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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland breaks box office record

By Naomi Brand

Aleksandar Antonijevic and Jillian Vanstone in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

The National Ballet of Canada’s production of Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has broken box office records to become the highest grossing mainstage production in the company’s history. Over 27,000 people in total attended the thirteen performances generating more than $2.2 million in box office revenue. The production was completely sold out with many people turned away and patrons lining up for rush and standing room tickets at 3:30 a.m. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was co-produced with The Royal Ballet (UK) and presented as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival. The production, which closed The National Ballet of Canada’s season, received standing ovations at every performance and much praise from critics including acclaim for Jillian Vanstone’s performance in the title role of Alice. Critic Michael Crabb wrote in The Toronto Star: “First Soloist Jillian Vanstone has just the right measure of naturalness and spontaneity to capture Alice’s feisty character.” Vanstone joined the company in 1999 after graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School.

The National Ballet of Canada’s 2011/12 season launches in November with Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. The 2011/12 season marks the company’s 60th anniversary.
http://national.ballet.ca/

Posted July 12, 2011