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Ava Eldred Biography & Facts

Wonderland, formerly called Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure or Wonderland: A New Alice, is a musical play with a book by Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd, lyrics by Murphy, and music by Frank Wildhorn. The story, a contemporary version of the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, is set in New York City and focuses on writer Alice Cornwinkle and her 10-year-old daughter Chloe. After various workshops and productions of the musical in Tampa, Florida and Houston, Texas, the show premiered on Broadway on April 17, 2011, closing a month later, on May 15, 2011. Major Productions Preliminary workshops and readings Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy previously collaborated on The Civil War, Waiting For The Moon, The Count of Monte Cristo, and the unproduced musical Havana, and have written songs for Linda Eder. Gregory Boyd has directed productions of Wildhorn's Svengali (for which he penned the lyrics), Jekyll & Hyde, and The Civil War (for which he contributed lyrics and dialogue with Murphy). Wonderland is the first production mounted by the Broadway Genesis Project, whose goal is to help create new theatre works specifically for the Tampa Bay market, after which they may be staged in other performing arts centers or move to Broadway. Wildhorn began working on the project in the late 1990s. He initially conceived an Alice similar to the one in the 1951 Disney animated feature and envisioned his then-fiancé, Brandi Burkhardt, in the title role, but as time passed, the two ended their engagement, and the role seemed to be passed to another Wildhorn leading lady Lauren Kennedy. In 2005, Wildhorn announced that the musical would premiere in 2006 in Europe, but this did not occur. The show was workshopped starring Burkhardt in the title role in Tampa, Florida in 2007, with a presentation of four songs (these still appear in the show in some form). The project then focused on the scripts, and TBPAC agreed to make the show its first project. In the summer of 2007, at a "Wildhorn & Fce More I Can See", with orchestra, and Wildhorn announced that the show would premiere in Tampa in 2009. The project had its first reading in Manhattan on March 20, 2009. It featured Lauren Kennedy as Alice, Julie Brooks as Chloe, Nikki Snelson as the Mad Hatter, and Julia Murney as the Queen. Tampa and Houston (2009–2010) Gregory Boyd was chosen to direct the production, Marguerite Derricks was chosen to choreograph, set designs were by Neil Patel, costume designs were by Susan Hilferty and lighting designs were by Paul Gallo. In April 2009, auditions were held in Manhattan and at what was then the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Casting was complete by August. The cast included Janet Dacal as Alice, Karen Mason as the Queen of Hearts, Nikki Snelson as the Mad Hatter, Eugene Fleming as the Caterpillar, Jose Llana as El Gato, Edward Staudenmayer as the White Rabbit, Darren Ritchie as Jack/White Knight, and Julie Brooks as Chloe. The creative team also included projection designer Sven Ortel. Rehearsals began on October 12, 2009. Wonderland began previews on November 24, 2009 and opened on December 5 at Ferguson Hall in The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida, where it ran through January 3, 2010. The musical next moved to the Alley Theatre, Houston, starting in previews on January 15, 2010 and opening on January 20, running through February 14. The musical was budgeted at USD$3.3 million. According to a report by Straz Center, "the estimated local economic impact...is more than $8.1 million", and noted that "nearly 750 full and part-time jobs [were] impacted". The show played to 96% capacity in Tampa. The production transferred to Houston, opening January 20, 2010 at the Alley Theatre, with previews beginning January 15. It closed on February 14, 2010. The book was rewritten after the Tampa engagement. At the time of the Houston opening, Boyd said: "The book we have now is quite different from the book that opened in Tampa. And we're putting in more changes, including four new songs." Producer Judy Lisi discussed the decisions being made about the show's next step: "Does it make sense to tour it first? Does it make sense to bring it in (to Broadway)? I really want to see how far we get in Houston to be able to determine the next stage of the development." Tampa (2011) The musical returned in a pre-Broadway engagement to Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center in Tampa, with performances running from January 5 through January 16, 2011. The show had a new subtitle: Wonderland: A New Alice. A New Musical and the book was drastically re-written, the roles of the Caterpillar, Chloe and the Mad Hatter were recast (with E. Clayton Cornelius, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Kate Shindle), a character (Morris, the Hatter's side-kick, the March Hare) was added, and a character was deleted (Jabberwock). The revised score featured many of the new songs from the 2010 Houston production, as well as re-implementing the song "Don't Wanna Fall in Love", and adding two others. Broadway (2011) The musical premiered on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on April 17, 2011, with previews beginning March 21. The cast included Janet Dacal as Alice, Darren Ritchie as White Knight and Jack/Lewis Carroll, Jose Llana as El Gato, Karen Mason as the Queen of Hearts, Kate Shindle as the Mad Hatter, Carly Rose Sonenclar as Chloe, and Edward Staudenmayer as the White Rabbit. Tituss Burgess was originally cast as the Caterpillar but was later replaced by E. Clayton Cornelious. Boyd directs, Derricks choreographs, and the design team is the same, except for the addition of sound designer Peter Hylenski. On February 6, it was reported that the musical was USD$10 million short of its $14 million captilization. The producers, however, announced that "The show is on schedule and we are very thrilled about the work that was done in Florida." The New York Post reported that several producers wanted to bring in additional help. The Nederlanders engaged Scott Ellis to restage the musical and Rupert Holmes to help shape the book. After negative reviews the production closed on May 15, 2011, after 31 previews and 33 performances. Masterworks Broadway released an original cast recording of the show on May 3, 2011. UK Tour (2017) The musical had its European premiere at the Edinburgh Playhouse in January 2017, which marked the start of a UK tour. The production was directed by Lotte Wakeman with a revised book written by Ava Eldred The production starred Kerry Ellis as Alice, Wendi Peters as the Queen of Hearts, Natalie McQueen as the Mad Hatter and Dave Willetts as the White Rabbit. Originally Carolyn Maitland was cast to play alternate Alice and Mad Hatter. Maitland pulled out before rehearsals due to disagreements with the producer and the production company Wonderland the Musical Ltd regarding her contract. At certain venues, the role o.... Discover the Ava Eldred popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ava Eldred books.