Alice in Wonderland (Le Gallienne and Friebus)

Alice in Wonderland is a play in two acts created by Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus that was adapted from Lewis Carroll's 1865 English children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The play contains no original text and only uses dialogue found within Carroll's novels, with Le Gallienne and Friebus making cuts and reordering scenes from the two books to craft together a single stage work. The play also incorporates elements of musical theatre, containing original incidental music, dances, and songs composed by Richard Addinsell. The story's plot lacks a linear narrative and instead presents Alice's adventures within a series of vignettes. The play's major productions have all emphasized costumes, sets, and makeup that are meant to closely mirror the artwork of John Tenniel who illustrated both of Carroll's books in their original publications. As a result of both the plot structure and the emphasis on visual presentation, the work has been compared to a pageant. Some writers have also connected the piece to British pantomime.

Alice in Wonderland was first staged at the Civic Repertory Theatre in Manhattan in 1932, a production that transferred to Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre the following year. It was revived on Broadway in 1947 where it opened at the International Theatre before ending its run at the Majestic Theatre. It returned to Broadway in 1982-1983 for a revival at the Virginia Theatre directed by Le Gallienne. The latter production was an expensive flop and closed after a short run. A re-tooled version of this production was filmed for PBS's Great Performances under new direction by Kirk Browning and with cast changes that included the addition of several famous actors, among them Richard Burton whose daughter, Kate Burton, played Alice. The play was also adapted by Friebus for a 1955 television version broadcast on the Hallmark Hall of Fame in which Le Gallienne played the role of the White Queen, a part she also portrayed in all of the stage productions, including the 1982 revival when she was 83 years old.