Alice In Modernland is a world premiere by jazz vocalist, saxophonist, writer, and composer, Kirsten Nash. She has combined her love of jazz, blues, and many variations of rock with a contemporary version of the classic tale of one woman's dream/nightmare. Kirsten Brandt, who gave us the award winning Sweet Charity in 1998, has directed an almost-ready-for-Broadway production. But is New York ready for singer Alice's travails into the world of the cross-dressing Queen of Hearts (Christopher Hall), the Duchess (Leigh Scarritt), the Y.D. Rabbit (Douglas Lay), and the Mad Hater [sic] (Ken Bryant) along with an assortment of sycophants?
Trumpet playing narrator, C.C. or Cool Cat (Ruff Yeager), interjects occasionally as the story parallels, sort of, Lewis Carroll's 1860 classic novel. Alice In Modernland, a biting musical satire of the music business, has all the players in place: aging rock star with his/her groupies, sleazy promoter with his groupies, and talented upstarts trying to break through.
Performances are solid from this extremely talented cast. Wendy Hoover's Alice runs the gamut of emotions, both in song and acting. Her duet with Ms. Scarritt, "Falling Down," is a highlight of Act I. Ms. Nash's use of many musical forms gives Alice In Modernland a depth not always found in rock operas. An ensemble piece, Alice offers the seventeen cast members and four band members many opportunities to display their talent. (A few late cues do occur on the wireless mikes, losing the first few words of a lead's lyrics.) David Weiner's multilevel Plexiglas set gives director Brandt not only levels, but differing moods and emotions, as blank walls and screens become diffused windows, constantly changing the reality of the moment. Mary Larson's costumes are a showy delight, with lighting defining the staging excitingly.
Nash is a talented writer/composer who has advanced rock opera with her blending of so many musical genres with a familiar storyline, updated to the moment. Brandt moves her cast with ease in the complex of levels and shifting walls. I regret only that the show doesn't take full advantage of Ken Bryant's beautiful bass voice. Just one song?
