? Considerable enjoyable?
All these qualities and extra could be discovered within the Joffrey Ballet’s Chicago premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s pleasant adaptation. It opened Thursday night on the Lyric Opera Home and continues for 13 extra performances by means of June 22.
The manufacturing was initially slated to run for Joffrey’s normal 10 performances, however early ticket demand led to the corporate in September so as to add 4 extra reveals — an organization first.
The Joffrey Ballet — “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
And why not? The ballet is predicated on probably the most acquainted and beloved kids’s tales of all time, one which has been repeatedly tailored in a number of kinds, none extra well-known than the 1951 animated Walt Disney movie.
England’s Royal Ballet offered the world premiere in 2011, and it has since been carried out by greater than half dozen different corporations. The Joffrey Ballet is the primary American firm to take it on, and, frankly, one wonders why this debut didn’t occur sooner.
Wheeldon, 52, is likely one of the high ballet choreographers of our time, and he’s well-known to space audiences due to his Chicago-centered model of “The Nutcracker,” which he created for the Joffrey Ballet in 2016.
And, in some ways, this manufacturing is a form of early-summer “Nutcracker.” Just like the Christmas basic, it’s based mostly on a well-known literary work and tells the story of a lady who embarks on a far-flung journey that seems to be a dream.
And like “The Nutcracker,” this ballet is billed as family-friendly, and for probably the most half it’s. However mother and father must be conscious that it runs about 2¾ hours, a protracted haul for youthful kids, and there may be one considerably grisly scene that takes place in a sausage manufacturing unit that may be scary.
In some methods, Wheeldon follows the normal story-ballet system in “Alice’s Adventures,” however in lots of others, he takes it in eye-opening and thrilling new instructions. All of it provides as much as a continuous, dizzying, fantastical panorama of sights and sounds.
Slightly than striving for any form of choreographic improvements on this work, Wheeldon is extra involved in regards to the dance serving the story. He retains issues easy and direct and makes use of telling actions to outline the characters — the skittering White Rabbit or the exaggerated, self-satisfied gesturing and posing of the Queen of Hearts.
This ballet could be very a lot an ensemble piece, with 70 dancers in all, together with 19 college students and trainees, however there are particular person performances that stand out. None is pleasant than Victoria Jaiani because the preening, all the time indignant Queen of Hearts, whose wannabe star flip in Act 3 turns right into a hilarious self-sabotaging collection of falls and miscues.
Different standouts embrace Stefan Gonçalvez because the fretting White Rabbit, Dylan Gutierrez in a humorous, a cross-dressing flip because the awkward Duchess and, in fact, Amanda Assucena, who properly conveys Alice’s youthful marvel and innocence.
Units and costumes are extra vital than normal in any manufacturing of “Alice’s Adventures” due to the unique locales and unusual characters which are so integral to this story, and Irish designer Bob Crowley, a seven-time Tony Award winner, has outdone himself.
He has introduced collectively a startling mixture of eye-popping, high-tech projections and low-tech units and a whacky mixture of kinds and durations: An 18th-century theater as a form of stage-within-a-stage within the tea-party scene. A projection of a Fifties sci-fi-style swirling vortex that takes Alice down the rabbit gap. A classic embroidered “God Bless This Dwelling” wall-hanging that’s blown as much as out-sized proportions. It might be a jumbled mess, however it all comes collectively as a joyous, great complete.
Deserving particular point out is the superb, black-and-white Cheshire Cat puppet created by Toby Olié. It’s operated by eight black-clad, almost invisible dancers, who manipulate completely different components of the feline’s anatomy, shifting along with sleek, flowing cohesion.
Shaping and propelling this ballet ahead is a first-rate, amplified rating by British composer Joby Talbot that’s powerfully realized right here by conductor Scott Speck and the 56-member Lyric Opera Orchestra. Talbot has additionally labored in movie, opera and tv and is the previous arranger and keyboardist for the Northern Irish band, The Divine Comedy.
Tinges of all these worlds could be heard on this moody, mysterious, ever-changing music. He combines conventional orchestra devices with digital keyboards and an enormous array of percussion, together with bells, gongs and vibraphone to create an atmospheric, evocative and typically unique sound world.
