Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas features a cast of two dozen children and a couple of adults. This production is an example of very good quality youth theatrics. Youngsters will be enchanted by the bright outfits, active dance numbers, and amusing characters, though the fancy language might be lost on the littles. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, originally written by Lewis Carroll, is adapted to Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas for Creative Cauldron by Lenny Mendez. The show, directed by Creative Cauldron founder Laura Connors Hull and playwright/ actor Lenny Mendez, includes music by in-house composer Matt Conner and lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith. Learning Theater Ensemble in ‘Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas.’ Photo by William T. Gallagher Photography. If you love the original book version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, you’ll enjoy this production. Great swaths of the book’s dialogue are included, in Lewis Carroll’s original phrasing, with Spanish added. (My Spanish isn’t good enough for me to verify the overall accuracy, but what I understood of it seemed to agree with the story.) If your only experience is with the Disney animated film from 1951, be aware that the show, while using the same source material, is significantly unlike the Disney version. If you don’t know the story at all, you may be quite confused. It’s compressed, so each entertainingly staged scene seems episodic, with only the tiniest hints at sequential order, and doesn’t build from one episode to the next, meaning it lacks a dramatic arc. This is amplified by the inclusion of scenes from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (the Garden of Live Flowers and Tweedledum & Tweedledee), which have no connection to the events in Wonderland. The Adventures are enclosed by bookend vignettes featuring Alice and her older sister at the show’s outset and closing. Selections of dialogue are delivered or repeated in Spanish, but the script is mainly in English. According to the playwright, the original Alice books are so full of puns that translation was challenging because language-based humor is more difficult to adapt than concept-based humor. The wordplay is an element that Disney ignored entirely, which I’ve always felt was a shame, but Disney had its target audience, and language nerds were not it. I’m pleased to see a show that includes the Hispanic and Latinex community, who represent a significant portion of the DC and Virginia population. Alice is presented by The Learning Theater, part educational program and part performance ensemble. The performers have, for the most part, been cultivated by the educational outreach of Creative Cauldron, which includes workshops, classes, and summer camps, all designed to nurture love and expression of performance arts in people of all ages. Some of the young performers are impressive — Whit Jenkins, performing as the Mad Hatter, is engaging and a strong onstage physical presence. Both the White Rabbit and Alice, played by Marie Solander and June Truss (though I’m not sure whom I saw in which role; they share the two parts) have excellent elocution and facial expression. Emerson Kelleher as the Duchess’ Cook (and also an understandably alarmed Mouse) packs great emotion into her roles and is extremely watchable. Gus Knapp, playing the King of Hearts, is an experienced adult actor who exudes warmth whenever he is onstage. Aarya Sridhara as the Doormouse manages to deliver lines sleepily without being mumbled or inaudible and is also heckin cute. Each member of the cast is easy to hear and understand throughout the show, which is commendable. I have reason to applaud impeccable auditory clarity from child actors. TOP: June Tuss (Alice) and Ensemble; ABOVE: June Tuss (Alice), Diana Allison (Caterpillar), and Ensemble, in ‘Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas.’ Photos by William T. Gallagher Photography. In place of a run crew, actors often serve as set rearrangers and puppeteers for scenic effects and character work. This is executed smoothly and quickly so there’s minimal lag between scenes. Seating surrounds three sides of the cozy staging space. An intricate tree dominates the set, and a checkerboard floor is painted black and green. An impressive array of stage lights, including black lights, creates visual magic throughout the performance. A screen upstage facilitates projection effects, though these are somewhat underwhelming. Character entrances are made from backstage as well as through the main aisle leading from the lobby into the theater. Because of that, bathroom trips, if necessary during the show, need to be carefully timed. There are two all-gender individual lavatories. Both are large and accessible. Many costumes adhere closely to John Tenniel’s original drawings and are amazing works of handcrafting. Margie Jervis and her team of designer/builders handle scenery and costuming in an imaginative, book-centric way to deliver a suggestive set, rather than representational, and present an inspired array of outfits that work for the characters, the audience, and the actors, some of whom have several wardrobe changes. Non-traditional materials are used to great effect. This version of Alice in Wonderland, due to clever staging, exquisite costuming, and enthusiastic performance, looks terrific, sounds great in both spoken and sung sequences, and contains an abundance of Lewis Carroll’s original words. Add the twist of Spanish language dialogue and the result is a unique version of a beloved classic. Try not to make too much sense of the nonsense and just enjoy the ride. Running Time: 75 minutes, with no intermission Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas by Learning Theater plays through November 24, 2024 (Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:00 pm & 4:00 pm), at Creative Cauldron – 410 South Maple Avenue, Retail 116, Falls Church, VA. For tickets ($18–$20, with family 4-packs available for $65), call (703) 436-9948 or purchase them online. A live streaming option is available on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at 7:30 pm for $15. The program for Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas can be viewed in English here and in Spanish here and purchased in the lobby for $5. A multi-level parking garage on the same block as Creative Cauldron offers free public parking. There’s more information and directions available online.  I did not see (and I looked) any official theater policy regarding Covid precautions, but I did see several guests wearing protective masks, as I hope anyone would do who is at risk or feeling run down. Final Factoid: Lewis Carroll, deliberately writing highfalutin’ satirical nonsense in the late 1860s, was certainly an influence on what would become the Dada art movement. Consider this exchange: “I know what you’re thinking about,” said Tweedle-dum, “But it ain’t so, nohow.” “Contrariwise,” continued Tweedledee, “if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.” COVID Safety: Creative Cauldron is a mask-optional environment.​ Creative Cauldron’s COVID-19 Theater Protocol is available here. Alice in Wonderland/Alicia en el País de las Maravillas A Learning Theater Production Adapted by LENNY MENDEZ Directed by LAURA CONNORS HULL & LENNY MENDEZ Music by MATT CONNER Lyrics by STEPHEN GREGORY SMITH