Review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Morrilton High School delights the young and young at heart

Before I even made it to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Morrilton High School, 701 E. Harding St., Morrilton, Caleb, a budding 12-year old critic, gave the show a rating of 1000 out of 10, and it was well deserved. The costumes were beautiful, the set was clever, and the cast would have made Lewis Carroll proud. Obviously created with children in mind, Thespian Troupe 3131 entertained the young and young at heart December 3-5.

Adapted by William Glennon and directed by Heather Hooten, this version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND begins with a theatre troupe needing an "Alice" to be in their creation. Surprisingly, an imaginative girl named Alice (Whitlee Patterson) appears and somehow joins their world. Alice encounters the White Rabbit (Bradley Mendelssohn) who needs his white gloves and is late for croquet with the Queen of Hearts (Samarah Gulledge). Alice needs to fit through the door to Wonderland but ends up crying and sees a mouse (Elizabeth Ray) swimming in her tears. Eventually she makes it through the rabbit hole and encounters a whole world of characters. In typical Wonderland fashion, the story twists with all sorts of riddles and odd interactions and holds true to the storyline in an hour's time.

This show was very appeasing to the eyes. The players were in basic black at the beginning but became more colorful as the show progressed. Alice was in her basic blue dress, the other players changed in and out of different character costumes, but the Duchess' (Susan Guenther) dress and the Queen of Hearts' dress were beautiful. The stage was equally creative with a confusing clock, a sloped chess board and various interchangeable pieces.

The cast was great, but there were a few that really stood out. Patterson embodied the Alice persona; she exuded innocence in her voice and demeanor. I enjoyed Guenther's energy as the Duchess; she was perfectly absurd in her reactions. Gulledge embraced her inner Queen for her role. And, the tea party scene with the March Hare (Alizabeth Mariot), Door mouse (Kiley Viveiros), Alice, and The Mad Hatter (Lamar Anderson) was entertaining.

Coming up in the spring is YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. This was first attempted for the Spring of 2020, but due to COVID, this show was put on hold. For the most updated information, check out their instagram feed @troupe3131.

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