To the naked eye, Alice by Heart may seem like another take on the famous Lewis Carroll story, but this musical is anything but. Set in 1941, in the debris after the London Blitz of World War II, the life of teen Alice Spencer is disrupted as she and her best friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in a London underground tube station.
However, Alfred, suffering from tuberculosis, is quarantined. Alice urges him to escape with her into their cherished book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but the nurse destroys Alice’s book as a punishment for visiting Alfred despite his quarantine. Alice becomes very defiant and declares she knows it “by heart” and will read to him anyway. The people hiding in the shelter slowly change into some of the book’s characters. This magical coming-of-age story explores the poignancy of first love, coming to terms with loss, and finding the courage to move forward.
Directed by Ella Wyatt, choreographed by Sabrina Harper, and music directed by Roxanna Ward, this show, with a rousing book and score by the writers of Spring Awakening, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson, will be one of the first Orange County productions of the musical.
The cast includes Brennan Eckberg, Diego Huerta-Gutierrez, Erica Farnsworth, Kito Garcia, Lexi Maerov, Marco Lapayese-Calderon, Maverick Wyatt, Owen Stapp, Precious Montgomery, Rob Harryman, Roni Dvir and Sydney Penticuff.
Alice by Heart will run March 8 to 17 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.) and will have a special Theatre on the Spectrum performance on Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m.
No Square Theatre is in Historic Legion Hall, 384 Legion Street, Laguna Beach, two blocks south of Laguna Beach High School. The high school has ample free parking. Seating is extremely limited, and the theatre has enjoyed a long run of sold-out events, so tickets must be purchased in advance. Drinks and refreshments are available for purchase.
For additional information on events, auditions, and classes and to purchase tickets, visit the website at nosquare.org.
