A…My Name Will Always Be Alice
A…My Name Will Always Be Alice
Directed by Wade Hair
Musical Direction by Wendy Feaver
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park, FL</strong>
There’s always a market for a solid collection of female-centric songs, as long as they tackle the subjects with some humor and forgo the bra-burning earnestness that forces a cabaret tune into a lecture hall. “A…My Name Will Always Be Alice” avoids that trope that by a wide margin, presenting a feminist’s dozen songs, poems, monologist and skits that makes for a fun and zippy evening. The only really tie the title has to the show is an opening ensemble recitation with all the girls stating their alliterative names and situations. Boyfriends, jobs, home towns and internal conflicts are all brought to you by the letter “A.”
Once we get thought that barrier, the show relaxes and finds its direction. “Trash” takes a boring day at the office and spices it up as the protagonists Karene Vocque imagines that she and the stream of salesmen passing through secretly populate a bodice ripping novel. Orlando veteran Janine Papin sings “Wheels”, a dreamy ballad about strollers and bicycles and guys cruising in cars and growing old. Her other big role is as the Kindergarten Nazi, berating moms like Janet Randolph and Kisha Peart for allowing their children to have a positive self image and excellent sharing skills. Randolph packs the best voice on stage, and her funniest piece came in “Honeypot.” Here she’s a sultry blues singer in therapy working though the blues euphemism for sex, struggling to say the words “penis” and “vagina.” I guess its progress, but the Bessie Smith sound just ain’t the same this way. Another crowd favorite is “The French Song” by Katie Thayer. She captures all the subtlies of Montmartre the chanteuse, from “Noblesse oblige” to “Pince Nez.” Two berets up!
There’s no real story here, just a polished set of musical heartbreak and novelty, sung from a female perspective that recalls “Menopause the Musical.” You’ll find “A…My Name Will Always Be Alice” completely entertaining and never strident, and fully suitable for both first dates and silver anniversaries.
For ticket prices and show times, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com
