Alice

Yesterday, I got to see the Cleveland Ballet's commissioned show, Alice.  This was truly a delight!   Clever staging, excellent combination of live and recorded music, and the plot was easy to follow.   I loved everything about it, but particularly liked the Tweedles, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar.  Also, the climax using the cards and Offenbach's Can Can from Orpheus in the Underworld. 

This was the end of their third season.   I wish I had known about them sooner.   Can't wait to see what's next.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty

We just got back from seeing Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty!  I am feeling intensely spoiled.   The show is straight out of London with the original cast.  It hasn't even been to New York yet!


It's a darker, Gothic take on the story of classic fairytale.  It uses Tchaikovsky's original score (which many of you may be familiar with due to the Disney version).   The choreography is amazing.  The costumes are beautiful.   Not a single stitch of dialogue and you know exactly what is going on.  It's extremely magical and sensual.

The show starts in 1890 and ends in modern times.  Princess Aurora is obtained by her parents with help of the evil fairy.  The baby princess is played by a puppet and is extremely energetic, climbing the curtains.  The king and queen forget to thank the evil fairy and the kid gets cursed to die, but the other fairies soften it to sleep.   The princess sleeps for 100 years, and how does her love stay alive until she wakes?  Vampires.

This was a wonderful interpretation of Sleeping Beauty.   I'm going to find more of Matthew Bourne's ballets on DVD.  He has a real gift for staging and choreography.