Get an exclusive sneak peek video from Lookingglass Alice, the signature production of Chicago's Tony-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company, which will broadcast nationwide on PBS for the first time ever December 15. Described as Alice in Wonderland meets Cirque du Soleil and adapted from the works of Lewis Carroll, Lookingglass Alice is a family-friendly romp through the classic story. See the clip above, where Alice meets the Queen of Hearts. 

Filmed in Chicago by 25-time Emmy Award-winning Chicago-based production company HMS Media, the production will be broadcast across the United States December 15 at 9 PM ET and PM CT (check local listings). Following the broadcast, Lookingglass Alice will be available at PBS.org to all viewers for 30 days and to PBS Passport subscribers beyond that.

Lookingglass Alice has been seen by more than a half-million viewers on tour throughout the U.S. and Canada since premiering in 2008, making it the most-seen production in Chicago theatre history. "A PBS Broadcast will allow Lookingglass Alice to tumble onto screens in every town across the nation and encourage theatres everywhere to bring inventive Lookingglass experiences to their audiences, unique experiences that will ignite the imagination, stir the soul, dare the impossible, and leave them, like Alice, changed, charged, and empowered. This broadcast, stunningly captured by HMS Media, will also be a celebration of Chicago’s vivid and robust theatre scene—home to more than 200 companies making moving and powerful work," director David Catlin tells Playbill.

Lookingglass Alice is adapted and directed by Catlin. Lindsey Noel Whiting, a Lookingglass Alice cast member herself, will host the PBS program, which features a cast that stars Molly Hernandez as Alice alongside Kareem Bandealy, Samuel Taylor, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, and Daniel Johnson.

The production’s creative team includes scenic designer Daniel Ostling, lighting designer Christine A. Binder, sound designer Ray Nardelli, costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, properties designer Amanda Herrmann, circus and movement choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-Distasi, and rigging designer Lee Brasuell. Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman are the composers for the piece's original music. The production is presented in association with The Actors Gymnasium.

Lookingglass Theatre Company previously made headlines due to its decision to pause live programming until spring 2024, citing financial troubles due to the pandemic (a troubling current trend in the theatre industry). The PBS broadcast seems to be a way to reassure audiences that Lookingglass still exist and is in the process of finding a way to start producing new shows again.

“Bringing Chicago stage productions to screen has always been a priority for us throughout our 35 years,” said
HMS Media co-founder and Lookingglass Alice producer Scott Silberstein in a statement. “Chicago is the only city in the country with six Tony Award-winning theaters, Lookingglass being one of them. This city is one of the most vital and creative places for the arts in the world, and Lookingglass Alice is a great example of the kind work that is created here. The pandemic made stage-to-screen capture necessary for anyone to see theatre. Even now, it is the only way for many people to see live shows. There’s nothing like live theatre, but this kind of access is both a vital part of theatre’s survival and recovery and a great way to invite people back to the joy and community of live
performance.”