New Yorkers Are Throwing a Giant Party in Honor of ‘Alice and Wonderland’ /

by Tom Austin/

Alice in Wonderland week NYC — Getty Images

Since 1974, the Lewis Carroll Society of North America has been promoting interest in the work of Lewis Carroll, author of the immortal Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Carroll’s masterpiece, which has several connections to New York: Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the real Alice, came to Columbia University in 1932 to honor the centenary of Carroll’s birth, and the legacy of Alice is captured on two statues in Central Park.

It’s no surprise, then, that the city is honoring the anniversary with a giant party. Alice150 Week in New York goes from October 2 to October 11.

Several exhibitions and events are connected with the festivities, the most notable being the display of Carroll’s original manuscript for Alice, part of The British Library collection, which can be viewed at the Morgan Library & Museum through October 12.

On October 5, “Who’s Alice: An Evening with Kate Burton, David Del Tredici, Larry Pine, and Monica Edinger” (in 1982, Burton played Alice on Broadway) will take place at the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts. On October 11, New York University’s Global Center throws an “AlicePalooza,” with Alice-related video games, comics, cosplay, manga, and anime.

Screenings of a variety of Alice films from 1903 to 1988 will take place at the Bruno Walter Auditorium, of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, on Tuesdays starting October 6.

What’s more, the Bobst Library of New York University is exhibiting Go Ask Alice: Alice, Wonderland, and Popular Culture, an exploration of Alice ephemera on view through December 11. Through January 16, 2016, the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts has the exhibit Alice Live! The full list is on the website, but it seems clear that on every possible cultural front, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” will endure forever.