By Lori Perkins
I am a HUGE Wonderland fan and I was fortunate enough to see the original production of this show in 2019, which I absolutely loved. When I saw that it was coming back, I was thrilled and would have been happy to see the same performance, perhaps with some minor updates to the blissful erotic burlesque extravaganza I had seen before the pandemic. But I was wrong. This is a whole new Wonderland, with a whole new flavor.
This performance of Queen of Hearts has a body diversity that was pure delight for me. There is very little male/female division – everyone and everything is beautiful and erotic in equal measure and that adds a layer of erotic simplicity that I have rarely encountered. Yes, Alice and the Queen are decidedly female (and have awesome voices!), but the other roles could be either/or. For instance, this performance’s caterpillar was practically a belly dancer, undulating in ways that were beautifully appropriate but never before imagined. Absolutely lovely. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are not what you would expect in this rendition. And the swirling acrobatic merman – divine.
I found almost every detail of this performance intriguing from the original score to the fabulous costumes and the casting. And there are a number of Wonderland-inspired creative cocktails for you to imbibe, should you choose to do so.
Spring is the perfect time to once again follow Alice down this delightful rabbit hole.
For tickets, visit https://companyxiv.com/queen-of-hearts/.