Alice in Wonderland / A Dramatization of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass"

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Alice: You’re Humpty Dumpty! Just like an egg.
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Copyright
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1915

Published December, 1915

Rights to produce this play in all countries of the world
are reserved by Alice Gerstenberg

W. F. MAEL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO

This dramatic rendering of Alice in Wonderland, by Alice Gerstenberg of Chicago, was produced by The Players Producing Company of Chicago (Aline Barnsdall and Arthur Bissell), at the Fine Arts Theater, Chicago, February 11, 1915. After a successful run it opened at the Booth Theater, New York, March 23, 1915.

The scenery and the costumes were designed by William Penhallow Henderson of Chicago.

The music was written by Eric De Lamarter of Chicago.

The advertising posters and cards were designed by Jerome Blum of Chicago.

The illustrations of the characters of the play in this book were drawn by J. Allen St. John from photographs by Victor Georg of Chicago.

W. H. Gilmore staged the play with the following cast:

Alice in Wonderland

Miss Gerstenberg’s manuscript called for costumes after the illustrations of John Tenniel, and scenery of the simple imaginative type, the “new art” in the theater.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Alice in Wonderland

ACT I

SCENE ONE

Alice’s home. Lewis Carroll is discovered, playing chess. Golden-haired Alice, in a little blue dress, a black kitten in her arms, stands watching him.

Alice

That’s a funny game, uncle. What did you do then?

Carroll

A red pawn took a white pawn; this way. You see, Alice, the chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, red and white, and the white army tries to win and the red army tries to win. It’s like a battle!

Alice

With soldiers?

Carroll

Yes, here are the Kings and Queens they are fighting for. That’s the Red Queen and here’s the White Queen.

Alice

How funny they look!

Carroll

See the crowns on their heads, and look at their big feet.

Alice

It’s a foot apiece, that’s what it is! Do they hump along like this?

Carroll

Here! You’re spoiling the game. I must keep them all in their right squares.

Alice

I want to be a queen!

Carroll

Here you are [he points to a small white pawn] here you are in your little stiff skirt!

Alice

How do you do, Alice!

Carroll

And now you are going to move here.

Alice

Let me move myself.

Carroll

When you have traveled all along the board this way and haven’t been taken by the enemy you may be a queen.

Alice

Why do people always play with kings and queens? Mother has them in her playing cards too. Look!

[Alice goes to the mantel and takes a pack of playing cards from the ledge.]

Here’s the King of Hearts and here’s his wife; she’s the Queen of Hearts—isn’t she cross-looking? wants to bite one’s head off.

[Carroll moves a pawn.]

You’re playing against yourself, aren’t you?

Carroll

That’s one way of keeping in practice, Alice; I have friends in the university who want to beat me.

Alice

But if you play against yourself I should think you’d want to cheat!

Carroll

Does a nice little girl like you cheat when she plays against herself?

Alice

Oh! I never do! I’d scold myself hard. I always pretend I’m two people too. It’s lots of fun, isn’t it? Sometimes when I’m all alone I walk up to the looking glass and talk to the other Alice. She’s so silly, that Alice; she can’t do anything by herself. She just mocks me all the time. When I laugh, she laughs, when I point my finger at her, she points her finger at me, and when I stick my tongue out at her she sticks her tongue out at me! Kitty has a twin too, haven’t you darling?

[Alice goes to the mirror to show Kitty her twin.]

Carroll

I’ll have to write a book some day about Alice—Alice in wonderland, “Child of the pure unclouded brow and dreaming eyes of wonder!” or, Alice through the looking glass!

Alice

Don’t you wish sometimes you could go into looking-glass house? See!

[Alice stands on an armchair and looks into the mirror.]

There’s the room you can see through the glass; it’s just the same as our living-room here, only the things go the other way. I can see all of it—all but the bit just behind the fireplace. Oh! I do wish I could see that bit! I want so much to know if they’ve a fire there. You never can tell, you know, unless our fire smokes. Then smoke comes up in that room too—but that may be just to make it look as if they had a fire—just to pretend they had. The books are something like our books, only the words go the wrong way. Won’t there ever be any way of our getting through, uncle?

Carroll

Do you think Kitty would find looking-glass milk digestible?

Alice

It doesn’t sound awful good, does it; but I might leave her at home. She’s been into an awful lot of mischief today. She found sister’s knitting and chased the ball all over the garden where sister was playing croquet with the neighbors. And I ran and ran after the naughty little thing until I was all out of breath and so tired! I am tired.

[She yawns and makes herself comfortable in the armchair.]

Carroll

[Replaces the playing cards on the mantel and consults his watch.]

Take a nap. Yes, you have time before tea.

Alice

[Half asleep.]

We’re going to have mock turtle soup for supper! I heard mamma tell the cook not to pepper it too much.

Carroll

What a funny little rabbit it is, nibbling all the time!

[He leans gently over the back of her chair, and seeing that she is going to sleep puts out the lamp light and leaves the room. A red glow from the fireplace illumines Alice.]

[Dream music. A bluish light reveals the Red Chess Queen and the White Chess Queen in the mirror.]

Red Queen

[Points to Alice and says in a mysterious voice.]

There she is, let’s call her over.

White Queen

Do you think she’ll come?

Red Queen

I’ll call softly, Alice!

White Queen

Hist, Alice.

Red Queen

Alice!

White Queen

Hush—if she wakes and catches us—

Both Queens

Alice, come through into looking-glass house!

[Their hands beckon her.]

Alice

[Rises, and talks sleepily. The Queens disappear. Alice climbs from the arm of the chair to the back of another and so on up to the mantel ledge, where she picks her way daintily between the vases.]

I—don’t—know—how—I—can—get—through. I’ve tried—before—but the glass was hard—and I was afraid of cutting—my fingers—

[She feels the glass and is amazed to find it like gauze.]

Why, it’s soft like gauze; it’s turning into a sort of mist; why, it’s easy to get through! Why—why—I’m going through!

[She disappears.]

SCENE TWO

[Is Scene One, reversed. The portieres are black and red squares like a chessboard. A soft radiance follows the characters mysteriously. As the curtain rises Alice comes through the looking glass; steps down, looks about in wonderment and goes to see if there is a “fire.” The Red Queen rises out of the grate and faces her haughtily.]

Alice

Why, you’re the Red Queen!

Red Queen

Of course I am! Where do you come from? And where are you going? Look up, speak nicely, and don’t twiddle your fingers!

Alice

I only wanted to see what the looking glass was like. Perhaps I’ve lost my way.

Red Queen

I don’t know what you mean by your way; all the ways about here belong to me. Curtsey while you’re thinking what to say. It saves time.

Alice

I’ll try it when I go home; the next time I’m a little late for dinner.

Red Queen

It’s time for you to answer now; open your mouth a little wider when you speak, and always say, “Your Majesty.” I suppose you don’t want to lose your name?

Alice

No, indeed.

Red Queen

And yet I don’t know, only think how convenient it would be if you could manage to go home without it! For instance, if the governess wanted to call you to your lessons, she would call out “come here,” and there she would have to leave off, because there wouldn’t be any name for her to call, and of course you wouldn’t have to go, you know.

Alice

That would never do, I’m sure; the governess would never think of excusing me from lessons for that. If she couldn’t remember my name, she’d call me “Miss,” as the servants do.

Red Queen

Well, if she said “Miss,” and didn’t say anything more, of course you’d miss your lessons. I dare say you can’t even read this book.

Alice

It’s all in some language I don’t know. Why, it’s a looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again.

Jabberwocky
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

It seems very pretty, but it’s rather hard to understand; somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don’t exactly know what they are.

Red Queen

I daresay you don’t know your geography either. Look at the map!

[She takes a right angle course to the portieres and points to them with her sceptre.]

Alice

It’s marked out just like a big chessboard. I wouldn’t mind being a pawn, though of course I should like to be a Red Queen best.

Red Queen

That’s easily managed. When you get to the eighth square you’ll be a Queen. It’s a huge game of chess that’s being played—all over the world. Come on, we’ve got to run. Faster, don’t try to talk.

Alice

I can’t.

Red Queen

Faster, faster.

Alice

Are we nearly there?

Red Queen

Nearly there! Why, we passed it ten minutes ago. Faster. You may rest a little now.

Alice

Why, I do believe we’re in the same place. Everything’s just as it was.

Red Queen

Of course it is, what would you have it?

Alice

Well, in our country you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time as we’ve been doing.

Red Queen

A slow sort of country. Now here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.

Alice

I’d rather not try, please! I’m quite content to stay here—only I am so hot and thirsty.

Red Queen

I know what you’d like.

[She takes a little box out of her pocket.]

Have a biscuit?

[Alice, not liking to refuse, curtseys as she takes the biscuit and chokes.]

Red Queen

While you’re refreshing yourself, I’ll just take the measurements.

[She takes a ribbon out of her pocket and measures the map with it.]

At the end of two yards I shall give you your directions—have another biscuit?

Alice

No thank you, one’s quite enough.

Red Queen

Thirst quenched, I hope? At the end of three yards I shall repeat them—for fear of your forgetting them. At the end of four, I shall say good-bye. And at the end of five, I shall go! That Square belongs to Humpty Dumpty and that Square to the Gryphon and Mock Turtle and that Square to the Queen of Hearts. But you make no remark?

Alice

I—I didn’t know I had to make one—just then.

Red Queen

You should have said, “It’s extremely kind of you to tell me all this,” however, we’ll suppose it said. Four! Good-bye! Five!

[Red Queen vanishes in a gust of wind behind the portieres. Rabbit music. White Rabbit comes out of the fireplace and walks about the room hurriedly. He wears a checked coat, carries white kid gloves in one hand, a fan in the other and takes out his watch to look at it anxiously.]

White Rabbit

Oh the Duchess! the Duchess! Oh! won’t she be savage if I’ve kept her waiting!

Alice

I’ve never seen a rabbit with a waistcoat and a watch! And a waistcoat pocket! If you please, sir—

White Rabbit

Oh!

[He drops fan and gloves in fright and dashes out by way of the portieres in a gust of wind. Alice picks up the fan and playfully puts on the gloves. The portieres flap in the breeze and a shawl flies in.]

Alice

[Catches the shawl and looks about for the owner; then meets the White Queen.]

I’m very glad I happened to be in the way.

White Queen

[Runs in wildly, both arms stretched out wide as if she were flying, and cries in a helpless frightened way.]

Bread-and-butter, bread-and-butter.

Alice

Am I addressing the White Queen?

White Queen

Well, yes, if you call that a-dressing. It isn’t my notion of the thing, at all.

Alice

If your Majesty will only tell me the right way to begin, I’ll do it as well as I can.

White Queen

But I don’t want it done at all. I’ve been a-dressing myself for the last two hours.

Alice

Every single thing’s crooked, and you’re all over pins; may I put your shawl straight for you?

White Queen

I don’t know what’s the matter with it! It’s out of temper. I’ve pinned it here, and I’ve pinned it there, but there’s no pleasing it.

Alice

It can’t go straight, you know, if you pin it all on one side, and dear me, what a state your hair is in!

White Queen

The brush has got entangled in it! And I lost the comb yesterday.

Alice

[Takes out the brush and arranges the Queen’s hair.]

You look better now! But really you should have a lady’s maid!

White Queen

I’m sure I’ll take you with pleasure. Two pence a week and jam every other day.

Alice

[Who cannot help laughing.]

I don’t want you to hire me—and I don’t care for jam.

White Queen

It’s very good jam.

Alice

Well, I don’t want any today, at any rate.

White Queen

You couldn’t have it if you did want it. The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today.

Alice

It must come sometimes to “jam today.”

White Queen

No, it can’t, it’s jam every other day; today isn’t any other day, you know.

Alice

I don’t understand you, it’s dreadfully confusing!

White Queen

That’s the effect of living backwards, it always makes one a little giddy at first—

Alice

Living backwards! I never heard of such a thing!

White Queen

But there’s one great advantage in it—that one’s memory works both ways.

Alice

I’m sure mine only works one way. I can’t remember things before they happen.

White Queen

It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.

Alice

What sort of things do you remember best?

White Queen

Oh, things that happened the week after next. For instance now:

[She sticks a large piece of plaster on her finger.]

There’s the King’s messenger—he’s in prison being punished; and the trial doesn’t even begin till next Wednesday; and of course the crime comes last of all.

Alice

Suppose he never commits the crime?

White Queen

[Binding the plaster with ribbon.]

That would be all the better, wouldn’t it?

Alice

Of course it would be all the better, but it wouldn’t be all the better his being punished.

White Queen

You’re wrong there, at any rate; were you ever punished?

Alice

Only for faults.

White Queen

And you were all the better for it, I know!

Alice

Yes, but then I had done the things I was punished for; that makes all the difference.

White Queen

But if you hadn’t done them that would have been better still; better and better and better!

Alice

There’s a mistake somewhere—

White Queen

[Screams like an engine whistle, and shakes her hand.]

Oh, Oh, Oh! My finger’s bleeding. Oh, Oh, Oh!

Alice

What is the matter? Have you pricked your finger?

White Queen

I haven’t pricked it yet—but I soon shall—Oh, Oh, Oh!

Alice

When do you expect to do it?

White Queen

When I fasten my shawl again; the brooch will come undone directly. Oh, Oh!

[Brooch flies open and she clutches it wildly.]

Alice

Take care! you’re holding it all crooked!

White Queen

[Pricks her finger and smiles.]

That accounts for the bleeding, you see; now you understand the way things happen here.

Alice

But why don’t you scream now?

White Queen

Why, I’ve done all the screaming already. What would be the good of having it all over again? Oh! it’s time to run if you want to stay in the same place! Come on!

Alice

No, no! Not so fast! I’m getting dizzy!!

White Queen

Faster, faster!

Alice

Everything’s black before my eyes!

[There is music, and the sound of rushing wind, and in the darkness the White Queen cries: “Faster, faster”; Alice gasps: “I can’t—please stop”; and the Queen replies: “Then you can’t stay in the same place. I’ll have to drop you behind. Faster—faster, good-bye.”]

SCENE THREE