Mason, Snelson, Ritchie And Brooks Join Wildhorn's WONDERLAND, Full Tampa World Premiere Casting Announced

[EddieVarley]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:33pm

Click Here to Read Mason, Snelson, Ritchie And Brooks Join Wildhorn's WONDERLAND, Full Tampa World Premiere Casting Announced
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Mason_Snelson_Ritchie_And_Brooks_Join_Wildhorns_WONDERLAND_Full_Tampa_World_Premiere_Casting_Annouced_20090811

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:36pm

El Gato? Really? Oh, right, Wildhorn...

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:50pm

I actually read the sides for El Gato and he's supposed to be a feline version of Ricardo Montalban.

Ooh, I like Darren Ritchie.

How old is Julie Brooks?

Updated On: 8/11/09 at 02:50 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:55pm

Yes! I really like Darren Ritchie glad to see he's found his way back to a Wildhorn show.

Mattbrain: I don't know how old she is, but the parts of the scripts I've seen she is roughly 9 to 12.

Also: El Gato seems like a very bizarre/out-there in a bad way character!!!!!!!!

[philly03]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:56pm

BTW - Autumn Hurlburt is in this, perhaps she will be understudying Alice?? Who knows!

The casting isn't all that bad - just not as good as that workshop/readings cast they had back in the spring!

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:57pm

Yeah, philly, you could say that about El Gato.

[philly03]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:01pm

From what I remember of the brief lines I read, his stuff is like "Hola, momma" and stuff like that right? Disgustingly camp/awkward laughs I suppose they were going for hahaha.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:04pm

Well, Congrats to Nikki and Autumn!

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:05pm

Autumn never went on for Elle, so hopefully she'd get to go on for Alice (if she were the understudy).

[philly03]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:05pm

Oh and if anyone hasn't seen the previous WONDERLAND thread as of late, Lauren Kennedy's "Finding Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" clips have been replaced with Brandi Burkhardt's versions, should you want to give it a second try!

[jovie27]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:37pm

At one time I remember you were able to download samples songs...is that still possible and if so, where can I do that...would love to hear this show!

Thanks!

[philly03]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:25pm

Jovie:

Unfortunately, the clips were NEVER available for download; on Wonderland's official website: http://www.WonderlandtheMusical.org/ , however you are able to hear FOUR songs - "Finding Wonderland," "The Mad Hatter Song" (by Tracy Miller), "Through the Looking Glass" and "The Caterpillar Song" (By Michael Lanning). Go to the website under Music & Video. "Finding..." and TTLG are sung now by Brandi, and the clips were just changed within this week. They used to be Lauren Kennedy clips, which people didn't seem to like...

On Jack Murphy's website, you can hear the clips of Mad Hatter... and Caterpillar... in better quality, as well as the show's finale, last I heard: "Once More I Can See" (by Brandi Burkhardt).

You can hear them here:
http://jackmurphymusic.com/jackmurphy/Future_Podcast/Future_Podcast.html

Enjoy!

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 9:02pm

"From what I remember of the brief lines I read, his stuff is like "Hola, momma" and stuff like that right? Disgustingly camp/awkward laughs I suppose they were going for hahaha. "


Yep!


Julie Brooks doesn't look 9 to 12 to me.

Updated On: 8/11/09 at 09:02 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 12:06am

Nope - me either. This is one of Mr Wildhorn's FEW projects that have somehow over the years been kept pretty private, and most of the stuff people talk about is speculation. I guess I was stupid enough to succumb to it this time .

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 1:12am

(first off, Hi everybody!)

Nikki Snelson as...THE MAD HATTER?
El Gato?

okay, well I'm a little more convinced this will be dreck.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 1:14am

I sort of want to buy a plane ticket to get to this disaster as I doubt it will be seen elsewhere.

[philly03]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 12:30pm

MrSweetNAwful, yes .. Snelson is the Mad Hatter. They took a few different approaches with the characters - but apparently this is going to be a dance-y role. You can hear her song (sung by Tracy Miller) on the Wonderland website.

The Cheshire Cat has always been more .. latino flavored, but is now called El Gato. His song was NOT pleasant and VERY VERY Ricky Martin-y, so hopefully that has changed. But his lines are just as bad anyway from what I've seen .... !

BTW Bobby, I'll be seeing it!! It might not be total trainwreck, but I'm certainly sensing that there will be some major theatre trash seen.

Anyone know if this cast is going to Houston too?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 12:58pm

I'm quite intrigued by this, though given its pedigree it's bound to be a disaster. I live about 1.5-2 hours from Tampa, so technically I could make it, but the chances of me finding someone who would be willing to make the drive to see this of all things is rather slim.

[philly03]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 1:08pm

Tickets aren't too bad surprisingly for the weekdays, anyway? $38 - $68. Never seen anything in Tampa, or FL for that matter, but sure beats even the tour prices here in Philly.

This may not be a total trainwreck, I can't even deny that some of this will be trash -- but it stemmed from a really good idea and hopefully they made the best of it. Although you always have to wonder why a creative team person left .... hmmmm!

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 7:11pm

this is going to be incredibly interesting.
Amazingly odd casting and what was the last wildhorn show that actually made money on Broadway? Why anyone would give this man money to produce a show is beyond me

[philly03]

Posted: 8/12/09 at 7:39pm

Wildhorn's last financial "hit" was Jekyll & HYDE - which made it back within the crossover of it's second-third national tour (from Eq to Non-equity). Civil War has made minimal profits in select regional productions, but Scarlet Pimpernel hasn't made money ever; DRACULA, the musical was a hit in Europe, but never here.

Anyway, most Wildhorn shows in the states are produced by a regional theatre and Wildhorn's production Co.; DRACULA on Broadway was produced by Wildhorn's co. and the people that do producing for La Jolla, and I think maybe one or two other producers. Nothing like what J&H or SP tried to do with countless producers.

[philly03]

Posted: 8/13/09 at 12:36am

One of the Tampa newspapers reported also on the casting announcement and said this:

"The 25-member cast also has Julie Brooks playing Alice's 10-year-old daughter, Chloe;"

Therefore, we either have the wrong Julie Brooks or she will be playing a 10-year-old!


Also added by co-book writer and lyricist Jack Murphy:
"If you don't have the right Alice, the show won't work," said Jack Murphy, who is writing the book and lyrics of the musical, inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Though Alice is a British expatriate children's book author living in New York in the musical, the character won't change with a Latina in the role, Murphy said.

"We were very excited to get Janet. This is not going to be your mother's Alice in Wonderland. This is a modern woman who speaks to today's audience.""


Link:

Updated On: 8/13/09 at 12:36 AM