OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
COURIER LIFE, OCT. 29-NOV. 4, 2021 37
All mad here
BY JANET SANTOS
Brooklynites can take a trip down
the rabbit hole with the weird and whimsical
characters from “Alice in Wonderland,”
as Fort Greene’s Irondale theater
has launched an intimate and immersive
new show, “Alice…Alice…ALICE!”
The creative take on Lewis Carroll’s
classic, which runs until Nov. 20,
will see an audience of 30 theater goers
guided in-and-out of ever-changing
spaces in an unconventional and unique
experience fi lled with punch lines and
profound political commentary.
The venerable and charming work
is directed by Jim Niesen, and encompasses
THEATER
elements of fi ction, fi lm, and
magic with a myriad of styles — vaudeville
sketches and picturesque darkness,
a wacky tea party with beer and vodkaloving
hooligans, and a Stalinesque
show trial in a haunting tableau spotlighting
a hooded, helpless defendant.
Niesen sees the show, which was
fi rst produced in 2010, as a satirical take
on the “madness” surrounding each of
us in modern times — from COVID-19
to vast conspiracy theories tearing
through the country, said Nielson.
“Let it be a mirror refl ecting the
madness of everything surrounding
us,” he said. “But more importantly, a
reminder that we can stay sane in the
midst of it all if we keep trucking…and
don’t take anything more seriously
than it merits.”
The show also serves as the ideal
palate cleanser after a long period of
isolation, Nielsen added.
“After a year and a half sitting behind
our screens, we invite the community
to run up and down the stairs
of Irondale being entertained, bewildered
and challenged,” he said.
This marks the fi rst time Irondale,
an artistically ambitious think-tank for
cutting edge theater, has opened their
doors to the public after more than sixteen
months of COVID-related closures.
Because the show is so immersive,
audience members will get to run
around the space, chasing Alice, and exploring
the nooks and crannies, niches,
and lofts of the space rarely seen by the
public.
Irondale theater launches immersive rendition of ‘Alice’
Alice…Alice…ALICE! at Irondale theater.
85 S. Oxford St. in Fort Greene.
(718) 488-9233. www.irondale.org Until
Nov. 20. Thursday-Saturday at 7 pm.
Sunday at 5 pm. $30.
SPILLING THE TEA: The whimsical “Alice...
Alice...ALICE!” will feature new takes on old
characters. Irondale
/www.irondale.org
/www.irondale.org
/www.irondale.org
/www.irondale.org