Tag: Alice in Wonderland

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“Alice’s Adventures at the Garden” Opens at MBG

The Red Queen playing her twisted croquet. (Photo: Abigail Morici)

Dear reader, do you, by chance, know how to lure a white rabbit into your presence — specifically a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat with a pocket watch? I ask, not because I want to do some weird taxidermy project, but because I’d like to follow one to Wonderland. I mean, wouldn’t you go if you could? And what if you could go, just by driving to the Memphis Botanic Garden? And what if you drove there and in the parking lot found a bottle labeled “Drink Me” — would you drink it?

Your answer better be no because you shouldn’t be trusting random liquids found in parking lots, but unlike Alice, you don’t need to consume unknown substances to shrink down to a wee size to get into Wonderland since, once you’re inside the garden, you’ll immediately feel shrunken as you come face to face with the larger-than-life whimsical characters from Alice in Wonderland.

This mosaiculture exhibition has four main features: Alice, the Red Queen, card guards and pawns defending the royal chess set, and the Cheshire Cat. Mosaiculture, the garden’s executive director Michael Allen says, uses bedding plants to “plug” into steel frames, creating topiary-like sculptures.

The sculptures, which require daily watering and weekly trimming, come from the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where they premiered in a more extensive exhibition. “[The steel frames had] been in storage for about a year,” Allen says, until coming to Memphis in climate-controlled trucks. Once in Memphis, bedding plants, suitable to Memphis’ climate, were added. “It’s a little thin now but what will happen is these will grow and spread out and become more full,” Allen says, adding, “We’ve hired a team of three staff members just to take care of these for the six months or so that we have them planted.”

Throughout the year, the garden will host various Alice-themed events, like Saturday storytimes for kids, adult education sessions, monthly drop-in craft and activity stations, a family tea party, and even a Rose & Croquet party in June. Plus, starting this Thursday, May 12th, the garden will introduce its Twilight Thursdays, during which it will be open late until 8 p.m. for dog-friendly hours with food trucks and cocktails as well as special performances. After Halloween, the plants will be taken off the structures and lights will take their place for the garden’s Holiday Wonders Light Show.

For more information and for a full schedule of special events and programming, visit membg.org/alice. Follow the garden’s social media for updates.

“Alice’s Adventures at the Garden,” Memphis Botanic Garden, on display through 2022.

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Down the Rabbit Hole

Earlier this week, a stripper asked on Twitter if people thought it was safe for her to go back to work. The general consensus was, “Sure, as long as you wear a mask and gloves.” There’s a visual for you. You’re welcome.

We seem to be finding new levels of absurdity every day. We’re living in a cartoonish bizarro world that none of us would have recognized — or could have predicted — four years ago. Events and actions that would have dominated the news cycle for weeks are big news one day and forgotten the next. The overload is taking a toll. COVID-19 is killing thousands of Americans, and instead of pulling together, we’re all fighting each other about how to deal with the situation. Everything is tribal.

On Fox News there is a constant stream of rhetoric urging Americans to not be afraid to take risks. “It’s time for all of us to get back to normal. We can’t live in fear,” they urge, hour after hour, show after show. Of course, all of the Fox hosts and guests are broadcasting from their homes, since, apparently, going back to work is mainly for the rest of us. Chin up, America, say the likes of Ingram, Hannity, and Carlson. Masks are for losers and libs! We’ll be here at home, rooting you brave folks (morons) on. Go get ’em, patriots!

Fox has been putting out poisonous blather, propaganda, and misinformation for years, but since President Trump came into office, they’ve taken it to new levels. It’s funny how having as president a shallow, name-calling, lying, tweeting narcissist with no coherent plan — for anything — will enhance that media strategy. We’re all in constant reactive mode to Trump’s pop-goes-the-weasel “management” style. Round and round the mulberry bush we go.

Case in point: On Monday, the president casually mentioned he was taking hydroxychloroquine, which has recently been found to be worthless for treating COVID. This got the news cycle spinning for, oh, a good six hours.

“Will this drug harm the president?” the pundits wondered, since it’s dangerous for folks with underlying conditions such as, well, age and obesity. Or, is it possible that the president was lying (gasp!) about taking the drug, perhaps to divert attention away from other matters — such as the continuing rise in the national death count from COVID, or perhaps the suspicious Friday night firing of the State Department’s inspector general?

So the dividing line for the media — and soon, the rest of us — became: Is the president lying about taking hydroxychloroquine or is the White House physician really letting his most important patient endanger his health by ingesting an ineffective, possibly dangerous drug? A statement released by the president’s doctor was evasive and inconclusive. The president’s press spokesperson would only confirm that “the president said he was taking it.” Duh. That we knew.

So who the hell knows anything anymore? When it comes to the hydroxychloroquine brouhaha, I’m going with “the president is lying” — which is almost always a safe bet.

State Department inspector general Steve Linick was fired Friday night. The initial story was that the IG was looking into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s use of U.S. Secret Service agents to run menial errands for him — picking up food and dry-cleaning and walking the family dog. The agents purportedly referred to themselves as “Uber with guns.”

When asked about the situation, Trump escalated his sensitive and nuanced campaign to win the women’s vote by saying: “I’d rather have [Pompeo] on the phone with some world leader than have him washing dishes because maybe his wife isn’t there.” Smooth.

But it turns out that the actual issue in question probably wasn’t Pompeo’s egregious use of his protection services to pick up the occasional KFC family bucket. The firing came just as Linick was near the completion of an investigation into Pompeo’s approval of a quiet little multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia that appeared to end run Congress, and the IG wanted to interview the secretary of state about it.

Oops. Sorry, pal. We can’t have any of that pesky oversight around this administration. Enjoy your retirement. Buh-bye.

Meanwhile, the president continued to push for an investigation of former President Obama for what Trump calls “Obamagate,” which he has been unable to define thus far. We do know it has something to do with twice-confessed felon Michael Flynn, whom Obama warned Trump not to hire because of his sketchy Russian connections. Trump immediately hired Flynn anyway. Now, Trump is saying Obama used Flynn to set him up? Whatever.

It’s all nuts — a cartoon world where strippers wear masks and gloves and Alice in Wonderland logic prevails — and we all appear to be headed down the rabbit hole.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Dream Bars launches new bar concept in Memphis

In Memphis, it’s only mildly uncustomary to walk into a bar where a woman wearing bunny ears is seated in an armchair surveying the scene. This particular woman is Hayley Milliman, one half of the duo behind Dream Bars. She and business partner Miles Kovarik have just launched their latest concept (they’re also the team that created Potterfest) in a seldom-used corner of Cafe Society.

The idea behind Dream Bars is ambitious: Every few weeks, they stage another pop-up bar with a new theme in a new location. From now through September 30th, it’s Wunderland, with an Alice in Wonderland theme. The next pop-up, launching in early October in a different place … who knows? Though we might see the pop-up bars resurface at Cafe Society again one month, we’ll never see the Alice theme again. With this sort of turnaround, you’d expect a lackluster presentation. But Hayley and Miles, I learned, don’t half-ass anything.

A friend and I visited the Wunderland bar last week, and the bartender immediately handed us two apothecary bottles marked “Drink Me.” This is a good way to get people to hang out at your bar. Another great way to get people to hang out at your bar is to offer a selection of drinks that include an alcoholic hot tea and an absinthe cocktail. We got one of each, then we got another of each, and then we hung out with Hayley and Miles and yammered for several hours.

Normally, I credit the alcohol for any ability to talk to strangers, but Miles and Hayley are easy to talk to and eager to share their ideas about moving forward with Dream Bars. Miles excitedly explains his vision but credits Hayley with bringing all the intelligence to the table (“Duh, she’s a woman,” I wrote in my notes). Their passion is obvious, as anyone who has attended one of their Potterfest events knows well. They have an ease with discussing their hopes for Dream Bars that is refreshing and, for a cynic like me, inspiring.

After traveling extensively and hanging out in concept bars all around the globe, Hayley and Miles figured they could pull off a similar deal in Memphis. Their goal is to get their patrons to re-think their bar experience, and to head home and, as Miles put it, say to themselves, “Well, that was interesting.”

Here in Cafe Society, they’ve provided a full experience, from a lavender scent to a playlist wherein each song vaguely references Alice in Wonderland. The drinks are served in teacups, many of which Hayley found at Goodwill. The Alice theme, while by no means an easy undertaking, is just the start. They promise that each concept fuels the next and each idea will be a little more out there, but we won’t know what’s next until October.

Hayley Milliman

The awesome thing about Dreams Bars is that it promotes a symbiotic relationship between the company and the host bar/restaurant. Dream Bars will use an under-utilized space in a host bar and not only take advantage of the spare room but also provide exposure for the place. The chef of each host restaurant will provide insight for the menu. Cullen Kent, the chef and owner of Cafe Society, worked with Dream Bars to craft a themed food menu for the Alice concept. (They had a mushroom appetizer called “Eat Me,” but I had already been down the absinthe road and so I tapped the brakes.)

Providing exposure for existing spaces isn’t the only way that Dream Bars embraces Memphis, of course. They also craft their drink menu using local spirits from Old Dominick, and 10 percent of their profit is donated to a different local charity (the charity, like the theme and location, will change each time).

The sort of innovation that went in to Dream Bars, from the décor to the drinks, is what makes it stand out. In a city full of fun and interesting bars, it’s hard to come up with something new. They’ve succeeded. The drinks are fantastic (I tried them all, even one made with spiced rum that ended up being delicious), and the atmosphere was a perfect backdrop to make two new friends and somehow end up talking about Vin Diesel and the correct pronunciation of “Budapest.” Alice welcomes visitors Thursday through Saturday nights, from 7 p.m. until midnight, and I urge you to approach that fun couple, one of whom will be wearing bunny ears, and introduce yourself. We wouldn’t want to lose them to some other city.

Dream Bars Wunderland at Cafe Society (212 N. Evergreen) through September 30th.

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Will Call: Tips & Tidbits for the Theatrically Inclined

CREDIT: A Teutonic likeness of John Hemphill

A Teutonic likeness of John Hemphill

We are entering into one of those awful/wonderful periods when the weather is perfect and there is so much nifty stuff to do that you can’t possibly do it all. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the more interesting theater and dance offerings available for consumption this weekend. 

I love Steve Martin’s very Martinized adaptation of Carl Sternheim’s German Expressionist comedy, The Underpants. It’s a profoundly silly meditation on the nature of fame telling the story of a middle class couple who have trouble renting a room until the wife experiences a terrible wardrobe malfunction. Don’t let the early 20th-Century trappings fool you, this story could have easily been devised as a response to the age of 4Chan and Instagram. A top-notch cast includes a pair of Johns (Hemphill and Maness), Rebecca Sherrod, Deborah Burda Nelson, and Jenny Kathman. It’s one weekend only, which means I’ll miss it. But I’d love to hear reports back from people who can make it out Bartlett to see this comic gem. 

I’ve Got Your Tea Party Right Here

Our Own Voice Theatre Company is unlike any other company in town. It began as a troupe dedicated to exploring experimental techniques, as well as issues and ideas related to mental health and “normalcy.” So, in some regard, Madhatted, a locally-adapted vision of the mad tea party from Alice in Wonderland is a perfect fit. And I can assure you, if you saw this show at the Memphis Children’s Theatre Festival a few years back, it will be a different experience. Info here. 

The classic farce Servant of Two Masters has been reimagined as a music-filled slapstick extravaganza called One Man Two Guvnors. Francis Henshall (an updated vision of the stock character Harlequino)  has just been fired from his folk jazz skiffle band and being desperate for work he takes employment from—yes— two masters. Hilarity ensues, as it often so does. Details here. 

Dance fans — both street and classical — have a special opportunity this week to explore both the origins and the future of Memphis-style bucking and jookin’. The “Old School vs. New School 3” dance competition at Minglewood Hall pits Memphis’ first generation Gangsta Walkers against younger dancers looking to see if their bucking and chopping measures up against the original masters.

“This is the first time in a long time that people will have an opportunity to see the original Gangsta Walkers,” says instructor, artist, and event organizer Jaquency Ford, who has hand-picked the dance partners who’ll be squaring off against one another at Minglewood. Gangsta Walking is the direct antecedent of jookin’, the Memphis-born dance style that New York Times dance writer Alastair Macaulay recently described as, “the single most exciting young dance genre of our day, featuring, in particular, the most sensationally diverse use of footwork.”

Will Call: Tips & Tidbits for the Theatrically Inclined

Pretty Tony will be in the house to perform his seminal club hit “Get Buck.” Original Gangsta Walkers include Wolf and Romeo, two-thirds of the G-Style, the ’80s-era rap and dance team that first began to mix breakdancing moves with “buck jumps.”

A stone’s throw to the east, at the new Hattiloo Theatre in Overton Square, FreeFall finds New Ballet Ensemble (NBE) presenting a concert showcasing the company’s critically acclaimed hybrid of ballet, Memphis jookin’, and world dance styles. NBE’s program includes a revival of Noelia Garcia Carmona’s Dos, a vibrant mashup of jookin’ and flamenco set to original music by Roy Brewer and showcasing the talents of Shamar Rooks. The New Ballet Youth Company presents Doin’ It Right choreographed by NBE alum and Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark dancer Maxx Reed.

NBE is also premiering “Three Dream Portraits” based on poetry by Langston Hughes with music by Margaret Bonds and choreography by General McArthur Hambrick.

If that’s not enough on the Memphis dance front U-Dig Dance Academy is hosting an evening of wine, international cuisine and (like you couldn’t guess) jookin. That also goes down  Friday, September 26, 2014 at the Jack Robinson Gallery, 400 South Main Street. Tickets for the event are $25; $50 (includes dinner); and $250 for a reserved table and will benefit the U-Dig Dance Club.