For over twenty years, the New Hope Academy theater program has been on a steady uphill climb, moving towards greatness under the fierce leadership and wisdom of theater director Jenna Parilla-Alvino, and NHA’s most recent show, Alice by Heart, solidifies that journey. It is a tale of wonder, love, war, friendship, and most importantly, grief, NHA’s 20th annual spring musical was an absolute favorite in every aspect; from the casting, to the music, to the plot, viewers and members of the production alike felt immersed into the world the theatre department created. However, crafting an amazing theatrical production does not happen overnight. The whole process began one anxiety-provoking day in February following NHA’s Winterfest, where the infamous day of auditions came to a head.
By the time the first week of rehearsals rolled around, the entire cast was eager to get to work, and even more excited to dive into the world of Wonderland that the plot had promised them. Part of this was understanding the musical’s general setting, which is during World War II in England, around the time of the Blitz. A young girl named Alice Spencer, played by Claire Almond (‘28) spends her time escaping the gloomy tragedy around her through her favorite book, Alice in Wonderland, and talking to her best friend Alfred Hallam played by Ness Francis (‘27), who is suffering from tuberculosis. However, when the villainous Red Cross Nurse (Samantha Szente ‘26) tears the book in order to prevent Alice from exposing herself from disease and reading to Alfred, Alice takes her ailed friend on a tale she knows by heart, hoping to escape both the cruel realities of the war-ridden world and her friend’s tragic impending death. All of the iconic characters of Wonderland were made to fit the community Alice had found herself sharing with her peers in the infirmary, including the Queen and King of Hearts, (Samantha Szente and Noa David ‘26), the Queen of Diamonds (Ashley Wagner ‘28), the Mad Hatter (Chase Stoerger ‘26), the Jabberwock (Michael Knorr ‘28), the Caterpillar (Ana Torres ‘26 and Brianna Perkins ‘28), the Duchess (Reyvan Callahan ‘28), the Cheshire Cat (Vanessa Sides ‘27), and the Mock Turtles (Noa David, Brianna Perkins, Michael Knorr, and Leon Burton ‘28). Various bombings and conflicts interrupt the illusion of Alice’s escapism, making the show an avant-garde watch from beginning to end.
As the show progressed, the different musical numbers performed were intended to display different stages of Alice’s grief in the loss of her childhood friend and love, Alfred. From denial (Chillin’ the Regrets), to anger (Sick to Death of Alice-ness, Brillig Braelig), to acceptance (Some Things Fall Away, Winter Blooms), Alice realizes that even in the death of Alfred, she never truly loses him, and finds love in the supportive community that settles and comforts her in his wake. The show is a tragic, gloomy one–especially when compared to the upbeat, “girl-power” bombed spirit of NHA’s previous spring musical, Legally Blonde. However, beyond the obvious remnants of historical warfare, the show resonants with people in a very authentic way because it speaks to something every person can relate to, the experience of loss.
There are a lot of people to thank in regards to putting on an incredible show, besides the obvious cast of actors who poured their hearts out on stage. The pit orchestra, including students Margo Kitchin (‘26) and Kevin Reigner (‘29), had been working both with the cast and on their own on the impressive list of songs under the leadership of Kyle Saint-Sauveur and Chris Cinalli.
Handling how the actors looked and sounded were an impressive group of technical stage crew kids led by Andrew Hay, including Eden Haddock (‘27), Gianna Ward (‘27), Hannah Brosozki (‘28), Mark Massam (‘28), and Dean Roskos (‘28). All three groups of kids–actors, tech crew, and band members worked incredibly hard on putting what they had been doing individually into the context of a singular show. This is what our director, Jenna Parilla-Alvino, finds one of the hardest parts of tech week, putting the show together as a unit and not three separate parts.
Any musical coming to a close is a bittersweet process, but the ending of Alice by Heart has come at a particularly hard time for our seniors, as this will be their last production with NHA. Poetically enough, the messaging behind Alice by Heart helps come to terms with this fact, that even though times and people aren’t always necessarily permanent, the memories made can always be accessed in your heart, they simply remain forever. Doylestown senior Samantha Szente had this to say about the whole process: “I’ve never felt so connected with a cast before, it really felt like we all coalesced and performed as one fluid unit. I’m so proud to have been in this production and I have so much love built up for all of my castmates.”
And so, the curtain closes on Wonderland, now, for the twentieth year in a row. Although a semi-sad, semi-sweet ending to a show truly filled with immense talent, love, and care, the NHA theater department will be back in the fall for our annual fall play. As always, everyone is encouraged to audition and become a part of the community any way possible.
A huge thank you to our director herself, Jenna Parilla-Alvino, who has directed five shows now here at New Hope Academy. None of this is possible without you.
ana.torres@newhopeacademy.net
