ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

Academy Award winner Sally Field revisits Dr. Hodgson’s 1865 novel about Alice’s misadventures down a rabbit hole. Field gives a performance adequately expressive to hold the attention of listeners. But her production rings flat, missing the sense of glee and fancy inherent in Carroll’s words and Tenniel’s illustrations. Although sound effects and musical accompaniment are sometimes an overused extravagance, they might have added a little life to this otherwise flat and undistinguished production. Perhaps Carroll’s tale is best told in a British voice. Or perhaps by someone who, like Alice, is prepubescent. Field’s reading is not insincere, but her rather straight interpretation comes across as uninspired. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 01]