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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Tempest in a Teapot Also see Richard's reviews of Trayf and American Idiot
But not to worry! Playwright Shualee Cook is fully prepared with at least six impossible things in her play Tempest in a Teapot, now receiving its world premiere at Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble. It's years later now, and the real-life Alice Liddell (here, the luminous Chrissie Watkins) stands on the threshold of womanhood, being told to go out and find a husband. But it's the most tiresome adventure she could possibly imagine, after everything her literary doppelgänger has already gone through. Tempest in a Teapot received staged readings at R-S Theatrics in St. Louis in 2015, and at the Idle Muse Athena Festival in Chicago in 2016. Rejecting her father's instructions to marry, Alice Liddell instead goes on one more mad adventure. And we fly along in a two hour and twenty minute show (with intermission), as director Rachel Tibbetts squeezes every last drop of wit and charm from her actors, most playing multiple roles. Some years after Carroll's beloved children's books were published, in 1865 and 1871, this fictionalized version of Ms. Liddell has a bittersweet reunion with the author, who recommends she read William Shakespeare's The Tempest to help her find her path in life. And in this play, the action will go back and forth between Carroll's mad tea party and Shakespeare's shipwreck story. The sound of broken teacups will come, at least partly, from our own shattered preconceptions. But Alice's Cheshire Cat, played by an exuberant Kay Ailee Bush, is on hand to guide her, and us. Ms. Bush also excels as Caliban, the wretched monster on Shakespeare's island, standing in for all the "savages" whom Britons will colonize for the next 300 years. And Alice will realize her own life has been colonized by Lewis Carroll himself. Carroll is played by the fine actor John Wolbers, who is majestic as Prospero in the parallel Tempest scenes. Alice's father, a thoughtful dean of Christ Church in Oxford, is played by Adam Flores, an actor of great variety who also appears as Carroll's Mad Hatter. The actor known as Keating is waggish and fun as the March Hare and touching as Prince Leopold, whom Alice seems likely to marry. Delightful Summer Baer gets most of the laughs as the tea party's sleepy Dormouse, later appearing as the castaway king of Naples. The energy of each performer helps carry the weight of the story. It's both complex and superficial, in keeping with the source material. But when the going gets tough, in the middle of act two, just keep in mind that Alice/Miranda/Ariel must steal the books of Carroll/Prospero to set them all free. If I were to change anything, I'd probably double the number of dangerous moments on the island, as well as the level of physical comedy and number of jokes in the tea party scenes. But the show gains vitality from the production artistry of Bess Moynihan in both lighting and set design (with co-producer Ellie Schwetye), and from Liz Henning and Kayla Lindsay in the costume department. Most importantly, Chrissie Watkins is the Alice that Lewis Carroll was enchanted by. And so are we. Tempest in a Teapot runs through September 28, 2024, at the Chapel on Alexander, 6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit satestl.wordpress.com. Cast: Production Staff: |
