Alice the Musical
Book and Lyrics by Clive Francis | Music by Charles Miller
Synopsis
ALICE THE MUSICAL is based on Lewis Carroll’s story about a young girl who falls into a deep sleep whilst being read a book by her sister, and has the most wonderful dream; a dream which immediately becomes a nightmare.
First of all, the Cheshire Cat introduces us to the mysterious world of Wonderland, and the inhabitants that live there. Then we meet a whole host of characters including the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the Queen and, of course, the Mad Hatter! Will Alice wake up in time not to lose her head?
Story
ALICE THE MUSICAL is based on Lewis Carroll’s story about a young girl who falls into a deep sleep whilst being read a book by her sister, and has the most wonderful dream; a dream which immediately becomes a nightmare.
First of all, the Cheshire Cat introduces us to the mysterious world of Wonderland, and the inhabitants that live there. Then we meet a White Rabbit running through the garden anxiously confronting his watch (I Am Late). Suddenly a hole opens up and both the Rabbit and Alice topple down it at great speed. On the way she is confronted by a whole host of strange creatures who taunt her with (Darkness). When she eventually reaches the bottom Alice finds herself in a room surrounded by doors all of which are locked, eventually after shrinking and growing and then shrinking again she begins to cry, her tears becoming so deep that she finds herself being carried along on the waves meeting the Dodo, Eaglet and Lorry who entertain her with TheSea of Tears and introduce her to the madness of, The Caucus Race, which only starts as it ends and ends as it finishes.
Suddenly, Alice finds herself alone and dreadfully missing her cat, which she sings about fondly (Dinah). Then through the trees the gardeners appear all in a tangle and a mess and launch into Just Around the Corner is my Maybe. Again, just as Alice has given up all hope of ever seeing her home again the Caterpillar looms large before her sitting on a giant mushroom and tells her to ‘stop bawling’ and begins reciting, You AreOld Father William.
Alice explains that she has been small for too long and would like to grow bigger again. The Caterpillar suggests nibbling a piece of his mushroom, quickly she begins to grow and as she does she notices a fish footman trying to present to the frog footmen an invitation for the Duchess from the Queen (The Footman’s Ditty). The Duchess meanwhile is sitting in the kitchen cradling a baby, while the cook is pouring too much pepper into a cauldron of soup. They both launch into, Speak Roughly to your Little Boy, which ends with the baby being thrown into the air, only it isn’t baby it’s a pig. Alice quickly escapes the scene and asks the Cheshire Cat which way she should go next, and is directed towards the Mad Hatter, who just happens to be having a tea party with the Dormouse and March Hare. This mad episode ends with the song, Facts, sung by the Hatter and the whole ensemble.
After the interval, we meet the Gardeners who are painting the white roses red in order to please the Queen (Painting the Roses Red), except the Queen is not pleased and demands that their heads be cut off. Alice intervenes and is immediately told her head will go as well! But before it does the Queen invites her to watch the croquet match, where flamingos are used as mallets and hedgehogs as balls (The Croquet Game). Alice next finds herself on the seashore talking to a Gryphon and a Mock Turtle who try and teach her a quadrille (The Lobster Quadrille).
But the dance is interrupted by a crab telling them to hurry as the trial is about to begin. The trial is about who stole one of the Queens tarts baked this morning. The Knave is the chief culprit and one by one a number of the other characters are accused as well, including the Mad Hatter (Guilty). But suspicion falls once more upon the Knave as the White Rabbit tries to explain (Him Ourselves and It). Alice gets increasingly irritated by all this and leaps to their defence with, ‘stuff and nonsense.’ The Queen screams, ‘What!’ and screams again, Off with her Dainty Little Head. During all this Alice finds herself growing until everything about her is nothing more than a pack of cards which in turn she picks up and throws into the air. After which, Alice wakes up and finds herself sitting with her sister who all the time has been reading the same boring book. Alice tries to explain her extraordinary adventures, and the musical ends with a refrain of Wonderland.
Musical Numbers
- Wonderland - The Cheshire Cat and Wood Nymphs
- I Am Late - The White Rabbit
- Darkness - Creatures
- The Sea of Tears - Dodo, Eaglet and Lorry
- The Caucus Race - Dodo, Eaglet, Lorry, Alice and Creatures
- Dinah - Alice and Creatures
- Just Around the Corner is my Maybe - Wally, White Rabbit and Ollie
- You Are Old Father William - Caterpillar and Ensemble
- The Footman’s Ditty - Fish Footmen and Frog Footmen
- Speak Roughly to your Little Boy - Duchess, Cook and Kitchen Staff
- Facts - Mad Hatter, Dormouse, Hare and Ensemble
- Painting the Roses Red - Gardeners and Ensemble
- The Croquet Game - The King, The Queen, Alice, Flamingos and Ensemble
- The Lobster Quadrille - Turtle and Gryphon
- Guilty - The King, The Cook, Mad Hatter, Ensemble
- Dinah Reprise - Alice
- Him Ourselves and It - The White Rabbit, Knave, Ensemble
- Off with her Dainty Little Head - The King, The Queen, Alice and Ensemble
- Wonderland Reprise - Full Company
Cast
- ACTOR 1: Alice
- ACTOR 2: Cheshire Cat/Lory
- ACTOR 3: Door 2/ Bird /Duchess
- ACTOR 4: Door 3/Ollie/Mad Hatter/Gardener 1/ Gryphon
- ACTOR 5: Door 1/Cook/March Hare/Gardener 2/ Mock Turtle
- ACTOR 6: Mary/Bottle 1/Eaglet/Frog Footman/ Dormouse
- ACTOR 7: White Rabbit/Dodo/Fish Footman/ Executioner
- ACTOR 8: Box/Squirrel/Queen
- ACTOR 9: Caterpillar/King
- ACTOR 10: Spider/Mouse/Wally/Gardener 3
- ACTOR 11: Bat/Table/Bird 2/Bottle 2/Knave
- Ensemble: Crabs/Underworld creatures/Drones/Flamingos/Court/Soldiers
Scenes and settings
The show starts in the 'real' world with Alice sitting next to her sister and the show ends here too. The setting for the rest, and majority, of the show is Wonderland, a strange and mysterious world filled with strange creatures and where nothing is as it seems. Animals act as normal people and physical size as well as time are relative.