Steadstyle Chicago
	July 2008 Theatre Review by Alan Bresloff
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com Lookingglass Alice Hey Chicago!  "Lookingglass Alice", the marvelous adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through The Lookingglass" is a marvelous, playful 100 minutes of circus performance arts.  The cast of five (it will seem as though there are 30-40 actors) is one of extraordinary talents, not just able to act, but to juggle, do acrobatics, ride a unicycle, do leaps on stilts, hop from chair to chair.   And of course as always, Alice is the centerpiece.  The sweet and charming Lauren Hirte flies through the theater, can lift each and every other cast member and is perfection in this role. The four men who play all the other roles, Lawrence E. Distasi, Kevin Douglas, Anthony Fleming III and Jesse J. Perez are some of the most energetic performers I have ever seen.  They are tumbling, jumping, carrying, throwing and changing costumes and characters from scene to scene.  When Lookingglass says they do physical theater they mean it, and this particular production is about as physical as one can see.  Each time we see it we see a little more and they add some little touches. In fact, since there are so many instances where lights flash and bells ring that on opening night for the press, no one winced when the fire alarms went off and we were asked to leave the auditorium.  It turned out to be a technical thing and there was no danger to anyone, so we returned to the theater where the Red Queen (Jesse J. Perez) perched on a platform had remained the entire time (he could not make it through the doors and so he remained ready to resume).  The audience re-entered quickly and after thunderous applause for the theater staff and Mr. Perez, off we went to continue our magical trip through the looking glass.  And once again it was a charming and delightful theatrical experience for young and old.  Imagine our day: "Willy Wonka" at 2 p.m. followed by "Lookingglass Alice".  Talk about a perfect Saturday! "Lookingglass Alice" will run through August 31, 2008 at the Lookingglass Theatre inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works located at 812 N. Michigan Avenue (at Pearson).  Performances are Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 3P.M. (except 7/31) and 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.  Tickets range from $30-$60 and are available at the box office, by phone at 312-337-0685 or online at www.lookingglasstheatre.org.   About Alan Bresloff Alan Bresloff, once an actor himself, has been covering the Chicago Theater Scene since 1993, first as the Theater and Arts critic for LaRaza newspaper, then with Salsachicago.com and then onto Extra Newspaper and The EpochTimes.  He also writes for ElImparcial and TeleGuia.  His reviews can also be seen on www.theatreinchicago.com.  Alan does not call himself a "critic" but a "reviewer" as he tries to educate the reader about theater itself, what is a good value, what to look for in a play or musical and more.  "Exposure to theater is a very important part of a young person's life" he says. "Learning about the arts and culture is in fact learning about life" and he tries to explain more in his reviews than just if it is good or bad.  Even some of the poor productions have some value, he often says and he would love your feedback on shows that you have seen.  You can write him here or at albresloff@sbcglobal.net.