St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School Alice in Wonderland

By Cappies • Nov 15th, 2013 • Category: Cappies, Virginia

Colorful hanging clocks, plentiful foliage, and twinkling lights accompanied Alice as the audience went “down the rabbit hole” in St. Stephens and St. Agnes’ recent production of Alice in Wonderland.

The play, based off the classic 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll, shares the story of Alice as she stumbles into Wonderland–a fantastical place filled with memorably wacky characters. As Alice struggles to navigate through Wonderland she finds herself caught up in a mystery as she investigates who stole the Queen of Hearts’ sugar tarts and helps clear the White Rabbit’s name in this comical whodunit.

The production was tethered by the dynamics among the ensembles as each character delivered a satisfying performance both on their own and with each other. The creative lighting, the clever use of sound, and the humorous interactions among the characters all contributed to the surreal feeling of being in Wonderland.

Alice, played by Sasha Koch, depicted effectively the innocence and naïveté typical of Alice. The shock and confusion of being in Wonderland was apparent as Alice flitted from one end of the stage to the other for the entire production in her signature blue frock. With exaggerated gesturing and a sweet voice, Sasha Koch brought charm and character to Alice.

The students in this production portrayed the eccentric characters with great energy. Tre Vaughn Allison delivered an impressive performance in his role as the very loony Mad Hatter with his flamboyant moves and memorable musical number, proving how “mad” the Mad Hatter really could be. Other standout characters were the comedic duo of Christian Osborne and Aaron Brackett as the Red Knight and the White Knight. In a laugh out loud duel the gallant knights gave dimension and spirit to their characters with their playful banter and over the top chivalry. The Chesire Cat played by Camille Jones, Nicki Gray, and Bobbie Benjamin was the highlight of the show with the cat magically popping out and disappearing with perfect timing, never missing a beat.

This production was defined by the admirable skill of the students working on the lighting, sound, and tech. With a rippling water effect in the opening scene, the techs set the stage for a production filled with eerie echoes, bright colors, and bouncy music. Though here and there minor sound and light difficulties were apparent, overall the tech in the show took the production to another level.

St. Stephens and St. Agnes depicted the world of nonsense and illogical conclusions that is Alice in Wonderland with great flair and effort, leaving the audience wondering alongside Alice: “could it have all been a dream?”

by Swetha Ramesh of Langley High School