Return to Archived Stories

Co-directed by Colleen Pelton and Sue Teicher, over 40 students from grades one through nine make up the cast. Produced through Community Education, the play provides all of the aspiring thespians with speaking roles.

In the youth theater production of "The New and Unusual Adventures of Alice in Wonderland," the Royal Family of Hearts now includes a punk-rock daughter along with her equally rebellious friends. Performances will be held on Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, March 15, at 1:30 p.m.

Though Pelton originally wrote the play with 34 parts in mind, the unexpected response prompted her to add at least a dozen more roles to accommodate interested kids. Each role has at least two lines. "Our philosophy is that everybody gets a part," said Pelton.

In this modern adaptation, Alice returns home after her time in Wonderland and no one believes her story. After convincing her friends to accompany her, they find themselves in the middle of a struggle for Wonderland between the Queen of Hearts and a greedy newcomer, Montressa.

Along with a motley band of characters - a punk rock princess, a gaggle of lawyers, a lively deck of cards, and a cameo or two - Alice finds her new adventure just as curious, and perhaps "curiouser."