TWU version of Alice in Wonderland to feature puppets

Too late for Halloween, but still a scary scenario.

by John P. Meyer

Nothing says "creep me out" like the thought of singing puppets enacting Alice in Wonderland. Still, like a train wreck, the idea holds a fascination that may prove hard to turn away from.

That may or may not be the impetus behind the Texas Woman's University drama program's staging of an all-singing, all-puppeteering rendition of the Lewis Carroll classic fantasy tale; regardless, you can see it for yourself starting on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in the Redbud Theatre Complex - with additional performances on the succeeding three days.

Tickets are $10 for students, children and seniors, or $12 for adults.

From the sound of things, Alice will actually be portrayed by a live actor in the person of Brandianne Kramer of Haltom City. Portraying the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar and other story characters, however, will be actual puppets - about 70 of them. Man, oh, man, keep me away from the prop room or put some cloves of garlic on the door or something - that's a critical mass of fanciful, imbued-with-dramatic-life psuedo-creatures, if I've ever heard of one.

The concept for this production comes from New York-ites Lake Simons and John Dyer, who staged their first puppet-friendly adaptation of Alice at Fort Worth's Hip Pocket Theatre; it then played off-Broadway at the HERE Arts Center.

Call the TWU Box Office for tickets: 940-898-2020.