Duncan Sheik/Sara B: Alice in Wonderland

[B.JAMES]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 2:44pm

I’m totally here for this.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Duncan-Sheik-and-Sara-Bareilles-Are-Working-on-an-ALICE-AND-WONDERLAND-Broadway-Show-20180309

[BwayLB]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 2:50pm

Another surprising adaptation plans for Wonderland. No sarcasm intended

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 3:06pm

They are both extremely talented, why not give us something new? JMO

[Will3700]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 3:10pm

I love Duncan Sheik and will see anything he does but I was so hoping his next Broadway show would be Whisper House. I saw him in an intimate show in Mckinney Tx in 2009 and he sang through the CD. I have been hooked ever since. 

 

 

[finebydesign]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 4:03pm

This is almost as boring as the chatter on here about Peterpan.  These properties need to go away for a really long long long long long long time.  

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 4:24pm

Will3700 said: "I love Duncan Sheik and will see anything he does but I was so hoping his next Broadway show would be Whisper House. I saw him in an intimate show in Mckinney Tx in 2009 and he sang through the CD. I have been hooked ever since."

 Wish i had seen WHISPER HOUSE.. Listened to it a lot. A friend saw it and got me the tee shirt.

 

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 10:13pm

Didn't Sheik already do an Alice adaptation in London a few years ago? Will this be starting from scratch, or working from that?

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 10:20pm

It played the Lyric Hammersmith in 2012. Based on the YT comments it seems to be licensed and oft performed in the UK.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 10:49pm

Alice never works as an adaptation.

I'm sure it will look really cool and have some fun music, but the narrative arc of Alice is never strong enough outside of the book. It's just too passive and episodic. The joy of Alice is reading it purely. And as soon as you shoehorn in morals and dramatic tension it stops feeling like Alice and it becomes contrived, as we saw with Wildhorn's musical. 

 

Updated On: 3/9/18 at 10:49 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 11:42pm

Will3700 said: "I love Duncan Sheik and will see anything he does but I was so hoping his next Broadway show would be Whisper House. I saw him in an intimate show in Mckinney Tx in 2009 and he sang through the CD. I have been hooked ever since."

I was so excited to see Whisper House in London in April last year while it was still in previews. I love Duncan’s album of the songs from the show. I was so disappointed. Songs were still solid, but the show was weak due to a poorly written book. It closed shortly after it officially opened (although perhaps it had a predetermined limited run).

I love both Spring Awakening and Waitress. And I love the London OBCR from American Psycho although I didn’t get to see it in NYC or London.  That being said, while the music should be good, they’ll need a very strong book writer, especially considering other recent flops like Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that revolved around beloved childhood properties. Wishing them luck! It would be nice to see Sara have two consecutive Broadway hits and Duncan is overdue for another stage hit. 

Updated On: 3/9/18 at 11:42 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/9/18 at 11:56pm

Agree that this story just doesn’t work. It’s not a plot driven show and therefore doesn’t really work for adaptation. Don’t know why they’d choose this as it has been so overdone!

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 12:28am

I hope Sheik's influence doesn't override hers. I think she actually has better instincts.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 1:58am

I can see their musical styles blending quite beautifully. I’m excited for this.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/12/18 at 11:00am

I just remember Sheik and his sister being really annoying when Spring Awakening first came out and were saying about how it was not really a Broadway musical and was above the genre, etc.

[skys44ever]

Posted: 3/21/18 at 6:26pm

It's going to MCC. This description sounds really interesting to me.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/MCC-Theater-Announces-New-Season-in-New-Home-20180321

"When the madness of the world is too much to bear, we take refuge in the stories we love. Tony® and Grammy® award-winning creators of Spring Awakening, Steven Saterand Duncan Sheik, reunite for their new musical Alice By Heart, inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and directed and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress). In the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, Alice Spencer's budding teen life is turned upside down, and she and her dear friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When the ailing Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to wonderland. As they travel through the tale, Alice By Heart explores the poignancy of first love, coming to terms with loss, and finding the courage to move forward. This world premiere musical encourages us all to celebrate the transformational power of the imagination, even in the harshest of times."

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/21/18 at 7:31pm

Sara isn't mentioned. Is she no longer involved or is this an oversight?

[Elegance101]

Posted: 3/21/18 at 8:39pm

VintageSnarker said: "Sara isn't mentioned. Is she no longer involved or is this an oversight?"

She is probably going to start in it, but I don’t believe she has any involvement in th writing process.

[skys44ever]

Posted: 3/22/18 at 10:58am

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/191510/exclusive-sara-bareilles-looks-to-star-in-alice-in-wonderland-musical/

She wants to be in it

[newintown]

Posted: 3/22/18 at 12:46pm

Good luck to them, but this show sounds absolutely unbearable to me. And reiterating what has been said above - Alice never transfers well to the (relatively modern) stage. Swados' Alice At The Palace (or In Concert) and Wildhorn's Wonderland were both utter torture to sit through. Carroll's brand of sunny nonsense/illogic is a delicate thing.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/22/18 at 12:53pm

The off-broadway immersive non-musical Then She Fell was interesting at least and is probably as successful as any theatrical Alice adaptation will be. I did decide after that one though that I’m probably not the right audience for fully immersive shows. The current off-broadway Sweeney Todd is the right amount of immersive for me. I think it would be interesting if they made this Alice adaptation interactive/immersive as well, but more in line with the amount found in Sweeney Todd.

[skys44ever]

Posted: 3/22/18 at 4:11pm

I get what everyone is saying about more alice stuff, but I was excited to hear that it actually sounds like a pretty new take on it. London Blitz is a pretty specific take.