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'Wonderland' cast gets down to work today

Staff photo by KATHY MOORE

Susan Hilferty, who won a Tony Award in 2004 for her work on "Wicked," looks over her sketches for "Wonderland" costumes.

By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2009

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TAMPA - Rehearsals for "Wonderland," the $3 million original musical based on the Alice in Wonderland stories, begin in earnest today at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

"It's wonderful to be a part of something that is being created from the ground up for the first time," says Janet Dacal, a thin, red-haired singer and Broadway actress who plays a modern-day Alice.

On Monday, Dacal and 24 fellow cast members gathered with the production crew and the staff of the Performing Arts Center for the first time to map out plans for the most ambitious project in the history of TBPAC: the creation of a musical play that could eventually open on Broadway.

The play is the first in the Broadway Genesis Project at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Plans are for TBPAC to produce one play per year with the goal of taking it on the road and eventually
getting to Broadway.

"Wonderland" composer and Broadway veteran Frank Wildhorn says the first day is exciting because "artists from throughout the world are in one room for the first time."

"It's like a first date," he says. You've got to see if there is chemistry and you have to see what's going to happen. And we hope we did a good job of casting. It's also the day when the actors and the designers, who have been working in other plays, start to focus on this one."

Dacal, a Los Angeles native who has lived in Miami for a decade, comes to "Wonderland" from the Broadway musical "In the Heights."

She was feartured as Carla in the musical set in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights.

Dacal, whose parents came from Cuba, says she was offered a role in the national tour of "In the Heights" which opens at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on Oct. 27.

"But I would rather do this," she says. "I am looking forward to creating Alice and making her lots of fun."

"A Cuban-American with red hair takes Alice in a new direction," she adds.

Wildhorn, who has another original play "Bonnie and Clyde," opening soon in California. says Dacal is on the verge of stardom. "Given the right role, she will be a star and this is the role," he says. "She's a wonderful singer but she's also a great comedian."

Wildhorn, who grew-up in Florida, once had three shows running at the same time on Broadway: "Jekyll & Hyde," "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and "The Civil War."

He says the nature of a new show is that "as you are working on it and as you learn the various actors' strengths, you adapt the play to their attributes."

"That will happen every day of rehearsal – and that's part of the fun of it," he says.

The production, directed by Gregory Boyd, is slated to premiere at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center with previews beginning Nov. 24. The official opening is on Dec. 5, and it will run through Jan. 3, 2010.
This updated spin on Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," finds the great-great granddaughter of Carroll as a harried mother and children's book author who follows a mysterious rabbit on a fantastic journey of self discovery.

Judith Lisi, president of TBPAC, told the group that "Wonderland," is a "spiritually uplifting play with the kind of message that the country needs right now."

"It tells the story of how to find balance in life and appreciate all the things that make us human," she said in a pep talk to the cast and crew.

At the meet-and-greet, the cast and designers were introduced to each other.

The production team, in addition to Wildhorn and Boyd, includes:

• Lyricist Jack Murphy, a longtime Wildhorn collaborator, was nominated for a Tony for best score for Wildhorn's "The Civil War." He also wrote the book and lyrics for "Waiting for the Moon: An American Love Story," a musical on F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. He wrote lyrics for several Wildhorn shows produced in Europe, including "Carmen and The Count of Monte Cristo."

• Musical director Ron Melrose was music director of "Jersey Boys" as well as other plays such as "Imaginary Friends," Wildhorn's "Scarlet Pimpernel" and "Radio City Sinatra."

• Choreographer Marguerite Derricks is an award-winning choreographer, ballerina and actress. She is the only choreographer to win 3 consecutive Emmys: "3rd Rock From the Sun," and "Goodwill Games Opening Celebration." She also has won three American Choreography Awards for her work on "That '70s Show"; a commercial for The Gap and for the short lived sitcom "Jenny "starring Jenny McCarthy. She has won MTV Movie Awards for Best Dance in "Austin Powers," "Charlie's Angels" and "American Wedding."

• Costume designer Susan Hilferty won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for her work on the hit play "Wicked." She has designed more than 300 productions from Broadway to international stages, including Japan, London, Australia, Germany and South Africa. She has been nominated for Tonys for her work on "Spring Awakening," August Wilson's "Radio Golf" and "Jitney, Lestat ," as well as "Assassins" and "Into the Woods."

Also in the cast are Broadway veterans including Karen Mason ("Hairspray") as the Queen, Nikki Snelson ("Legally Blonde") as the Mad Hatter and Eugene Fleming ("Fosse") as the Caterpillar.

Julie Brooks ("Fiddler on the Roof") plays Alice's daughter Chloe; Darren Ritchie ("Dracula: The Musical") is Jack and the White Knight; Ed Staudenmayer ("Forbidden Broadway") as the Rabbit; and Jose Llana ("The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee") as El Gato.

To read more about the progress of "Wonderland" go to wonderlandthemusical.org which features song clips and video interviews.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.