Ten years ago, tired of theater that was no longer meeting audiences’ evolving needs, Noelle Krimm decided she wanted to create a production that took theatergoers on an adventure.
“A long time ago, people needed to be able to go to some place and sit still and escape and see a different reality, so they went to theater. And now that’s all we do. We sit at computers until our asses are sore and we can click into all these different realities anytime,” said Krimm, a former Andersonville resident who now lives in Evanston. “Theater has been sort of struggling, trying to figure out, how do you compete? For a long time, there were the big Broadway productions that would try to land a helicopter on stage or sink the Titanic, and they failed. … It [did] not look like the chandelier [was] crashing. So for years I’ve been looking at, well, what can we offer that the audience does need now?”
What they needed, Krimm found, was more tangible magic. And that’s what she delivered with “Alice,” an interactive amble that turned the Andersonville neighborhood into a version of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, dotted with eccentric characters and performances by local troupes and artists. The show was such a smash in 2004 that when Krimm launched her own production company, Upended Productions, this summer, she knew remounting “Alice” would be the perfect piece to kick it off.
Krimm will be reprising her role as one of seven white rabbits audience members will chase during the play. RedEye caught up with her to hear about the whimsical details of what audience members might encounter along the way.
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“Alice”
Go: Saturdays and Sundays starting at 1 p.m. (tours leave every 15 minutes until 2 p.m.), Sept. 27-Nov. 2.
Tickets: $15-$20, brownpapertickets.com. Performances start at the Neo-Futurarium (5153 N. Ashland Ave.)
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>> Groups will start their journey at the Neo-Futurarium (5153 N. Ashland Ave. 773-878-4557). A former Neo-Futurist herself, Krimm launched the original “Alice” in conjunction with the experimental ensemble. With additional artistic entities involved this time (see sidebar), the company will participate and host the production’s first three chapters, instead of six as it did in 2004.
>> Down the back staircase and into the alley, theatergoers will next find themselves in Woolly Mammoth Antiques & Oddities (1513 W. Foster Ave. 773-989-3294), where they’ll experience another chapter surrounded by human gall stones, taxidermied animals and the shop’s other bizarre finds. “The first time … some of the pieces maybe felt a little more like children’s theater, because people think Alice and they think kids, and this is really not a kids show at all,” Krimm said.
>> The chase continues down Clark Street and into Simon’s Tavern (5210 N. Clark St. 773-878-0894), one of only three venues Krimm also included in the 2004 route. “I wouldn’t approach any chains because they’d have to get permission from corporate in Dallas or something. I don’t need that. But the small local businesses, they bend over backward,” she said.
>> Chapters continue to unfold throughout the neighborhood with stops at George’s Ice Cream and Sweets (5306 N. Clark St. 773-271-7600), the Swedish American Museum (5211 N. Clark St. 773-728-8111) and pet supply shop Jameson Loves Danger (5208 N. Clark St. 773-754-8816), among other venues, before the group ends up back at the Neo-Futurarium for the show’s closing. Using the neighborhood as the show’s backdrop, Krimm said, not only showcases the local businesses, but also gives theatergoers a chance to see the community with fresh eyes. “It sort of brings out all the magical qualities of that neighborhood because Chicago is a beautiful place and there are all sorts of odd things happening, and shops and interesting personalities running them, and you just sort of have blinders on and you don’t really notice. You just worry about the fact that the bus was late and then three more came in a row,” Krimm said. “People see the neighborhood in a whole different way.”
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Madhatters and more: The cast of characters in “Alice”
Performers will include:
-The Neo-Futurists
-Experimental theater party group ShowParty
-Striding Lion Performance Group
-Former Louder than a Bomb slam poets Sophisticated Cornbread
-The Whiskey Rebellion Theatre
-Author-performer David Kodeski
-Other rotating artists and groups
