For a story the whole family can get a good message from and for a chance to enjoy some light-hearted entertainment, check out Village Theatre Kidstage Troupe’s first traveling show, “Alice In Wonderland.”
There is a playful quality from the moment the play opens, as characters launch into singing from the start.
There is lots of dance and movement, which is great for holding a younger audience’s attention. Dancing animals, including my favorite, the caterpillar, move on stage with a lightness that projects “Let’s have a good time.”
Costumes are lively and have lots of bounce, like the show. Designs for Tweedledee and Tweedledum were particularly goofy, with clown-like overalls and puffed-out pants that appear to have air inside them.
The musical numbers are catchy and make you want to move to their beat. I saw one boy in the audience tapping his hand as the song played while a little girl kept shaking her head back and forth to the rhythm of the music.
Set designs are clever, particularly the slide and rabbit hole that characters can come down or go through. They are put together in a way that keeps the action going and easy for the actors to interact with.
Probably the most unique element to this entertaining family show – and one I have never seen applied before – is having most of the performers talk on stage through actors off to the side at microphones.
The effect of having the characters express their verbal selves through others actually engages the audience more. It keeps the movement of the show going as those watching move their eyes back and forth between characters and their voices.
‘Alice in Wonderland’
Kidstage Troupe will perform a 20-minute version of “Alice In Wonderland,” 1 p.m. July 13 at Imagine Children’s Museum, 1502 Wall St., Everett. That show is free with museum admission. A partial version is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 20 at Cinema Under The Stars at Thornton A. Sullivan Park, 11405 W. Silver Lake Road, Everett. That performance is free.
For more information on Village Theatre’s Kidstage Troupe call 425-257-8600 or go to www.villagetheatre.org.
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