BWW TV: WONDERLAND on Broadway - Complete Sneak Peek!

[Rob]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:05pm

Click Here to Read BWW TV: WONDERLAND on Broadway - Complete Sneak Peek!

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:26pm

This makes me want to see Wonderland more than other videos make me want to see their respective show. There are some amazing singers in this show. It looks fun to me!

[grandpianoalex]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:37pm

^^Agreed. There were a couple duds for songs in that video, but some were great! and that FINALE! Beautiful. Has a cast recording been announced?

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:38pm

Just for the record, like half of this video seems to be dubbed over with the OBCR. So that's sort of a preview of the album right there!

(And the video looks fantastic!)

[BwayTday]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:51pm

I think that it faired really great on video. It looks and sounds amazing. It made me forget the bad parts of the show. Some of these numbers are really entertaining. The vocals in this show are out of this world.

Kate Shindle is fierce. Really fierce. Karen Mason too.

Oh and I think the cast recording is due out in early May. I am looking forward to it.


Updated On: 4/14/11 at 11:51 PM

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 11:59pm

She held that note for 12 seconds. Damn!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 12:19am

I'm glad I'm not the only one who became interested with that video. This has made me decide to definitely see this in the summer.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 12:36am

The song roundabouts 03.35 sounds very much like that Santana song I can't remember the name of.

[phantom39]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:06am

The video looks great! Especially Janet's finale.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:20am

I didnt watch the video yet, but I believe there is a small "sample" of "smoothe" in "Go With The Flow"-

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:22am

^ Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was intentional.

[dramarama3]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 2:21am

Sounds great, looks cheap.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 2:47am

The show's best asset is the score... Glad people are finally deciding to give it a chance/enjoying it! Great footage, great preview!

[Mark_E]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 8:17am

This makes me want to see it again! Not that I didn't enjoy it the first time round but it was far from my favourite show I saw during my week in New York. If it ever did come to London I would definitely go and see it. And I am looking forward to the cast album! I had forgotten how good some of the songs actually were.

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 10:01am

those women are singing their a**es off! wow! unfortunately though, looks very dated. i think this would have been a surefire hit in the 80's or 90's, but the songs kinda drag & need more punch. very cute staging and costumes though. hope they do well.

[showinoff]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 10:52am

I would really like those 13 minutes of my life back...

[Kad]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 11:33am

They should just call this "People Singing the SH*T out of Things: The Musical". 'Cuz.. that's all it seems to be.

[jakebloke]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 11:54am

Doesn't look so bad, but I can't help but think the lead should burst into Pat Benatar with the whole look they gave her.

[HistoryBoy2]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 12:12pm

It's like if someone had taken so much acid, right, and they took a dump and they were so off their face that even the sh*t was high.

That's what this show is like. That sh*t.

But more seriously:
The original Alice story was a very English tale filled with profoundly English whimsy. All that was charming about the story has been obliterated in this gaudy, tacky monstrosity.
The only magical moment of that video came when all the characters appeared in silhouette for the finale - the idea of the story coming to life in that way is exciting and that is what the show appears to lack. Simple, uncomplicated magic drawn from classic characters appearing in front of you. Updated On: 4/14/11 at 12:12 PM

[GatorNY]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 12:32pm

Whatever....
Just got some tickets for opening night performance. I'll give it a chance. I've never actually seen a Wildhorn show, although I'm a big fan of Linda Eder, and therefore know some of his work.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:23pm

Why is Shindle yipping like a little dog? She can sing wonderfully, but there's something off about her in this. The faces she made during that I Will Prevail song made her seem like she really didn't give two sh*ts.

Save for about two songs the score sounds like they would stop the story dead in its tracks.

[PopAria]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 5:42pm

This looks soo exciting! Except for that cat.. why is he speaking/singing like he's straight off the boat?

All of the songs sound so catchy and fun.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 6:07pm

Shindle was on vocal rest for a while, this was definitely shot recently but don't know the specifics.

"I Will Prevail" was written specifically for Kate Shindle and she works extensively with Frank Wildhorn so I highly doubt she doesn't "give two sh*ts." She seems very enthusiast about the project and is rather good.

HistoryBoy: This is a modern adaptation of a modern day working woman, it's not based on the Lewis Carroll books and doesn't try to be. It incorporates the characters and general themes to relate them to the audience through means of discovering something about you (ie: Mad Hatter is Alice's cynicism, Rabbit is Alice's running late, etc).

In this version The Cheshire Cat is called "El Gato," and is supposed to be a Latin-infused character! Jose Llana does a wonderful job with the song.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 6:34pm

Those lyrics are almost as obvious and gaudy as the costumes.

And anyone else think that Music Man parody that the Queen sings crosses the line from "spoof" to directly ripping off "Trouble" in a particuarly disingenous way?

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 8:45pm

Wow, after seeing that 13 minutes of what seems to be the best they've got to offer, I ask that decades-old question: What is the reason for this musical to exist? It appears to be the kind of adaptation that depends on the audience being familiar with original source material, but oops, if they are, they'll likely be asking, WHY?

Yes, no doubt the cast is filled with Broadway-caliber talent – the most impressive for me is Janet Dacal – but it doesn't seem that her character has much at stake except wanting to be closer to her family and to break a writer's block, no? Not exactly compelling stuff; just an excuse for lots of pointless production numbers. In fact, from that ending, etc., this enterprise seems 50% Alice in Wonderland and 50% Wizard of Oz – 100% wrongheaded.

Yes, Karen Mason is a fabulous singer, but I found her “Off with Their Heads” number embarrassing. And why do the girls behind her look Asian? Doubly so for Jose Llana's Cheshire cat mess in barrio, and the Caterpillar's number which reminded so much of the embarrassing number Maurice Hines had to perform in the hideous “Bring Back Birdie.”

Yes again, Kate Shindle is obviously quite gifted as a musical comedy actress (all the actors are completely blameless here), but her songs (all songs I heard here in fact) seem far more destined to be belt audition songs more than anything else. Frank Wildhorn writes great pop melodies, but that does necessarily yield a strong musical comedy score.

And I also very much agree with the poster who was trouble by the “homage” (i.e. rip-off) of Meredith Willson's “Trouble.” For the family audience this one is clearly aimed toward, that bit of inside joke (taken too far) will be lost on them anyway.

I saw tons of Broadway and OB musicals (most all of them in every season) while I lived in NYC from the early 70s to the mid-90s – and have visited numerous time since leaving.

Because I see so few new shows these days, I rely on these promotional videos to give me some cue about the show. Of the dozen or more I've seen this season the one I saw today from “Catch Me If You Can,” has been the most impressive to me, and the one for which I would purchase a ticket. I know the reviews were generally unfavorable – I can see how the TV variety show conceit could get old quickly – but nevertheless I loved what I saw; certainly much more than what I've seen of Wonderland, How to Succeed, and Priscilla, and others. http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/video/4573.html

If I were to see Wonderland, it would be the fourth New York production of an Alice in Wonderland adaptation. One was a very faithful straight-play version of “Alice in Wonderland” starring Kate Burton which was awful for one reason because the actors were so muffled by their masks and costumes they couldn't heard, and it had all the bounce of a funeral. The next was the Elizabeth Swados' treatment of “Alice” at the Public starring Meryl Streep which I saw several times and LOVED, and then there was one of the most atrocious flops I ever witnessed, “But Never Jam Today,” which just be the nadir of awful “Alice” adapations.

For “Wonderland,” it's clear from the video that everyone is doing all they can to make the material work, but the premise and execution just seem wrong. I know the creative team has worked a lot on the show since leaving Florida, but in the end it's still Wonderland, warts and all.

I suppose the most positive thing I can say about what I've seen of Wonderland (besides the talented cast) is that it certainly challenges Charles Isherwood's essay in today's edition of The New York Times about the lack of strong voices on Broadway.

Updated On: 4/14/11 at 08:45 PM