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Date: 2/26/2015
EAST LONGMEADOW – Two theatrical productions by the St. Michael’s Players are coming to the stage this year. The first is a youth production of Alice in Wonderland set for the spring.
Adam Malmborg, director for Alice in Wonderland, told Reminder Publications 42 cast members from 7 to 17 years of age have been cast for the production. It will be St. Michael’s Players’ first ever youth players show.
Alice in Wonderland will take place from May 15 and 16 at 53 Somers Rd.
“It’s a different take on the actual play itself,” he added. “We have a lot of the same scenes, [but] it’s more comical. There’s going to be things that you recognize from the Disney movie [and] there’s going to be things you recognize from the story books.”
Malmborg said the production’s unique characters would include a narrator, Humpty Dumpty, as well as young children playing a group of cards.
“The Queen of Hearts has a deck of her own little minions, her deck of cards, and these cards are going to be the ones throughout all the scenes, so they’re helping the Mad Hatter [and] they’re helping the White Rabbit,” he added. “They might be the reason why Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall. You don’t know.”
The set will be composed of reused material from the players’ Peter Pan production, which was staged in November 2014, Malmborg said. However, several new designs and props will be added to transport audiences to Wonderland, including a large mushroom for the character of the Caterpillar.
“The good thing with this is that nothing needs to be changed,” he added. “In Peter Pan we had to change the scenes around. In Alice in Wonderland, they’re always in Wonderland and the cards act as our little prop guys. They move things on and off stage, without [the audience] ever realizing, so we don’t have to do any scene changes.
The lead role of Alice will be played by Ali Phillips, Malmborg said. Supporting cast members include, Kyle Korhonen as the White Rabbit, Dan Markey as the Mad Hatter, Spencer Carroll as the Caterpillar, and Nora Markey as the Queen of Hearts.
“I wanted to give kids something to do if they’re not into sports,” Malmborg explained. “I wanted to give kids something to do in the spring because it’s a long time before our next musical.”
Rose Stella, assistant director for Mary Poppins, which is set for November, said Alice in Wonderland is not a musical production.
Stella said St. Michael’s Players would be the first community theater group to perform the Broadway version of Mary Poppins in Western Massachusetts since became available for community theater groups to stage in this area.
“We have kind of a small stage but we have made some amazing things work here,” she added. “So, we’re looking to get creative about it and not only make Mary Poppins believable, but to really wow our audiences. That’s always our goal.”
Mary Poppins is scheduled to take place Nov. 19 through 22. For more information about the St. Michael’s Players visit www.facebook.com/stmichaelsplayers or stmichaelsplayers.wix.com/stmichaelsplayers.