WONDERLAND

The Palace Theatre, Manchester

Until Saturday

ALL the way from Broadway to Manchester, Wonderland is in town.

I was all set for a totally bonkers trip down the rabbit hole but, unfortunately, Wonderland did not quite deliver.

The songs were catchy, the cast incredibly strong but, somehow, the story just was not there.

Considering this is a musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, it should have been there for the taking.

Here we see Alice as a stressed single mum who goes through the looking glass with her daughter and geeky, infatuated neighbour.

They magically morph into what they want to be – Jack’s glasses disappear and he reappears with tight trousers and suddenly Alice is interested.

The show is certainly enjoyable and an eye-catching escape from the real world, boasting sold out runs in Florida, Texas and Tokyo.

I somehow expected more, although I cannot quite put my finger on what. Perhaps a greater depth to the story, bigger production?

It is not the first musical on the block beginning with the letter ‘W’ and taking a different view of a much-loved tale.

Comparisons between Wonderland - produced by Neil Eckersley, who went to Bolton School and grew up in Kearsley - and Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz are inevitable but the former does not quite match up to the latter.

If you do get a ticket, you can be safe in the knowledge that the cast is first class. They don’t call Kerry Ellis the leading lady of West End musicals for nothing. The stage star, who played Elphaba in the original British cast of Wicked, has an incredible voice and performs Alice’s big numbers with ease.

Wendi Peters, Coronation Street’s Cilla Battersby-Brown, is fantastic as the Queen of Hearts. Perfectly cast as her face contorts and she yelps, ‘Orf with their head’, I would like to have seen more of her.

Kayi Ushe is equally fantastic as the Caterpillar and Naomi Morris puts in a strong performance as stroppy teenager Ellie.

Although Wonderland will not go down as my favourite musical ever, it was a fun and frantic few hours.