Wendi Peters has moved from one children’s classic to another. Having finished a run as Snow White’s wicked queen in Sheffield’s panto last January, Chorleywood’s favourite actress is now back on stage wearing a dramatic gown and crown again, this time playing the role of Queen of Hearts in Wonderland the Musical. The show, the UK’s premiere of Frank Wildhorn’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, is currently touring the UK
“I’ve always wanted to work with Frank” says Wendi of the Broadway composer widely known for writing musicals Jekell and Hyde and Dracula and Whitney Houston hit “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.
“The Wonderland score is phenomenal and the plot, a combination of the two Alice stories, adds to the depth of colourful characters in Wonderland. You see all the regulars…the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, White Rabbit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and of course the Queen of Hearts, but there’s a new take on the stories. Alice is an adult and has a daughter Ellie and it’s about both their journeys. The mad hatter is a lady who is power hungry, there’s a lift instead of a rabbit hole and there’s a boy band!”
The story’s re-imagination was sparked off by Frank Wildhorn’s sons and has considerable relevance today.
“I used to live in a high rise in New York city and the elevator was always broken.” says Wildhorn, “I told my boys that the lift went down to Wonderland. “
In Wildhorn’s version Alice the Mum is going through a tough time with career and family
“Alice couldn’t write because she had lost the child within but she was also losing her own child because of circumstances. Her journey through Wonderland was her chance to save her child and the child within her.”
“ It’s nice playing the baddie” says Wendi, “the Queen of Hearts is misunderstood and mixed up. I have a couple of great numbers, Hail the Queen and Off with their Heads. The music is so varied, there’s rock, musical theatre, cabaret, pop, swing – something for everyone, all played by a fantastic orchestra of 8 that sounds like an orchestra of 30! The cast is inspired, we have top musical theatre stars…Dave Willetts ( Phantom and Les Mis) plays White Rabbit, Natalie McQueen is the crazy Mad Hatter and Kerry Ellis of Wicked fame plays Alice in some shows. Wonderland is spectacular, quirky, fun and pure escapism – just what we need right now. I am loving it! ”
Nearest venues: New Victoria Theatre Woking (3 – 8 April) ;
New Wimbledon Theatre (2 – 6 May), Milton Keynes Theatre (17 – 22 July), Richmond Theatre (7 – 12 August)
Catch Wendi too in CBBC’s Hetty Feather, back on our screens in May