Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's ALICE BY HEART Begins Previews Tomorrow At MCC; Extension Announced

Previews begin tomorrow for 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.

Due to the heavy demand for tickets, MCC Theater has announced a three week extension for the show and tickets are now on sale through Sunday, March 31st.

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").

The creative team for Alice By Heart includes choreography by Rick and Jeff Kuperman, set design by Edward Pierce, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier, hair, wig and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, dialect coach Stephen Gabis, orchestrations by Duncan Sheik, additional orchestrations by Simon Hale, music direction and vocal arrangements by Jason Hart, and casting by Telsey + Company/ Rebecca Scholl, CSA. The Production Stage Manager is Davin De Santis and the Stage Manager is Jason Pacella.

Alice By Heart is the first show in the Newman Mills Theater at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space (511 West 52nd Street), with an official opening night set for Tuesday, February 26, 2019. To celebrate the first preview of Alice By Heart, MCC Theater is offering specially-priced $52 tickets for performances of The Light and Alice By Heart. The offer is only valid in person at the box office from 12:00pm noon to 8:30pm,on Wednesday, January 30th. Additional restrictions may apply. As part of its public engagement programs, MCC offers $30 seats for all performances in the Newman Mills Theater as well as limited $30 accessible seating. These tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis. Audience members needing accessible seats may purchase online using code 30NMT.

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.

Tickets are on sale now at mcctheater.org and at the box office.