Review: Wonderland High by Red Dragon Players, Austin High School
by Michael Meigs
The Red Dragon Players at Austin High School invest themselves gallantly in this first-anywhere musical theatre premiere. The music by James Merillat in Wonderland Highis challenging and stage-quality, with several clever numbers, cleverly staged. The Players workshopped some of this material last year, according to Billy Dragoo, who runs the AHS program, and they've delivered on his promise to Merillat to stage the piece when he finished it.
The book, by Merillat and Jesse Johnson, doesn't live up to the music. It's a confused effort to meld a stereotypical "new kid in high school" story with Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. An occasional jokey reference comes through -- the Tweedle sisters are really dumb, for instance -- but most of the time it doesn't connect. The new arrival at Wonderland High is Arthur (Andrew Murray), son of the new English teacher Dr. Bloom (??). Alice Little (Kaylie DeLauri) is already in Wonderland, reigning witlessly as head cheerleader and girlfriend to the dumb leading football player Paul (Corbin Chase). New arrival Arthur gets a bloody nose from the jealous jock, then covers up cheating by Alice and her cronies, not fooling his teacher-father Dr. Bloom (Blake Nixon) for a moment. That sacrifice awakens Alice's consciousness, showing her it's okay to have your own friends and actually to be smart rather than popular. "Bad girl" Alicia (cf., the Red Queen) engineers a coup, taking over as girlfriend to the football player. Alicia's arrant manipulation of voting for homecoming king and queen rouses the citizenry to reject traditional ballot stuffing. There's some confused stuff about a time capsule and about the school store.
The smart and savvy Red Dragons aren't learning any lesson from the predictable moralizing of this concoction. It's a cautionary tale invented by some old guy, one that might best be aimed at junior high students wondering about the big, bad world of high school pressures.
The leads are appealing. Andrew Murray as Arthur has a wide-eyed, innocent look perfectly appropriate for an outsider, and he makes his way carefully through the odd number "Did Shakespeare Ever Feel This Way?" Kaylie DeLauri as Alice sings nicely and manages credibly her conversion from top dog to outcast. Emma Thompson puts lots of spirit, presence and unheeding arrogance into her "Red Queen" role as Allison, making her the decisive, attractive villain one loves to despise. Her disdainful triumph is distilled in the fine comic number "Hate Me!" with the cheerleaders doing a girl-group back-up. (Further note of frustration: an outsider is bound to get confused when your book includes, side by side, major characters bearing the names Alice, Alicia, and Allison. I hoped I had matched names, photos and my memories correctly, but in the comment published below, a reader informed me that Emma, not Lea, as Alllison, not Alicia, played the Red Queen.)
Merillat and Johnson were stretching a bit when they converted the hookah-smoking caterpillar into Katt, proprietor of the school shop where anything can be bought for a price, but Catherine Schwartz's interpretation of that sassy, impatient shopkeeper provides scenes with wit and unforced comedy. This being a production for minors, the offerings there are funny but tame. Schwartz's "Supply and Demand" swaggers and amuses with the refrain, "You can have whatever you want -- if you've got the 'Ka-Ching'!" -- recalling a long line of pecuniarist career girls including Sally Bowles. In Act II Schwartz nails the show's theme "Who Are You?" with similar flash. That duo scene with DeLauri as Alice just begs for some sharp choreography, but unfortuntely DeLauri spends most of the time stationary with her back to the audience while Schwartz wanders back and forth, singing.
Wonderland High features a big cast. The program lists 32 names and Billy Dragoo apologized for the inadvertent omission of one more. Guest director Annie Dragoo, previously on the AHS staff, moves them around pretty smartly, including some stevedor work converting the rolling banks of school lockers into stairways and stadium seating. Only in one scene in Act II did that physical stage management drag out to distract from a scene played with Arthur, Alice and Dr. Bloom on the upper level.
The nine-piece band on the upper level handled the music well. At times I would have preferred less volume from the amplified instruments.
The Dragons appeared to enjoy themselves. Afterwards, they gathered in the entry court for the ceremonial "break a leg!" ceremony in which they smashed an enormous chocolate leg. It looked delicious. And they had earned it.
EXTRA
Click to view program for Wonderland High by Austin High School Red Dragon Players
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Wonderland High
by James Merillat, Jesse Johnson
Red Dragon Players, Austin High School
