“Alice in Wonderland” is a tale that lends itself to stunning visuals, whether it’s the popular Disney animated movie or the big-budget flick with Johnny Depp in it.

 

Repertory Philippines’ staging of the famous Lewis Carroll book is no different. Its opening, featuring colorful inhabitants from Wonderland singing right after a bored Alice falls asleep, heralds what the rest of the play has to offer: lots of striking imagery.

 

Director Joy Virata admits the production had to stretch its budget to the limit, “to allow Gino Gonzales and Raven Ong to give vent to their imaginations as set designer and costume designer, respectively.”

 

And, boy, does it show.

 

The costumes are so colorful and creatively well-made that you’d want to have the characters invited to your next party. Some of the standouts include the attention-grabbing Walrus in a big, colorful costume; Tweedledum and Tweedledee in hypnotic black and silver; and the Queen of Hearts, who looks like she could be part of “Star Wars.”

 

All the costumes, most of which use patchwork, prints, stripes and polka dots, look sumptuous, even those that needed a little more creativity to be executed, such as the Caterpillar, which is basically one guy followed by a couple of “walking spheres” that act as its body.

 

Origami peg

 

The set design is equally outstanding. Origami is the peg, and this is clearly seen in the moving backdrops, the chairs (which are so beautiful they should be for sale), and the birds on the branches (and even some of the costumes, actually). Bright, happy colors are used together with creative manipulation of lights, making the show a very visual treat.

 

The show we caught starred Daniella Gana as Alice; she alternates with Chaye Mogg, Becca Coates and Rachel Coates for the role. Although she’s performed in several school plays, Gana is a newbie, having made her professional theater debut only last year as a Munchkin and an Emerald City Citizen in Rep’s “The Wizard of Oz.”

 

Despite this, she delivered a good performance and showed a lot of promise. She was a very convincing Alice—curious, wide-eyed, stubborn, immature. Her voice is also sweet and strong.

 

Another great performer is Nacho Tambunting, who plays the White Rabbit in the musical. Young but trained early on in professional theater—he started when he was just 10—Nacho, who alternates with Reb Atadero and Jim Ferrer in the role—has great presence and graceful moves.

 

Scene-stealer

 

The scene-stealer, however, has got to be mainstream singer Bituin Escalante, who is perfect as the Queen of Hearts. With her fierce facial expressions, powerful voice and projection, Bituin won the audience over with her Queen Amidala-meets-Ursula vibe.

 

Actually, a lot of the cast members should be commended, because most of them portray several characters. For example, Joel Trinidad isn’t just the Mad Hatter, he is also the Carpenter and the French Mouse.

 

The only thing that can be considered a concern is how the story might prove to be a little too much, a little too overwhelming and hard to follow for some young viewers, especially those who are not too familiar with the story or those who haven’t read the book or watched the movie.

 

Then again, the catchy songs (such as “I’m Mad, You’re Mad” and “Off With Your Head”), plus the awesome costumes and set design, should be more than enough to keep viewers young and old entertained till the end.

 

Repertory Philippines’ “Alice in Wonderland” runs until Dec. 15 at Onstage, Greenbelt 1. Call 5716926, 5714941, 8919999; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.repertoryphilippines.com or facebook.com/repertoryphilippines Mark Sablan, Contributor