Lookingglass Alice - Third Time's A Charm

Hey Chicago! "Lookingglass Alice", the marvelous adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through The Lookingglass" into a marvelous, playful 100 minutes of almost circus performance arts. The cast of five (it will seem as though there are 30-40 actors) is one of extraordinary talents- not just able to act, but to juggle, do acrobatics, ride a unicycle, do leaps on stilts, hop from chair to chair and of course as always, Alice (the sweet and charming Lauren Hirte who flies through the theater and can lift each and every other cast member / and does is perfection in this role) is the centerpiece.

The four men who play all the other roles, Lawrence E. Distasi, Kevin Douglas, Anthony Fleming III and Jesse J. Perez are some of the most energetic performers I have ever seen. They are tumbling and jumping and carrying and throwing and changing costumes and characters from scene to scene. When Lookingglass says they do physical theater, they mean it and this particular production is about as physical as one can see. Each time we see it we see a little more and they add some little touches. In fact, since there are so many instances where lights flash and bells ring that on opening night for the press, no one winced when the fire alarms went off and we were asked to leave the auditorium. It turned out to be a technical thing and there was no danger to anyone, so we returned to the theater where the Red Queen (Jesse J. Perez) perched on a platform had remained the entire time (he could not make it through the doors and so he remained ready to resume). The audience reentered quickly and after thunderous applause for the theater staff and Mr. Perez, off we went to continue our magical trip through the looking glass, and once again- it was charming and a delightful theatrical experience for young and old.

Click here to purchase tickets to Lookingglass Alice or call 312.337.0665.