Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Where Everyone is 'Mad'

"Everyone is Mad" from Alice in Wonderland the Musical

The adventures of Alice in Wonderland have been a favorite of many through the years. With this in mind, creator Tim Nelson set out to musicalize the story in a way that sent audiences home singing. Enter, the next musical we revisit in our RCT Musical Theater Virtual Review Series, Alice in Wonderland the Musical, with music, lyrics, and book by Tim Nelson. The first trial run of what was to become the full length musical was mounted by the Musical Young Artist Repertory Theater (MYART) in Long Beach, California during the summer of 1997 as a musicalized story. The enormous success and positive response received from this staged reading proved that the story was a much sought after and enjoyable piece of children’s theater, and was immediately booked for a main stage production with MYART soon thereafter. Five scenes and three more songs were added before the final full length musical was produced.

Nelson says he was inspired to continue to layer the story and music, so like all theatrical pieces, additional cuts, replacements, and additions were incorporated. Songs were then recorded, orchestrations written, and now the popular Alice in Wonderland the Musical is being produced all over the world, with recent international productions taking place in England and Canada.

The 2015 production of Alice in Wonderland the Musical (above), produced by the Rose Center Theater’s youth theater program, the “Rose Kids” was directed by Vincent Aniceto, musically directed by Tim Nelson, choreographed by Jennifer Simpson-Matthews, with production design by Chris Caputo. The cast was lead by Cassidy Love and Mackenzie Riddle who shared the role of Alice, and Olivia Aniceto as the Cheshire Cat.

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