TV: Welcome to Wonderland! Inside Opening Night of MCC's ALICE BY HEART

Earlier this week, MCC Theater celebrated the official opening of the New York premiere of the musical Alice By Heart with book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson, music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater and directed by Jessie Nelson.

The cast features Molly Gordon (Life of the Party, "Animal Kingdom") as Alice and Colton Ryan (Girl From the North Country, "The Americans") as Alfred/The White Rabbit, along with Mia DiLena (Disney's The Music Man), Zachary Downer (Hello, Dolly!, CATS), Noah Galvin (Dear Evan Hansen, "The Real O'Neals"), Ari Groover (Head Over Heels, Holler If Ya Hear Me), Michael Hartung (Hello, Dolly!), Zachary Infante (A Midsummer Night's Dream, dir. Julie Taymor), Andrew Kober (School of Rock, Hair), Grace McLean (Great Comet), Andrew Mueller (Peter and the Starcatcher) Nkeki Obi-Melekwe("Bull," "SMILF"), Catherine Ricafort (SpongeBob Squarepants, Honeymoon in Vegas), Heath Saunders (Great Comet, "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert"), Wesley Taylor (Spongebob Squarepants, The Addams Family), and Natalie Walker ("Search Party").

When the madness of the world is too much to bear, we take refuge in the stories we love. Tony and Grammy award-winning creators of Spring Awakening, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, reunite for their new musical Alice By Heart, inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and directed and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress). In the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, Alice Spencer's budding teen life is turned upside down, and she and her dear friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When the ailing Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. As they travel through the tale, Alice By Heart explores the poignancy of first love, coming to terms with loss, and finding the courage to move forward. This world premiere musical encourages us all to celebrate the transformational power of the imagination, even in the harshest of times.

We're taking you inside the opening night after party with the company below!