Review: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE at Nordo

In the past, Dear Readers, when I've attended shows at Nordo there's been a definite story to accompany the fine dinner within the theme of the show. But last night's sojourn to their latest show, "Down the Rabbit Hole" brought a few changes I wasn't expecting. First and foremost, they weren't in the usual Café Nordo space but in their downstairs location, The Knife Room which lent itself to some expanded places to play. And second, the story was more of a snippet of a familiar piece and a reason for the characters than a full tale. I'm not saying these changes were bad, but some elements felt a little less thought out than usual.

The source material is classic, the "Alice in Wonderland" works of Lewis Carroll with an adaptation from Terry Podgorski and Stephen Robinson. But, as I noted, it's just a small piece as we're mostly concerned with The Queen of Hearts (Kate Kraay), getting her minions, The White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter and The March Hare (Bo Mellinger, Justine Davis Denson, and Jesica Avellone) to capture and put on trial Alice (Megan Huynh) for stealing her tarts.

With only this bit of the larger Wonderland story we are left with less of a narrative bit of theater and more of an experience as they flesh out the evening with a couple of other morsels. There's still the musical portions of the evening with the cast singing covers of existing songs as well as new works from Annastasia Workman with elements from the Carroll books as the lyrics. But beyond that they've instituted an element of karaoke into their story as well as offering the audience a chance to get up and belt one out after the show. Plus, rather than the usual fare of having the servers bring your food out to you, on two of the courses we got up to explore hidden areas of Wonderland where we found fantastical edible elements that we took back to our tables. And speaking of the food, as always, the dishes are not only designed within the theme of the evening but also are super delicious concoctions from chef Erin Brindley. Those Pepper Tarts were divine!

This lack of a story structure works on some levels. It lends itself well to the karaoke vibe and the madness of Wonderland. However, at times they felt a little too unstructured and flying by the seat of their pants, which made the evening a touch chaotic. And while chaos is fine in Wonderland, it can get tiring.

The cast, however, is top notch and able to roll with all the chaos well. Especially when they're belting out their own "karaoke" moments. Mellinger rocked us all right out of the gate with his sparkly jacket and loose hips. But each of them takes their moments to shine and they do shine. However, I would have to say I enjoyed Mellinger and Denson the most, especially Denson with some power notes that can melt your soul and her truly mad Hatter.

All in all, it's not the Nordo I'm used to but certainly a fun evening especially if you're willing to get into the spirit with dressing up in Wonderland attire, which they recommend. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Nordo's production of "Down the Rabbit Hole" a "trying to embrace the chaos" YAY-. Just watch out for the Queen. She's certainly out for blood.

"Down the Rabbit Hole" from Nordo performs at The Knife Room. For tickets or information visit them online at www.cafenordo.com.

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