Tonight I attended my last outdoor play at OSF in the Elizabethan Theatre, Alice in Wonderland, and it was a challenge all the way. The forecast looked bad as there was significant chance of rain during the time of the performance. In fact, It started raining before I left my room. On the way to the theater, I nearly hit a deer crossing the road with its friend. Luckily I skidded to a stop about a foot before I made contact. I ultimately got to downtown, parked, and got on all my layers. After getting to the theater, I delayed sitting down till about 10 min before the scheduled start time as it was already raining in the theater and I wanted to try and stay dry as long as I could. People were acting a little skittish before the start, questioning the weather. The rain never let up all through the play. Sometimes it would lighten for a bit, then it would pick back up. Luckily I came prepared in layers and a stayed reasonably warm and dry. Lots of people peeled out and left during the first half, then at intermission many more in the uncovered area either left (as they were soaked and cold) or tried to move to a spot in the covered area. When the play restarted after intermission, the uncovered front half of the theater was mostly empty. The crowd really cheered on the actors as they were out there in it putting on the play.
The play was basically a series of barely connected fantastical scenes that are part of Alice’s dream, but there was never really a story there for me. The staging and costumes of the various iconic characters were good. And the actors winkingly acknowledged the fact that it was raining throughout the play. Also, a couple of the costumes with hats (e.g. Mat Hatter) or crowns had big plastic bags over them to protect them from the rain. Towards the end the crowd was really rooting for them. Even though I was sort of unthrilled with the play itself, the cast got a deserving standing ovation for carrying on though the rain.
Trailer