|
As the melancholy words of the Mock Turtle's song die away, the White Rabbit trots by saying, "The trial's beginning." The Gryphon takes Alice to the courtroom, where the Knave of Hearts (Eli Wallach) is on trial.
The event takes it's usual disastrous turn, and Alice finds herself running away until she comes to a curious country divided up into squares like a giant chess board. She meets the Red Queen (Margaret Webster), who gives her directions and then vanishes. Alice continues on her travels and meets Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee who insist on reciting some poetry to her. Alice sits down and hears the tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter.
|
The brothers have their battle but run away as they think the 'Monstrous Crow' is coming. It turns out to be the White Queen (Eva Le Gallienne) who is running wildly through the wood after her shawl. She's dreadfully untidy, and Alice tries to help her dress properly. The Queen starts to shriek because she's about to prick her finger on a safety pin. She explains that events here happen backwards.
|
|
In the fifth square, Alice comes across Humpty Dumpty (Henry Jones) and, later, the White Knight (Hugh Franklin). Despite a tendency to fall off his horse, he's very gallant, and tells Alice about his wonderful inventions and then sings a song about an aged man "A-sitting on a gate". Very much a production number this one.
|
In the eighth square, Alice finds a crown on her head - she's become a Queen herself. The Red and White Queens make her take an examination, asking her all sorts of nonesensical questions. When they nod off to sleep Alice enters a large banqueting hall, full of guests making a toast to "Queen Alice". She's introduced to the joint of mutton, who complains when she tries to cut a slice off him. Suddenly candles shoot up to the ceiling like fireworks and things start flying around the room. Alice, blaming the Red Queen for her misfortunes, starts shaking her violently, until she dwindles down in size and turns into the black kitten.
|
Alice finds she's still in the armchair in front of the fire and considers what a curious dream it has been.
|
|
|
It's interesting to note that the combined "Wonderland" and "Looking Glass" storyline and continuity is lifted almost intact from the 1933 Paramount 'Alice' movie. However, the treatment is quite different. There are no physical size changes here of course, it's always difficult to do live on stage. The soundtrack album (discussed later) was recorded seperately to the stage production and is abridged to sixty minutes. Some of the scenes present in the stage version are therefore missing from the album, including the croquet game.
|
|