Phillyist Reviews... Lookingglass Alice

Wow. It's been a few days now since I saw the Arden's production of Lookingglass Theatre Company's Lookingglass Alice, and that's still pretty much all I can say. It was one of those shows I really wish I'd had someone with me at: I just really wanted to talk to somebody after the show, but my plus-one had to cancel on me, quite literally at the last minute, so there I was, blown away by a performance and with nobody to talk to about it. So I needed some time to process the show. And let me repeat: wow.

The Arden will be amongst the first to tell you that, despite the fact that Lookingglass Alice is based on the beloved children's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (both by Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Dodson), the production is not for young children. It's dark, startling (sometimes even frightening), and possibly confusing for a younger crowd. Characters are not introduced outright: with the exception of those which recur, they appear onstage for a few minutes of what might best be described as mania, and then they disappear, never to be seen again. (The actors will be seen again, but playing other characters entirely.)

To call Lookingglass Alice a play would be to diminish it. There is scripted acting, sure, but there is also aerialism, tumbling, dancing, unicycling, and a really thrilling (and terrifying!) fall from a rather impressive height. It's the kind of production that takes your breath away – I was certainly holding mine. The performers are fantastically versatile. They have to be: of the five actors, only Lauren Hirte, as Alice, remains the same character throughout. The versatility doesn't stop with the actual acting, however. As this production is more than a play, the four remaining actors (Larry DiStasi, Anthony Fleming III, Doug Hara, and Jesse J. Perez) need to do more than act. They must learn different physicalities, different acrobatic tricks, and different impressive feats for each character they play. It's a daunting task for any actor, but fortunately, the company of Lookingglass Alice is up to the challenge. Performing in the radically transformed Haas Stage at the Arden, the actors dangle, dive, flip, and roll across the stage, each time earning a well-deserved round of applause. In more ways than one, it was like watching a Cirque du Soleil production with coherent dialogue and a cohesive plot: it improved on an already excellent form. It may have been less technically complex than Cirque (and it was, by a lot), but in many ways, the reduced physical complexity allows the audience to focus more on the plot and the acting. The rest only supports and amplifies the strength and cohesion of the show.

Lookingglass Alice was escapist, fantastical theatre at its finest, and I really just want to see it again. Even if it's got to be alone.

Larry DiStasi as the White Knight and Lauren Hirte as Alice in Arden Theatre Company’s Lookingglass Alice. Photo by Michael Brosilow.