Up The Coast / THEATER ‘Phantom of the Opera’ And ‘Alice in Wonderland’ : An Adult ‘Alice’ : A darker-than-usual adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s tale is deftly presented by Santa Barbara’s Lit Moon Theatre Company.

Remember all those lovable creatures Alice encountered during her adventures in Wonderland? The zany Mad Hatter? The obliging Caterpillar? The endearing Mock Turtle? The benign Cheshire Cat?

Forget them. For in the Wonderland originally created by Lewis Carroll in 1865, the inhabitants were far from zany, obliging, endearing, benign--or lovable.

Delve into Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and you’ll find an irrational world that revolves around obscure puns and twisted logic. And despite its comic absurdity, there’s a menacing undercurrent--these creatures are not at all concerned with Alice’s well-being, or even her survival.

It was to Carroll’s darker world that Santa Barbara’s Lit Moon Theatre Company returned for its original adaptation, “Alice in Wonderland.”

Combining avant-garde theater, modern dance and movement, and an original musical score, its interpretation is an entirely fresh take on “Alice” that’s designed for adult audiences (as were Carroll’s “Alice” books, for that matter).

When the production premiered last June in Santa Barbara’s Center Stage Theatre, it was a surprising and innovative triumph at every turn, presenting the story almost entirely in inventive visual terms rather than through dialogue and narration. And it’s even more effective in its return engagement, thanks to fine-tuning and a revised staging of the climactic trial scene.

Director John Blondell envisions Alice’s journey as a fall from innocence into experience. Initially a charming but self-absorbed and somewhat thoughtless girl, Alice (Colleen Hennen) impetuously jumps into an alien world where her conventional frames of reference are topsy-turvy. Even her own memories of a stable order are suspect, as she discovers when trying to recite poems or calculate sums.

Actors David Clements and Matt Tavianini play the assorted denizens of Wonderland, slipping in and out of their well-defined characters with the help of outrageous--and often disturbing--masks designed by Lesley Finlayson. The Mock Turtle (Clements) is encrusted in seaweed and slime from the deep. The brittle reeds bursting from the Hatter’s hat recall King Lear’s crown of madness on the heath--an apt comparison, for Tavianini’s Hatter is truly insane.

Relying entirely on Carroll’s dialogue and the performers’ physical agility, these are all impeccable and affecting characterizations. Especially impressive is when Clements and Tavianini link their bodies to form the segments of the hookah-puffing Caterpillar and recite in unison his mocking comments to the confused Alice.

In a later sequence, wearing identical masks, they take turns entering from different corners of the rectangular stage for the appearances of the elusive Cheshire Cat, maintaining continuity through perfectly matched voices. When Alice says she doesn’t want to go among mad people, the Cat replies with sinister delight: “You can’t help that--we’re all mad here.”

During her encounters with the unbalanced population of Wonderland, Alice is by turns frightened, amused, appalled and finally protective. Hennen saves the dawning of compassion for the last stage in Alice’s development, just before her re-entry into the familiar world.

There’s a wistful sense of loss in the piano and synthesizer score written and performed by Michael Mortilla. His continuous accompaniment incorporates styles of jazz, classical and outright dissonance to suit the onstage events.

Blondell’s staging is highly presentational. Bounded on three sides by the audience, the perimeter of the abstract set is clearly marked with tape--when the actors cross it they slip into and out of character as if passing through a membrane of reality.

Despite echoes from such diverse influences as William Blake and Bertolt Brecht, the show maintains a satisfying integrity and a wonderful sense of fun. Don’t miss it.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Alice in Wonderland.” Performed this Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Paseo Nuevo Center Stage Theatre, Chapala and De La Guerra Streets, Santa Barbara. Tickets are $10. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes. Call (805) 963-0408 for reservations or information.