alice_dee jennifer rolling in wonderland 001102 ... jennifer She’s such a pretty, pretty thing to look at! This line whispered from the Queen’s black lips truly best describes Stages of Omaha’s upcoming theatre experience, Alice: Deep in Wonderland. Stages of Omaha opens the new year with what is, hands-down, the most visually stunning and technically complex show ever produced by at The Millennium Theatre. Alice will be a definite stand-out in the Omaha Theatre Community. Combining theatre in its basic dialogue form with: dance, puppetry, prosthetics, special effects, lighting, sound-scaping, live musicians, and forms of multi-media art, Alice covers all the bases and then some. An adaptation of the classic Lewis Carroll tales: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, fans of the original story will be more than satisfied with this newly “renovated” version; although not for its ties to the script or the story itself, but in the sheer madness found only in the mind of Alice (Wonderland) and pulled off “fantastically” by Stages of Omaha. As the show opens, Alice, a young woman in a modern day big city, is lost, beaten and robbed by a homeless man and left for dead among the garbage and filth of the back allies. The lights fade to black and all is silent in the space. Then like a brilliant beacon shining thru a storm, white light slices a path straight thru the blackened stage. A door has opened abruptly at the back of the house and three disgusting little men, or remnants of what used to be men, come pouring through the doorway’s mind-altering mouth. Thus ends the real-world as the audience, right along side the battered Alice, know it. From this point on, nothing but Alice will be present to remind the viewers of the world in reality or the way a sane person speaks or acts. The stage is now set for our journey through Wonderland. Illuminated by reflections off water, glow sticks, black lights and strobes; soft blues, greens and purples, harsh reds, cold sterile white, and the chilling fear bore from having no light at all. Filled with sounds that are similar and seemingly comprised of every day noise but at the same time changed and twisted into sounds of overwhelmingly alien nature. To fully complete the sound-scape of the show, the original score was written by members of Defy, a local band. The vocalist for the band, David Sims, is the designer of Alice. The show was designed to be a complete theatre experience combing live sound with sound effects and lighting to create a very real feel for the audience. From the moment each person enters through The Millennium Theatre doorway, their journey begins. From the second the lights in the house fade to black, the roller-coaster of lights and sounds that is Alice never stops. There is always something going on that will intrigue all of your senses. Music flows between and through each scene giving a cinematic flow to the show. Adding to the atmosphere are the signs of Wonderland everywhere one looks: living costumes, dancing crazies in human faces, warped set pieces and very warped characters. Although the script and story have been completely re-done Wonderland favorites such as the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Dormouse, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the Caterpillar, and of course the Cheshire cat, play major roles in Sims’ script. As stated earlier, Alice is technically complex, some might say understatedly so. The technical work is done by the actors on stage and involves set changes, puppeteering, and live video feeds. Combining those tasks with dancing, acting and fighting makes Alice a cohesive package that never stops moving. The show holds something incredible for everyone! It’s a beautiful work of “performance art” and guarantees to be one of the most spectacular theatre experiences Omaha has ever witnessed. Come with us on this fantastic journey February 14 - March 17, 2002. (c) 2000 Dave Sims (I guess) (c) 2000 www.stagesofomaha.com (and that's all okay, and I can write what I want because I work there) 010107 ... jennifer ps god bless Dave for mentioning "lighting" (we never get no props) 010107 ... jennifer -MARCH- And now she’s dead! Those legs will never walk again! -HATTER- Those breasts, those breasts will never. . -WALRUS- Will never what? -HATTER- I just really liked those breasts! -MOUSE- We got that poor girl killed! Oh it’s all our fault! They all begin to sob uncontrollably. The Carpenter snaps up from out of the hole. -CARPENTER- I don’t know what the hell you guys are smokin’, but I didn’t have shit to do with this man! I didn’t even know this bitch! Which leads me to a different question! If I don’t even know her, why then am I the one digging this fucking hole! -WALRUS- Because you’re the only one here without a green card! Now keep digging! -CARPENTER- Aw that’s cold homes. Like prejudice and shit! 051008 what's it to you? who go blather from