Alice By Heart (PREVIEWS)- Page 5

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 2/24/19 at 8:43am

I saw this yesterday, and I loved it. It was absolutely gorgeously staged, and I thought the score was beautiful.

I agree with the poster who said there isn't a single weak link in the cast. Each person embodied their character perfectly, and I felt that while Molly Gordon downplayed a lot, it was purposeful and fit the character.

The staging of this show and the score was very reminiscent of Spring Awakening, which may be why I enjoyed it so much. I couldn't get over how completely synced the cast were to each other and to the story.

I didn't find it hard to follow at all, and my exposure to Alice doesn't go further than the Disney animation and the Tim Burton film. I did read the insert beforehand, so that was helpful in understanding the characters. I assume a lot has been changed since many on this board saw it in early previews because I didn't find the book to be confusing, and the songs were clever and really boosted the storyline.

That being said, the audience did seem to be a mixed bag as far as enjoyment goes, so it may just be a really polarizing show in general. 
 

Updated On: 2/24/19 at 08:43 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/24/19 at 11:14am

Wow, I thought this was bafflingly bad. Like, I was truly in awe the entire time of how appallingly ill-conceived it was on virtually every level. The basic idea had a lot of potential, but IMO they executed it poorly at every turn. The actors seemed to have no idea what they were saying - no one was acting, they were just doing funny voices. The whole show seemed to be directed line by line, with no coherence between moments. No doubt they thought they doing that to pay homage to Caroll's nonsense style, but they clearly don't have Caroll's wit or intelligence. The humor was so awful it made me cringe the entire time. And the ACCENTS, my lord. I'm shocked they were even capable of finding 10 actors that were that bad at British accents. It seems like it would take effort to be that consistent. It was almost a welcome relief when they completely abandoned their accents during the sung sections, except that in itself was a laughable stylistic decision. Literally - the first couple times it happened, I actually had to stop myself from laughing out loud during serious moments. 

I could honestly go on, but I'd rather jut forget I ever saw this mess. 

I'll give them this: the aesthetics were nice, and consistent with the concept. And there were some pleasant musical moments. That's truly all I can say in their defense. 

For me, this was one of the worst new musicals this season, and that's saying a lot. 

[Kea4]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 10:51am

I saw this yesterday and absolutely loved it! I was going in with lower expectations after reading some responses on here, but I think that it absolutely worked. Like many have said, the music and staging reminded me a lot of Spring Awakening (which is one of my favorite shows) and was beautifully executed. I think the story flowed in a way that made sense, and really dealt with it's overarching themes while tying into Alice in Wonderland quite well. That being said, it had it's very strange moments, to the point of making me uncomfortable - but Alice in Wonderland is a very strange book, so I think these made a lot of sense. 

The only criticisms I had were that I think that the script could have been cleaned up a bit - some of the dialogue did not feel necessary. And some of the accents definitely need some work.

While I see why it would be a very polarizing show, I am surprised so many people on here thought it was awful! 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 6:30pm

Does anyone know when this thing opens? I feel like it’s been in previews for three years.

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 7:07pm

Opening Night is tomorrow

[LuPita2]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 8:45pm

Such a waste of a beautiful, new theater space.  I, too, feel like this has been in previews all Winter.

[zachvandyke]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 7:39pm

Anyone attending the opening tonight? What is the final run time of the show?

[VotePeron]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 10:14pm

Reviews are in and shockingly, not great. All praise the new MCC space and the choreography, but all note there is no future for this show.

New York Times (pan)

Vulture (negative, great insight on Sara Holden's part)

Hollywood Reporter (negative)

Variety (the only mixed-to-positive from a notable publication)

Newsday (cautiously optimistic).

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 3:17am

Sometimes I think what is always at the root of why Alice adaptations fail is the creatives clearly don’t understand what the books are.

They were written to be diversions from patronizing books for children that had harpy messages and morals. It’s an exploration of nonsense and the imagination. But at the same time they explore the imagination in a way that is so specific to Victorian England.

Sure, it’s interpretable, but Wildhorn, Tim Burton, And now this group they keep forcing their own ideas of what this book is.

The reason why Into the Woods works is because there IS something to subvert about those fairy tales.

Alice was written to be subversive. It doesn’t even really have a plot. So to subvert it again cancels out the essence. And no adaptations except maybe the Disney film from the 50s has ever really understood that.

Updated On: 2/27/19 at 03:17 AM

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 11:34am

Oof That New York Times piece.

"Seen in the cold light of a theatergoing evening, however, this production is practically, well, impossible to embrace as a credible work of entertainment."

I don't know too much about Alice By Heart, only through the terrible reviews posted here. A pity. I really liked the concept! I don't think it's going to turn me off from seeing the show, but I've definitely moved to cautious now.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 12:01pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "
Sometimes I think what is always at the root of why Alice adaptations fail is the creatives clearly don’t understand what the books are.

They were written to be diversions from patronizing books for children that had harpy messages and morals. It’s an exploration of nonsense and the imagination. But at the same time they explore the imagination in a way that is so specific to Victorian England.

Sure, it’s interpretable, but Wildhorn, Tim Burton, And now this group they keep forcing their own ideas of what this book is.

The reason why Into the Woods works is because there IS something to subvert about those fairy tales.

Alice was written to be subversive. It doesn’t even really have a plot. So to subvert it again cancels out the essence. And no adaptations except maybe the Disney film from the 50s has ever really understood that."

I think Elizabeth Swados' musical adaptation is actually the best in terms of capturing the spirit of the books. It's delightful nonsense, without trying to force a point of view onto the source. 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 12:54pm

I think Elizabeth Swados' musical adaptation is actually the best in terms of capturing the spirit of the books. It's delightful nonsense, without trying to force a point of view onto the source."

I definitely agree. She does capture the spirit of the books. My issue with her adaptation is how Alice is portrayed. Alice is portrayed as a very typical child in her version, but the point of the books is Alice is a precocious put together adult figure. She has to stand out as the straight man from the rest of the world.

While Meryl Streep is amazing she’s too immersed and part of the bizarreness of the world in a story about a child constantly fighting for grounded logic.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 12:56pm

BwayGeek2 said: "I don't think it's going to turn me off from seeing the show, but I've definitely moved to cautious now."

What would it take to make you not want to go?! heh

[Hamilfan2]

Posted: 2/28/19 at 1:30pm

Just got a promo email from Alice by Heart using this pull quote:

“A FANTASTICAL, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR with INGENIOUS costumes, NOEL COWARD-ISH WIT, and DREAMY SONGS which suggest the BEATLES’ hallucinogenic period with echoes of music from SPRING AWAKENING.”
-The New York Times

I'm not sure whether to be annoyed or impressed with this show's marketing team.  Possibly a little of both.  The fact that they were able to weave together something that sounded remotely positive from that review is an impressive feat to be sure.  But this is clearly a blatant misrepresentation using bit quotes taken out of context from throughout the review.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/28/19 at 1:32pm

Hamilfan2 said: "this is clearly a blatant misrepresentation using bit quotes taken out of context from throughout the review."

So standard operating procedure?

[boonanas]

Posted: 2/28/19 at 1:35pm

I saw this last night.  I found it to be OKAY.  About half the songs are good, the other half are forgettable, and I mostly found it confusing.  It almost felt like experimental theater throughout. 

[dmrockon092]

Posted: 3/5/19 at 10:08pm

Has anyone done the in person rush? When did you go and how early? 

[Here I Am]

Posted: 3/6/19 at 7:18am

I am completely baffled by the bad reviews both by people on this site and critics. I found the show to be poignant, heartbreakingly beautiful, magical, and haunting.

The cast, costumes, scenic and lighting design, choreography and direction were absolutely stellar. Such a unique and special evening of theatre.

Sorry, not sorry.

Updated On: 3/7/19 at 07:18 AM

[Kitsune]

Posted: 3/6/19 at 12:04pm

I caught Alice By Heart a few weeks ago and I'm also in the pro camp. Yes, the story is disjointed, and I see how that could be very polarizing. But the metaphor of war as an upside down place like Wonderland really worked for me, and I left moved by the story. Grace McLean in particular was a highlight. I thought the score was lovely and I'm hoping for a cast recording.

[itsbeengrand]

Posted: 3/6/19 at 1:31pm

i did the in person rush the other day. i showed up a few minutes late and 2 people were in front of me i didn't get the tickets initially (the lady in front of me got the last ones), but i was put on the stand by list and got in with a good view (im 20 so we got premium seats, $120 for $30)

[ccbway]

Posted: 3/6/19 at 3:15pm

I saw this last night and I'm not sure why people have panned it so much. It wasn't exactly what I would consider to be great, but it wasn't offensively bad. There were several redeeming aspects including the choreography and set were pretty interesting. Certain performers were quite good, I thought Grace McLean was great, Noah Galvin was entertaining, the Caterpillar. I actually thought Molly Gordon was one of the better performers as well. I find Colton Ryan's singing to be...subpar and it amazes me that he continues to get some pretty plum roles, but maybe it was just an off night for him.

Yes, the story line/book needs some work, I suppose it could be a little confusing if you're completely unfamiliar with Lewis Carroll and Alice. I thought the music was okay, but somewhat unmemorable. I guess I had a mixed review, but it was pretty far from a complete disaster that I was expecting after reading this thread.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/6/19 at 3:20pm

See, i thought most of us gave it mixed reviews...not outright pans. I liked it....but far from loved it.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 3/7/19 at 1:21pm

Oh man. I wanted to love this so much. I went in on Tuesday having read absolutely nothing about it... no reviews, no message boards, no word of mouth. And I usually find things to like in shows that others pan. 

I did think the music was lovely. I wasn't crazy about one of the voices, but I'll listen to Spring Awakening all day and this was clearly reminiscent, so I was a fan. If they recorded it, I'd surely buy it as there are some songs I definitely want to hear again. 

But count me as someone who couldn't wait for it to be over. What an absolute mess. I actually felt bad for the actors who were clearly giving it their all (and had to deal with very tepid applause at the end, ouch), but it's hard to make sense of something that (deliberately?) doesn't make any sense. Might as well have been in a different language for the amount of time I knew what was going on. So much of it read as bad children's theatre...or a bad production of Godspell... or character exercises in an acting class. (And did I hear a totally anachronistic "henny" from the Duchess in drag? Wtf?) I was doing a lot of cringing. What a shame, because it really had so much potential. Oh well. 

[dmrockon092]

Posted: 3/7/19 at 2:55pm

For those who rushed, what time did you arrive?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 3/8/19 at 8:24am

Saw this last night and really hated it. Disjointed, insane, repetitive. I understand that to some extent those words could describe the book, but this was just a complete misfire all around. The only numbers I came close to enjoying were the Mad Hatter's and the Queen's, but the Hatter's seems to be gesturing at some comment on PTSD (?). Also, for some reason the Duchess make multiple fart jokes, and one of the birds runs out of his number because he has to pee.

The costumes were ingenious, but other than that, the horror. The horror.