Alice in Wonderland

Generations of children grew up with Disney’s animated feature version of Alice in Wonderland and I admit that this particular film disturbed me a lot since the story was basically Alice’s dream that was almost a nightmare. So when Repertory Philippines chose to stage the Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy version of this timeless tale by Lewis Carroll, my interest was piqued and I was, allow me to say, got curioser to experience Alice in Wonderland once again but now with an adult perspective.

Daniella Ganna and the company

I am not a morning person so it took a lot of effort for me to go over to Greenbelt 1’s Onstage to catch the press preview. But I’m extremely glad that I did since I was able to see Daniella Ganna, who was absolutely wonderful (forgive the pun) as Alice. Childlike in demeanor and in movement, Daniella shone in her portrayal of Alice who gets lost in a strange yet wonderful world encountering unusual characters along the way. But I think the early hour of the performance made it difficult for her to shift to her falsetto register.

Daniella Ganna

One of the memorable characters Alice encounters is the Queen of Hearts played by the impeccable Bituin Escalante. Intimidating presence matched with imposing vocals made Bituin’s Queen of Hearts such a great foil to the confused Alice of Daniella. Another notable character was the Rabbit portrayed by Nacho Tambunting. Nacho’s dancing background was put into very good use as he was nimble and light footed in his role as the perennially late, and therefore, agitated Rabbit.

Onyl Torres and Daniella Ganna

A scene that probably took a lot of time to rehearse was the tea party that featured Joel Trinidad as the Mad Hatter, Chino Veguillas as the Dormouse and James Stacey as the March Hare who tested Alice’s patience. The three characters did a good job in their roles since I got annoyed with them and I wondered how Alice managed to tolerate these three. I would’ve trashed the tea party and stormed out if I were there.

With the exception of Daniella and Nacho, all of the other cast members portrayed multiple roles which probably made the dressing room very busy throughout the musical. I’d also like to commend the cast with multiple roles since they were able to make each character different and distinct as if they were portrayed by different actors.

James Stacey, Chino Veguillas, Joel Trinidad and Daniella Ganna

Alice in Wonderland is my second time to watch a REP Theater for Young Audiences production and it was only now that I finally got to realize certain elements that director Joy Virata likes to incorporate in these productions for children. One, she likes to put in interactive parts which isn’t originally part of the script. This gives a chance for the kids in the audience to have an active part in the production and she said that they respond positively well to this. And yes, there were enthusiastic kids (and kids at heart) during the press preview who gamely participated in the Cheshire Cat’s I’m Mad, You’re Mad sing along with matching arm actions to boot portion of the show. Another element that Virata likes to include is a specialized dancer. In Alice in Wonderland, she had a ballerina play the part of the butterfly. I can imagine how mesmerized young girls in the audience were seeing a ballerina in pointe shoes gliding weightlessly onstage. In last year’s production of Wizard of Oz, there were acrobats instead of ballet dancers.

Daniella Ganna

REP’s Children’s Theater productions may not have the meat like Next Fall (which remains a favorite), but they offer great entertainment that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Alice in Wonderland will run up to December 15, 2013 at Onstage in Greenbelt 1.