playbill vip

We made it! Welcome to our SEVENTH and final production of the year!

We have done some amazing things this year and the growth we have seen in our students and department has been monumental. We stand here full of performance energy, ready to give you a great show, but we are also very ready for the after-show crash and 3 months of very deserved rest!

We have been on quite the journey this year! We began in the Seussian village of Verona and quickly made our way to the halls of the “School of Male Magic and Female Magic.” From there we headed to the hills of Austria, the Deep South Swamps of Thebes, made a quick stop by our local Supercenter and then headed to the deadly bathrooms of England.

Tonight, we get to head “down the hole” to Wonderland and surprisingly I’m excited to take you there! There are several beloved stories that I always share my unpopular opinion of distain for. The shock on people’s faces when the theatre guy says you couldn’t pay him to watch “The Wizard of Oz,” “Willy Wonka,” or “Star Wars” always makes me giggle. Alice in Wonderland has always been on that list. The old Disney movie always seemed to last forever, make no sense, and generally freak me out, so I have avoided it and all versions for most of my life.

I first discovered Alice by Heart when some of my favorite Broadway performers were in the Off-Broadway production and posting about it on their social media accounts. I looked into the show and for the first time I found myself enjoying the story. While I always felt the Disney version was silly and childish, setting the show in a WWII bomb shelter and seeing the odd characters through the trauma they have experienced made the story so much more real for me.

So that is where we have landed, in a silly little story full of people experiencing the realest moments of life. I don’t know about you, but that is a story I can connect to.

To the cast and crew, Bravo! To my fellow directors, job well done! To our community, thank you for your continued support. And to my seniors, “There are rooms you leave behind… but nothing comes or goes without a shadow.” Know that the shadows you leave in this room will continue to inspire us for years to come.

“Well, at least that story’s done” – Clarissa

“No, never done. – Alice