Review: ALICE BY HEART at Kokandy Productions

While Kokandy Productions’ ALICE BY HEART has some lovely performances, the musical itself is far less imaginative than its ALICE IN WONDERLAND-inspired title suggests. 

Set during World War II, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, and Jessie Nelson’s show finds the titular Alice ostensibly in a British bunker avoiding the air raids (though, based on her bunker companions, the space could also be either an orphanage or an asylum — the book doesn’t make it clear.) Alice, in denial about her best friend Alfred’s terminal tuberculosis, decides to descend into Wonderland so that the pair might have one last adventure. The show is so titled because she’s memorized the entire novel ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Once Alice and Alfred descend “Down The Hole,” he morphs into the White Rabbit. It’s one of many on-the-nose choices that Sheik and Nelson’s book contains; the White Rabbit is running out of time, as is Alfred. 

Directors Derek Van Barham and Brittney Brown have assembled particularly talented singers to perform Sheik and Sater’s score, but the musical itself isn’t that memorable or creative. Sheik and Sater’s score is recognizably theirs; it has the melodic, breezy quality of their biggest musical hit SPRING AWAKENING, but the songs are watered down versions of that music. The story includes the classic cast of ALICE IN WONDERLAND characters, as the other children from the bunker assume those roles, but it doesn’t add any new layers or dimensions to the Wonderland experience. The songs are mostly drawn from the book’s themes, or in the case of “Brilig Braelig,” the actual text of the novel, but they’re rather straightforward interpretations. 

Both the lyrics and book contain numerous, overt references to time. It’s evident that the musical wants to use the theme of time — and Alfred’s limited days — to become a poignant reminder for the audience. But the text is so obvious on that front — and Alice and Alfred’s characters are so broadly drawn — that it doesn’t resonate on a deeper level. 

I think the most effective number for the show’s themes is “Your Shell of Grief,” in which the Mock Turtles share with Alice their reluctance to let go of their own mourning. The show depicts Alice as petulant and stubborn (and Caitlyn Cerza’s take on the role reinforces that childish, unyielding energy), and the song mirrors her stuckness. It also includes the show’s best puns. I particularly enjoyed the lyric, “My life has lost all porpoise.” 

While it’s less lyrically memorable, the eleven o’clock number “Afternoon” has a pretty melody, and Cerza as Alice and Joe Giovanetti as Alfred/White Rabbit (touching) have gorgeous harmonies in it. Overall, because the characters are essentially sketches, I was more taken with this cast’s beautiful singing than with the acting — but I think that’s mainly a product of the material they have to work with. Will Lidke as the Mad Hatter, Patrick O’Keefe as Duchess, and Niki-Charisse Franco as Queen of Hearts are terrific character actors and make bold, defined choices — but even with their great acting work, I didn’t find their characters’ material actually funny. Mizha Overn has a beautiful singing voice for her role of The Cheshire Cat; she’s definitely one of the strongest singers in the ensemble. Ezra Borrero, Elliot Esquivel, Darian Goulding, Emily LIng Mei, Alex Stetkevich, and Peter Stielstra round out the cast — and the whole ensemble of 12 harmonizes gorgeously. Kokandy’s singers are wonderful. It’s a shame that the Wonderland itself as written in ALICE BY HEART isn’t all that wonderful.

Kokandy Productions’s ALICE BY HEART runs through September 29, 2024 at the Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 West Division. Tickets are $45 - $55 with $35 tickets available for students and seniors and some same-day artist tickets with code ARTIST available for $15. 

Photo Credit: Evan Hanover

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