The Neuqua Theatre Department officially kicked off this year’s Children’s Show: Alice @ Wonderland. The story is a much more modernized and family friendly version compared to the 1951 counterpart, with many mentions to technology today, including a phone practically glued to Alice’s hand. The play follows Alice (played by Leah Dennison) and her adventures in Wonderland as she tries to play croquet with the Queen of Hearts (played by Dylan Sedgwick), without losing her head. Along the way we meet classic characters such as the Cheshire Cat (played by Emma Jenkins), and the Mad Hatter (played by Onora Kirpanos).

Mary Van Milligen was the main teacher in casting and directing for the show amid Mr. Pontarelli’s paternal leave, and was certainly satisfied with how well the show went, “The cast and tech crew were all in sync with one another and just made the show into something magical, colorful, exciting, and fun.”

Many other cast members, including Chelsea Kyle, who played the King of Hearts, are definitely prepared and excited for the other shows for the year, “My hopes are that everyone who tries out and puts their heart and soul into their work can definitely make an impact on Neuqua Theater, and I can’t wait for the next show to start.” she says, as they get ready for the fall play, “She Kills Monsters”, running from Nov. 10-12.

A lot of often unrecognized work come from behind the scenes, with stage runners, builders, painters, and costume designers have to pull their weight (sometimes literally) to make sure everything on and off stage runs smoothly. Opportunities to be a part of theatre productions, both as cast or crew, can be found on the Neuqua Theatre website or by emailing Mr. Pontarelli.