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Alice at the Palace (Broadway Theatre Archive)
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780769726014
Format: Color, NTSC
ISBN: 0769726011
Label: Kultur Video
Languages: English (Original Language),
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kultur Video
Release Date: February 04, 2002
Running Time: 75 minutes
Studio: Kultur Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 16, 1982
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Editorial Review:
Meryl Streep displays the talent that would soon make her a movie star in Alice at the Palace, a musical theater adaptation by Elizabeth Swados of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Dressed in pink overalls, Streep sings and dances through such famous scenes as the Mad Tea Party and playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts. This production, from the early 1980s, lies somewhere between Hair and Into the Woods. The music ranges across a variety of styles (from calypso to barbershop quartet) and video manipulations enhance the inventive physical staging, but it's Streep that will carry you through--her sound effects as Alice changes size (after drinking from a bottle labeled "Drink Me") are delightful, capturing both a childlike imagination and the fluid reality of theater. Alice at the Palace features several other recognizable faces, including Mark Linn-Baker (My Favorite Year) and dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen. --Bret Fetzer
This "music hall" version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass was adapted for television from Elizabeth Swados' Joseph Papp/New York Shakespeare Festival production entitled Alice in Concert for which Swados also composed the score, adapted the book and directed for the stage. Starring Meryl Streep and featuring Debbie Allen and Betty Aberlin, Alice at the Palace is an entertaining and shrewdly conceived retelling of the Carroll classics with all of the beloved characters--from the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat to the Queen of Hearts--given a unique twist by the witty and charming performances of an accomplished theatrical ensemble. Alice at the Palace was originally broadcast as part of NBC-TV's "Project Peacock" series in 1982.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Juvenile at best
I expected some entertainment value at least with Meryl Streep in the lead as Alice but I was disappointed. This might be a good show to watch with a class of 5-6 year olds, but it is certainly not adult entertainment. Meryl does OK but the rest of the cast is, in a word, awful. I could barely get through it and I am certain I will never watch it again.
Rating:  - The Young Meryl
Elizabeth Swados seems to be virtually unknown these days outside of theater circles, despite a rich output of plays and books, but her "Runaways" was the "Rent" of its day, and it was showered with Tony awards. I had fond memories of her musical riff on Lewis Carroll, "Alice At The Palace" (aka "Alice In Concert") -- which adapts story elements from both "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass" -- from a PBS broadcast back in the early 80's. Seen through my older, seen-it-all ... Read More
Rating:  - Alice Becomes Streep (or vice versa!)
Composer Elizabeth Swados created something unique in her adaptation of
Carroll's two classics weaving them - not seamlessly - into a two act,
somewhat disjointed, non-traditional and at times difficult musical theatre
piece, she labels a "Music Hall." As odd as that may sound, that
disjointed, fragmentary nature is precisely where it's charms lay. Like
Carroll's original, Swados's version is a work best taken in on its own,
episodic, mixing logic with the illogical, ... Read More
Rating: - "I suppose this is a regular day if you're mad."
Produced by Joseph Papp and directed by Emile Ardolino, this Palace Theater/vaudeville version of Alice in Wonderland, filmed in 1981, is so energetic, so beautifully choreographed (by Graciela Daniele), and so full of fun that when I finished watching it, I immediately watched it all over again! Part of the reason comes from the joy of watching Meryl Streep as a music hall star, playing seven-year-old Alice, acting as a comedienne, and singing her heart out. With a strong soprano voice and perfect timing, ... Read More
Rating: - The best of the best - Papp, Swados, Streep, pure GENIUS!
I saw this and taped it on VHS when it first came out as a Peacock Presentation on television. I was delighted at the opportunity to replace my old VSH tape with a new DVD and the "remastered" DVD is crisp and clean, with sharp sound and great color.
If you're a purist, be forewarned that this is an inovative and creative production of ALice and it takes liberties..and yet, amazingly, the whole thing works, revolving around the theme of identity, childhood, growing up, feeling small and the crazy/scary ... Read More
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