Notes 

Alice in Wonderland 

 

An Iteresting Note About Alice in Wonderland

I never intended to write an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.  In fact, Wichita Children's Theatre had asked me a while back to write one, but I refused.  I told them I hated the story (I did hate it as a child-- it bored me to tears) and I told them I didn't want to adapt a story written by a drugged-out pedophile.  That was what I believed to be the truth about Lewis Carroll.  I had read somewhere that he was an opium addict and enjoyed an unhealthy attraction to little girls.

Then WCT approached me once again and entreated me to consider writing an adaptation of the story.  They had begun their tour with a new script and was disappointed in the response they were getting from their sponsors, so they needed to find another script in time for the cast to rehearse it during the Christmas Break--so it would be ready for the second half of their touring season.  Their situation sparked something in me that made me agree to the project.  I was most intrigued by the challenge to write a 50-minute musical adaptation in 30 days (I usually require a year).  I really wasn't 100% sure I could do it, but I wasn't under as much pressure as WCT was.  If I failed, all I had to do was call them and tell them I couldn't do it-- it was up to them to find a new script.  But I wanted to help them in their situation-- and I always work best under pressure.

I began by researching both the author (Carroll) and the story.  I poured through whatever I could find.  I had a few reference books in my library that were somewhat helpful.  Of course, I picked up a copy of the Cliffs Notes at the local book store and looked through the usual collection of encyclopedias and library books.  My most-valued resource was the Internet.  I found many web sites devoted to Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland.  USENET Newsgroups had a lot of information as well.  After about two solid weeks of research, I concluded that I was WRONG about both Lewis Carroll and the story Alice in Wonderland.  I am convinced that he was neither "drugged-out" nor a pedophile.  

You will find as many "experts" who defend Carroll as you will find who convict him.  The volume of arguments one way or the other isn't what swayed me.  What ultimately changed my mind was the text itself.  I cannot believe that Alice in Wonderland could have possibly been written by a man whose brain was enslaved by hallucinogenics or such a gross social/sexual dysfunction.  The lucidity of thought, the command of the English language, the complexity of wit displayed in the wordplay could not, in my opinion, have come from such a soul enslaved.  I now see Alice in Wonderland as a classic piece of English literature just as millions upon millions of others have viewed it. 

To make a long story shorter, I got the script finished just in time for rehearsals.  It took me five weeks to pen the script and three additional weeks to write the seven songs.  The silliness of the characters will keep the attention of the youngest of audiences and the wordplay will amuse the older ones.  I am a very conservative father of four (ages 3 months to six years) and there  is nothing in the show that I would hesitate presenting to my children -- or any child of any age.  This has turned out to be one of my strongest scripts and I am honored to have the opportunity to offer my adaptation of this wonderfully imaginative and witty story. 

Kevin M Reese
Medford, OK  2000