Fox Valley youth theater stages modern 'Alice in Wonderland'

Ever since Alice first fell down a rabbit hole in 1865, when the imagination of Lewis Carroll gave us “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” countless adaptations have added twists and takeoffs just as colorful and inventive as the original.

Christian Youth Theater, a nationwide after-school acting program, has introduced one variation, a pop/rock opera version that, although modernized, remains pure Carroll.

Set in a contemporary prep school and suburban home, “Alice in Wonderland” was created by San Diego playwright Jon Lorenz for CYT and was selected by Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz for a national ASCAP workshop in 2005.

With new songs, humor and countless fun parallels to the original, CYT's “Alice” is probably unlike any version of the classic story you've ever seen. But Fox Valley audiences will get the chance to experience it this weekend and next when a 75-member Kane County CYT cast stages “Alice” at Cosman Cultural Arts Center, 12015 Mill St., Huntley.

This is the second trip to Wonderland for director Martine Hunter, who also directed “Alice” two years ago for Northwest Cook County CYT. This time she's changing it up a bit by swapping in a couple of songs from a Lorenz rewrite for adult actors in Christian Community Theater.

“Last time I used the original Red Queen rock number,” Hunter said. “This time I'm using CCT's Red Queen number because it's more Lady Gaga-ish.”

Hunter said she knows people who know Lorenz, and he gave her permission to “marry” the youth and adult versions. She had to rewrite some of the scenes to make the new songs work for kids, but the CCT pieces she added also lend themselves to “cooler choreography,” she said.

“I really like the music,” Hunter said. “I'm a singer; I've sung my whole life. I was trained classically, but I also like the very contemporary styles.”

So does Cassidy Reich, a McHenry County College freshman who stars as Alice, but she said the opening number, “I Could Be Anything,” has to be “the toughest song on earth.”

To nail it for her own performance, Reich said she sat in front of her computer for hours, practicing with YouTube. Acting the part of Alice, however, comes more naturally.

“This is the easiest role I have ever been able to relate to,” Reich said. “It's something that everyone can relate to, really. I have no clue what I want to be when I grow up, a lot like my character.”

In this production, Alice Liddell (a nod to the real Alice who inspired the story) is a student at Lutwidge (Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Academy.

Assigned to write a paper about what she wants to do with her life, Alice struggles with the pressure of outlining her future and puts all her energy into anticipating that night's concert by her favorite performer, Red Queen (played by Shelby Hirschberg).

At home, she bickers with her sister Edina (Emma Ulbert), who is dressed as a white rabbit for a costume party, then follows Edina through a window as both sneak out of the house against their mother's wishes.

As Alice climbs out the window, she falls, awakening in a crazy wonderland where everyone she knows eventually shows up in some fashion and probably not in the manner you'd be expecting.

Carroll's Cheshire Cat, for example, is presented as a jazz lounge singer (Colin Miller), and the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum characters (Nick Holmer, Gabe Dzialo) are a couple of air guitar-playing dudes reminiscent of the 1989 movie “Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.”

The Mad Hatter (Elliott Simmons), March Hare (Tim McKeown), and Dormouse (Mollie Murk) characters are all there, too, along with the Duchess (Abbey Bjork), Mock Turtle (Allison Wellnitz), Gryphon (Kory Williams), and White Knight (Jon Tlapek), borrowed from Carroll's sequel, “Through the Looking-Glass.”

The Caterpillar scene is black light, with 10 actors in white gloves and a single white mask. Hunter tried this effect when she directed “Alice” the first time, and “it wound up being one of the most memorable things from our original show,” she said.

Throughout Alice's own excellent adventure, “she starts to learn different things, discover things about herself,” Hunter said. “And in the end, she may not know what she wants to become, but she learns what kind of person she wants to be.”

Hunter, who is assisted by vocal director Kerry Cox, choreographer Taylor Kras, and intern directors Kat McKeown and Erin Ulbert, said the self-discovery theme resonates with her as well and is one of the reasons she likes the show so much.

“I also know what it was like to be in high school it wasn't that long ago and not knowing who I wanted to be as far as a career choice goes,” said the 31-year-old mom whose performing and directing resume includes Judson University and Green Room Productions.

“But even now I want to make a difference in people's lives and be known more for my character than my career,” she said. “That's what (Alice) sings about at the end.”

And that's the kind of lesson that lingers longer than the grin of a Cheshire Cat.

“Alice in Wonderland” is presented at 7 p.m. on Fridays, Nov. 12 and 19; 2 and 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Nov. 13 and 20, and 2 p.m. on Sundays, Nov. 14 and 21.

Admission for adults is $12 in advance or $14 at the door. Admission for seniors 62 years and older or children 2-17 is $9 in advance or $11 at the door, and Family Day tickets for the 2 p.m. show on Nov. 13 are also $9 and $11.

For information or to purchase tickets, call the CYT box office at (847) 516-2298 or visit www.cytchicago.org.