Alice, played by Rosemary Holcomb, left, and the Queen of Hearts, played by Vivian White, rehearse a scene for Stage Kids' production of "Alice in Wonderland," Tuesday. The lead role of Alice is shared between eight young actors. The sold-out show will be performed at the Beacon Hill Grange in Wenatchee on Feb. 23-25 and March 2-4.
Mad Hatter, played by Charlie Campbell, left, and March Hare, played by Marie Campbell, drink tea during a scene at dress rehearsal, Tuesday, for Stage Kids' production of Alice in Wonderland.
Alice, played by Rosemary Holcomb, left, and the Queen of Hearts, played by Vivian White, rehearse a scene for Stage Kids' production of "Alice in Wonderland," Tuesday. The lead role of Alice is shared between eight young actors. The sold-out show will be performed at the Beacon Hill Grange in Wenatchee on Feb. 23-25 and March 2-4.
Mad Hatter, played by Charlie Campbell, left, and March Hare, played by Marie Campbell, drink tea during a scene at dress rehearsal, Tuesday, for Stage Kids' production of Alice in Wonderland.
WENATCHEE — Stage Kids programs tend to fill up quickly and performance tickets go quickly, too. Registration for spring and summer classes and camps opens Feb. 28.
All 10 performances of the Stage Kids production of “Alice in Wonderland” sold out tickets more than a week in advance of the whimsical show. It will be performed at the Beacon Hill Grange in Wenatchee on Feb. 23-25 and March 2-4.
Feb. 14 was the first run-through of the show while wearing costumes. The show is double cast with 44 total actors. Young performers sat in newly purchased chairs that surround the stage on three sides at the Grange to ask questions at the top of rehearsal. Stage Kids had also purchased with grant money new tiered-seating platforms to improve visibility.
The seating surrounds three sides of the stage area, which has scenic backdrops of mushroom houses fit for a Caterpillar (Ruby Johnson, Oren Fuwiler) to lounge on, and which might make a girl change sizes if she takes a nibble from either side.
The lead role of Alice is shared between four actresses (Katherine Hendrickson, Brooklyn Eberth, Aniya Madariaga, Ellie Parker in Cast A and Rosemary Holcomb, Nellie Bruno, Auggie Smith and Emerson Thomason in Cast B); all are all in blue dresses with white aprons.
The first Alice introduces the Lewis Carol story by chasing the White Rabbit (Ella Grass, Gianna Hisey) down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. The second Small Alice drinks a potion and shrinks to fit through a door with a talking doorknob. The third grows tall by climbing a ladder representing a tree top, and encounters the Cheshire Cat (Maci Devine, Coralie Kummer) with a grin.
For a lot of people in the cast, this is their first show, though they must have at least taken the Musical Theatre 1 class. At the rehearsal, before lights and sound are installed, much time was spent directing the actors to move quickly between scenes.
Some have been with Stage Kids for several shows. Malari and Makaila Musgrove are sisters who play Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in “Alice in Wonderland.” They have also performed with Stage Kids in “Elf,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Seussical Jr.” and “Willie Wonka.”
Makaila Musgrove said she likes that “I can be myself.”
Auggie Smith plays Little Alice, and said she likes to play with dramatic personalities to show a different part of herself. She said, “Stage Kids is so creative. We improvise. It’s a really good life skill to be more confident and brave.”
Emerson Thomason plays Tall Alice, and says the audiences will like the funny, interactive parts of this play. Actor Salem Winterstein said — while smiling with her friends and castmates — the environment is “healthy,” with “no judgements and no mean comments.”
Director Michelle McCormick said for this show she let go a bit so the young actors could choose their own brightly colored costumes for their roles from the stock at the Stage Kids costume storage unit.
Director-in-training Anni Evans will direct the winter show, which has not yet been announced. Evans wrote scenes to add to this play script, including a rhyming intro to encourage audience participation. The hope is to encourage the audience to laugh out loud when the Mad Hatter (Annesley Edwards, Charlie Campbell) and the March Hare (Addison Edwards, Marie Campbell) have their staring contest.
Upcoming classes for 3rd-8th graders include intros to theater, puppetry, contemporary dance, clowning and props training. PreK-2nd graders get a workshop based on “Beauty and the Beast.” This summer’s teen show is “Newsies Jr.” in August.
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