New Wildhorn Musical Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure to Premiere in Tampa

By Andrew Gans
06 Mar 2009

Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn
photo by Beth Kelly

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center will host the world premiere of the new Frank Wildhorn musical Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure.

Performances will begin Dec. 5 at the TBPAC's Ferguson Hall and run through Jan. 3, 2010. Gregory Boyd, artistic director of the Alley Theatre, will direct. No casting has been announced.

Wonderland features music by Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Phoebe Hwang. Design team will be announced at a later date.

The new musical, according to press notes, "is set in present-day Manhattan and a timeless Wonderland . . . [and] tells the story of author Alice Cornwinkle (a descendent of Lewis Carroll's muse Alice Liddell), who is struggling with her career and her daughter, Chloe. With a chaotic Wonderland in danger of disappearing into nothingness, only Alice can restore balance and joy. Audiences will journey with her through the Looking-Glass from New York City to a strange-yet-familiar place where she must reclaim her daughter, defeat the Queen of Hearts and learn to follow her heart."

Wonderland will be the first production of the Broadway Genesis Project, which was established to "help create new works of American theater to play the Tampa market, and then possibly tour other performing arts centers or move to Broadway."

Tony Award-nominated composer Wildhorn is known for his pop scores to the Broadway musicals Dracula, The Civil War (with lyricist Murphy), The Scarlet Pimpernel and Jekyll & Hyde. He also contributed three songs to Broadway's Victor/Victoria.

Wildhorn and Murphy were nominated for the 1999 Tony Award for Best Original Score for The Civil War. The show was later adapted into a concert/theatre piece called For the Glory.

Tickets for Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Advenutre will go on sale Aug. 16 at noon. For more information visit www.wonderlandthemusical.org.