Meryl Streep stars as Alice in this production of Elizabeth Swados' musical, which was adapted from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Based on the acclaimed New York Shakespeare Festival production by Joseph Papp, Alice at the Palace follows Alice's surreal adventures with The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, The Queen of Hearts, and The Cheshire Cat, among many others.
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Reviews
Michael Jeter was not the Caterpillar, though he was the Duchess' Baby, the Dormouse and Bill the Lizard. He was an amazing character actor, and his work in "Alice at the Palace" illustrates it. I remember watching "Palace" when it first aired in 1981. I was 9, and I didn't get it. Now, at the ripe old age of 36, I'm a huge fan. The ensemble is simply top notch, from Meryl Streep and Rodney Hudson to Debbie Allen, Mark Linn-Baker (his Mock Turtle and White Knight are spot on) and Jeter.Other reviews of this production have been harsh. Most audiences prefer to have the story handed to them ala Disney. In the theatre, audiences are given more credit and expected to "fill in the blanks" with their imagination. That is definitely the case here. The actors, in the same spirit as the 1966 BBC version of "Alice", are not smothered or suffocated beyond recognition by their costumes. Instead they're allowed to use their bodies (wow, what a concept) to morph and melt from one character to the next. The result is breath taking.Now, here's something a little off topic but nonetheless important to mention. Why is it that, next to Michael Jeter's name in the cast roster, the word "Caterpillar" is misspelled and posted anyway, yet when I attempt to misspell it in the title of this post, the word is automatically spell checked and fixed? That makes no sense, but I suppose it fits with the theme of this film.
I've seen several stage and film adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and this one has to take the cake as the absolute worst. My family bought the DVD unsuspectingly and couldn't even make it through the first half. I later went back and forced myself to watch the whole thing (it had been a Christmas gift to me) and was just appalled.The only redeeming factor (and it's hardly redeeming enough to save the whole show) is Mark Lin-Baker playing the Mock Turtle with a Yiddish accent. It's one of the few moments in the piece that has some real charm and can be taken somewhat seriously. Other than that, the songs are half-songs, the melodies are half-melodies and even Meryl Streep cannot make this direction look good.
I had almost thought this was a figment of my imagination.....I remember this from so long ago, and I recently decided to Google the title to see what happened----I was so hoping for it to be on video! The songs and the entire production were so fetching! I can remember the Cheshire Cat's song so well! I only saw this one time on television, but for some reason the title stuck in my head and I always hoped to find it someday! I cannot believe it is from so long ago!!! 1982---oh, my! Someone, somewhere must have a tape of this--can I buy a copy from you?? E-mail me if you have one!! Thanxxxxxxxx--------- Maxxine [email protected]
I actually grew up watching this musical and it has been something of a family treasure. Unfortunately, our copy (taped one Saturday afternoon during NBC's Project Peacock) was incomplete (about a 30 second spot where someone accidentally changed the channel while recording).My whole family loved this musical and I would highly recommend it to all. Great music, great comedy. I'm not a huge Meryl Streep fan, but this is a great show to watch. She does a pretty convincing job of playing a young girl who has fallen down a rabbit hole and ended up in a very strange land. I believe this musical is a combination of Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland. Excellent.And if anyone knows where I can find a copy of this, let me know!