Drama Queen, by Christine Dolen
The Miami Herald

A Miami Wonderland

Alice is going back to Wonderland, but this time with a South Florida twist. PlayGround Theatre Artistic Director Stephanie Ansin has adapted Lewis Carroll's classic for a new production that will be seen by hundreds of families and, at last count, more than 4,000 elementary and middle school students (and those students will see the show for free).

In crafting her made-in-Miami Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Ansin made Alice (played by Kristen Dawn McCorkell) a Catholic school student from Coral Gables. The Doormouse (Melissa Almaguer) is a Spanish-speaking Cuban mouse. The garden Alice explores is a dream version of Fairchild Tropical Gardens. And so on. Also in the cast are Jeff Keogh, Linda Bernhard, Edgar Caraballo, Carolina Fonseca, Gonzalo Madurga, Marjorie O'Neill-Butler and Jesus Quintero.

Co-adaptor and set-costume-lighting designer Fernando Calzadilla, a doctoral candidate at New York University; video/photo projections by Maria Teresa Alvarado; and original music/sound design by Luciano Stazzone all contribute to the Alice-goes-tropical feeling of the production.

The PlayGround production has its official premiere Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m. at the company's theater, 9806 NE Second Ave. in Miami Shores. It will have both school and public performances there through April 13; from April 18-20, the show will be done at Miami Beach's Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road. Tickets are $15, but groups of 20 or more pay $10 per ticket, and students can buy a ticket through Miami-Dade County's Culture Shock program for just $5. Call 305-751-9550, ext. 223, visit the PlayGround web site or get Colony tickets via Ticketmaster.

Posted by Christine Dolen at 01:04 PM on March 21, 2008 in Theater | Permalink

Originally Published: 03/21/2008