Review: Theatrical Wonders of Wonder Appear in MKE Ballet's Astonishing ALICE

If ever a story captured the wonder of childhood dreams and fantasies, then Lewis Carroll's novel "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" travels to this hidden places in the heart and mind. Milwaukee Ballet's absolutely astonishing production of Alice (in wonderland) transports Carroll's magical stories to the stage in captivating theatrical style. Septime Webre's choreography, Liz Vandal's concept and costume design, James Kronzer's scenic design and Clifton Taylor's lighting design recreate Carroll's surreal world with those wonders of wonders completely intact. A ballet conceived for The Washington Ballet in 2012, Artistic Director Michael Pink imported the lush, full length ballet for his brilliant company, the Ballet Program II and students of the Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy.

From the first moments in Uhlein Hall when the curtains open, Alice scurries among her real family dressed in monochromatic costumes and on a set of silver, black and white. The blonde Alice dressed in the familiar sky blue and white, already appears set for her magical dream falling down the rabbit hole. After which unfolds a fantastical journey, where Alice falls by the use of invisible wires and grows tall when presented with the bottle that says "Drink Me"-a huge banner drops from the stage ceiling so these words appear cleat to audience while incorporating an elegant element of stage drama.

On opening night, from that point on, Alexandre Ferriera (another dancer leaving the company for new opportunities in New Zealand) leaps with grand jetés and pirouettes, often uncountable..as do many dancers. Webre's choreography fills the stage and dance by incorporating incredible lifts, athletic moves and precision pointe work for his adult dancers while the smaller children create unimaginable delight. In Alice's dreamworld, baby flamingoes surround a bemused Alice while the adult birds create a chic backdrop for principal dancers. The birds themselves hold one slippered foot in their hands, while they float through a corps number in a stylized version of the actual animals' movement.

A humorous number pairs Duchess Timothy O'Donnell with her(his) beleaguered cook's Barry Molina for gender bending pas de deux. Parker Brasser-Vos embodies the infamous White Rabbit through hops and wiggles amid dazzling choreography before the entrance of Susan Gartel's caterpillar, a last chance to see this ballerina in her last production with the company. Watch with amazement while Gartell's caterpillar curves and slinks similar to the creature weaving among branches while four dancers hold her in their hands. An impossible backbend in the number changes Gartell into a circle which then slips over one of the male dancers. To then see Gartell rise and transform into a butterfly with floating, fluid midnight blue wings becomes one moment of sheer beauty in the ballet.

Which leaves the Cheshire Cat, a sleek Patrick Howell, to perform a cunning and captivating pas de deux with the star of the show--Annia Hidalgo's bewildered, charming and exquisitely danced Alice, who performs her own series of battlements, pirouettes and grand jetés. Using a full silver moon set among the stars for the staging, composer Matthew Pierce, also a violin soloist, conducts the exceptional Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and produces an over the top experience for the production. The serene moonlight setting for this enchanting duo mesmerizes the audience before the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

Webre's choreography does wonders using a long white table where the Mad Hatter, a limber Davit Hovhannisyan, dances and jumps along with the ensemble between the table, a bench wing chair, and the stage floor, in feats that require true ballet faith. When the corps turns the table to face the front stage, the tea party escalates to a runway of leaps and jumps. or patterned movements where legs and arms wave effortlessly to create a stunning display. A confetti shower near the end of the tea drinking before the last notes of this sometimes melodious and otherwise thrilling score silences Uhlein Hall in awe.

When the second act begins, a gigantic red rose swirls its petals and occupies the backdrop where the cards and King and Queen of Hearts cavort among the dancing roses. Marize Fumero and Patrick Howell play in gorgeous costumes amid these houses of cards. The Queen's croquet game features flamingoes for mallets, and child hedgehogs who role and whirl through the cards' legs like hoops This darling scene illustrates only one example of the more than 100 children/ students in the cast who complete the menagerie of creatures and botanica Alice meets in her dreams.

Would Alice be Alice without her friends Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee? Marc Petrocci, who retires after this production, and Garrett Glassman create a dance around a bright yellow bicycle built for two--all before Alice defeats Puppeteer's Eric Van Wyk's fearsome Jabberwock who appears in clouds of smoke under the management of seven dancers, including the creature's 25 feet wings at the conclusion of this exhilarating performance.

And behind the successful season this year ending with Alice, the Milwaukee Ballet continues their 2014 Tour de Force Program in collaboration with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, physicians, physical therapists and occupational therapists. The innovative initiative inspires children with physical challenges to move and dance...Carroll wrote Alice's story for three sisters, all youths at the time, and would appreciate the company's effort to take the ballet and its stories to these children and their families, too.

When the audience walks out of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, they might believe they traveled to Carroll's and Alice's surreal wonderland for one brief evening of enchantment, culled from the creative minds and accomplished, tireless performances of dancers, designers and technicians, not to mention the efforts of countless children. Webre's wondrous ballet adds to the classic repertoire of dance, reinventing the art form for contemporary audiences again. Through the efforts of these prominent Artistic Directors, Pink included, the ballet with thrive instead of merely survive for the future.

In one of the most demanding productions staged by Milwaukee Ballet, the company produces a completely memorable evening for children and adults alike. A mother and daughter were in the audience, attending their first ballet with the tickets given as a recent Mother's Day gift...and the pair will be back next season, completely amazed by Alice. With the tag line for the production "We're all mad here," anyone who needs a little wonder and awe, that brilliant childlike madness to replace the cynicism and sometimes tragedy surrounding the globe in the 21st century, experience this astonishing ballet and be inspired to see the world through the eye's of a young girl named Alice (in wonderland).

The Milwaukee Ballet presents Septime Webre's Alice (in wonderland) in Uhlein Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts through May 22 only. For information regarding the 2016-2017 season, Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy, or tickets to the performance, please contact: the box office-414.902.2013 or visit www.milwaukeeballet.org.

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