Alice in Wonderland is a pretty confusing and convoluted story in the original, and the "madhouse" correlations seem interesting/appropriate, but due to uneven performances, and iffy acoustics, it was sometimes hard to follow. There were 17 actors, each portraying two characters, one in the asylum and the other in Wonderland. I particularly enjoyed Grace Hinkley as the Cheshire Cat and her crazy-person counterpart, who also added wonderful sound effects with her violin. She also wrote the "Dramaturge's Note" which offers more information about Lewis Carroll's connection to his "mad" characters, challenging the way the mentally ill were treated in his time.
The show is only an hour long, but I still would not recommend it for elementary aged children. It may be thought-provoking for older ones.
Off With Her Head continues at the Arena Theatre in the basement of the MSU Auditorium building on the corner of Farm Lane and Auditorium. (It tends to be warm in there, so dress in layers.)
Remaining shows:
Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 8:00pm
Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 2:00pm $10 Tickets are available at the door (box office upstairs on the Farm Lane end of the Auditorium Building. The Arena is downstairs.) OR from the Wharton Center Box Office, 1.800.WHARTON, whartoncenter.com