Washington Township Drama Club will put on its fall musical production of “Alice by Heart” on Thursday, November 19 through Saturday, November 21 in the Washington Township High School (WTHS) 11/12 Playhouse theater.
The show marks the first musical the drama club has put on in the fall. In the recent past, the drama club has put on plays in the fall, but, according to theatre director and teacher John Stephen, the theatre department wants students to have the opportunity to explore different style of theatre and shows across their four years at WTHS, and adding a shorter musical to the fall allows for that opportunity. (“Alice by Heart” is only about 90 minutes long with a brief intermission).
“I wanted to throw a small musical into the mix that wouldn’t really fit the scale of the large, full spring musical, and (this show) is something that’s a little bit more heavy and deals with tougher topics,” Stephen said.
“Alice by Heart” takes place during the London Blitz and World War II in the 1940s. It follows two teenage best friends that take shelter in an underground tube station. It used “Alice in Wonderland” as a fantasy framing device, as the one friend, Alice, takes her friends to “Wonderland” as an escape, before the harsh realities of life, death, illness and growing up inevitably come their way.
“Something cool about the show is like a concept musical, so it’s not something normal that you’d see. It’s like it’s taking two like very different things and kind of like blending them together, which is really cool to like see how that plays out on stage,” said junior Jack Ehrenworth, who plays Harold Pudding / the Mad Hatter.
While there is a content advisory for “mature themes, including war, illness, death, and grief, and contains some mature language and intense theatrical effects” and “parental discretion is advised for younger audiences,” Stephen does not want to families or community members to fear the production, however, it is important to note that it is not all “Alice in Wonderland.”
“It kind of presents the idea of how we use stories to cope with trauma and grief,” Stephen said. “This is why stories kind of continue to persevere throughout like generations, why fairytales are still relevant, because they do help us to escape. They help us to kind of connect to something. It gives us something tangible to hold on to when so much is uncontrollable.”
“It’s an emotional rollercoaster,” said junior Michael Ilagan, who plays the lead of Alfred. “It’s hard, but also fun to try to portray (death and grief), to take that serious thing and put it on stage.”
While there are some darker, more emotional themes and scenes to the show, Stephen, his assistant director Jessica Teehan and the students said it has been a positive and safe experience for everyone, with many of the students taking ownership of their roles and emotions on and off stage.
And there also are some fun, exciting components about doing a musical in the fall.
“A lot of people get kind of sad towards fall, so I think this is a good way to keep up morale,” said Tatiyana Ermilil, who plays Eaglet. Other students, including the drama club president and vice president, noted that they love singing and musicals are their strong suits, so having a second opportunity for a musical is a great bonus to their school year.
The cast is made up of 35 students. There are about 10 students on the student production team, and there are about 30 students part of the stage crew.
Rehearsals for the show started in mid-September, and by the last week of October, the cast was already rehearsing a full run of the show, which Stephen, Teehan and the students said is an impressive feat for this early in the season. Ehrenworth said he thinks this is the fastest the drama club has ever moved.
And maybe they are moving so quickly, because the students are incredibly eager for the show’s run and to fill the auditorium during each performance.
“Alice by Heart” will run Thursday, November 19 through Saturday, November 21 in the Washington Township High School (WTHS) 11/12 Playhouse theater. Tickets for the general public are $15, and they can be purchased online now at wthsnj.booktix.com.
Washington Township High School Drama Club will put on its fall musical production of “Alice by Heart” November 19 – 21.
