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Not only is music a way to bring a unique feeling to each character, but White sees it also as a way to welcome populations of all kinds into the Shakespearean stage.

The idea for the sprawling Experience began with a conversation between artists representing various disciplines, people from local indigenous communities, musicians and more. The A.R.T. set up the convening in January for the group to muse about what could happen in the park.

“It’s been a really fun experiment,” musician Tim Hall said. “We found ourselves coming up with an idea as a team that was very new, very exciting, and because of that, there’s been a lot of learning as we go. We’re building the ship on the way.”

“This production and Pride Month are important because we really need to get to a place where everyone can coexist together,” says dancer, model, and Trans activist Lilly Rose Valore. “I hope [‘Alice in Rainbowland’] will keep the conversation going with our allies.”

As Alice travels through Rainbowland, she stumbles upon scenes where its inhabitants demonstrate that whoever you are or whoever you love, you are always worthy of respect and acceptance. The show is specifically geared toward families.

[Producer and Creative Director Ana Masacote says] the work allowed the artists to ask: “What does a Rainbowland for us look like? What does a world of gender-free expression, a world welcoming of identity look like?”

Seeing the show in film format doesn’t change the story, but it does change the perspective…The audience is present in the studio while the group records, sitting on the side nodding along to the beat.

The work clearly feels of the moment, arriving amid the high-profile trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin…The dark irony, [Playwright] Goodwin explained, is that this piece had been in the works for years and was debuted by Company One in 2018.