‘Alice in Wonderland’ Goes Off the Wall

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the sequel Alice’s Adventures Through the Looking-Glass have been adapted for a variety of forms over the years. But there are some truly sophisticated parts of Lewis Carroll’s original textbrilliant, subtle madness lurking below the playful surfacethat rarely make the transition into dramatic adaptations. Off the WallTheatre’s Jeremy Welter looks to bring that darker aspect to the forefront with the company’s adaptation of the story of Alice, which opens this week.

Off the Wall’s adaptation, titled Alice in Wonderland and directed by Welter, is being marketed as a twisted, Escher-like journey into Wonderland complete with “emo punks, scary club kids and one very creepy cat.” The talented Liz Mistele will portray Alice as an occasionally sweet, sometimes foul-mouthed punkan anchor for the madness of the world she is slipping into. Eric Nelson plays a number of characters, including the White Rabbit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Jacqueline Roush, an impressive new talent, plays the Duchess. There will be some departures from the original books, the most promising of which is the appearance of Mark Hagen as a Dodo. Granted there was a dodo in the original text, but not one that wished to be Carol Channing. Appropriately, it sounds engrossing and strange…

Off the Wall Theatre’s Alice in Wonderland runs Feb. 3-13. To reserve tickets, call 414-327-3552.

Theater Happenings

• The Boulevard Theatre continues its season with the Feb. 9 opening of Gina Gionfriddo’s romantic comedy Becky Shaw.A young couple sets up two friends on a blind date in a production featuring Joe Fransee, Anne Miller and Christine Horgen. The show runs through March 13. To reserve tickets, call 414-744-5757.

• Two empty nesters find themselves considerably less alone with the return of their three adult sons in Waukesha CivicTheatre’s production of the Lawrence Roman comedy Alone Together.Directed by Karin Cunningham, the show runs Feb. 11-27. To reserve tickets, call 262-547-0708.