Alice Project takes a new trip to Wonderland

His colleagues at Oxford knew him as the Rev. Charles Dodgson, a painfully shy mathematics professor and logician with a stammer and a penchant for photography, chiefly portraits of little girls. But the world knew him as Lewis Carroll, the brilliant fantasist who created “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass,” immortal works of children’s literature that have been adapted in various forms thousands of times the world over since their first print publications in 1865 and 1871.

Hard on the heels of director Tim Burton’s latest cinematic version, the downtown-based Vesper Theatre Company on Friday, May 28, begins performances of “The Alice Project: An Original Wonderland Experience.” Call it an urban update of Carroll’s classic fable, casting Alice as a saucy waitress and aspiring artist struggling to reconcile her creative ambitions with the mundane demands of paying the rent and earning a living. Playgoers participate through a series of Wonderland-themed rooms and spaces, decorated with original art and populated by performers like a street magician – not traditional theatre “in the round,” but theatre “all around.” Warning: not for very young children – this visit to Wonderland may be a little too rugged for them.

The Alice Project Warehouse is located where Banning St. and Center St. meet at 120 N. Santa Fe Ave. in downtown Los Angeles. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. curtain. See Vesper Theatre tickets for dates, prices and ordering, or call the theater at (213) 260-1613 for further information. The show runs through June 27.