Postville Pirate Theatre to present ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’

Published by admin on Wed, 05/01/2024 - 8:29am

POSTVILLE — The popular children’s play ‘Alice in Wonderland’ comes to life on Postville’s Performing Arts Center stage this weekend as Postville Pirate Theatre presents “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Director Derek Friederich said the play is closely based on the original.

“There’s a lot of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ scripts out there,” he said. “This one was pretty traditional. I like the way it was written. It had most of the familiar characters. I kind of wanted to go that route instead of one of the modern day updates where it’s Alice in Wonderland, but it’s something else.”

“It really reminds you of that classic animated version,” Will Linderbaum, who plays the Mad Hatter and two other characters, said.

“It showcases the stories that Alice goes through when she gets to Wonderland,” Audrey Ruff said. “You get to learn about her character and the other characters of Wonderland.”

Ruff is one of three actresses who portray Alice, the others being Liliana Cortes and Selena Truax.

“One of the most prominent lines is that the more things change, the more things stay the same,” Ruff said. “So the more than Alice’s change, the more they are the same. So (having three Alice’s) just helps make it seem like Wonderland.”

Friederich said the choice to do this play was as much the students’ as it was his.

“We wanted something more recognizable,” Linderbaum said. “I think our hope was to draw a bigger crowd for this production.”

He said there is a different challenge in putting together a play that most people know versus something that is not as well known.

“When we’re doing an unknown piece, we have to embody the characters and we have to create everything on our own,” he said. “Whereas if we’re doing a piece like ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ where it’s already known, then we can kind of take samples from these characters that everyone knows and we can have our own unique takes on them. And people will come and watch that and be like, ‘Oh wow, the Mad Hatter.’”

“It’s really fun,” Ruff said. “I think that it can appeal to all audiences, young and old. The script is so fun and our costumes seem fun.”

Something unusual for this show is the makeup that the actors and actresses with have. Frederich said they use some makeup for nearly every show, though the type used in this show is different.

“This is more elaborate compared to our other shows,” he said.

Hannah Nielsen said the different takes on “Alice in Wonderland” characters that people already know should draw them to the performance.

“It’s going to be a bit different, and they’ll get to see a different version that’s not far from the main storyline,” she said.

Rehearsals for the play began in March, often in the mornings so that they did not conflict with other school activities.

Show times for “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission fees will be charged.

In addition to the main event, children sixth-grade and younger are invited to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party Sunday (May 5) beginning at 12:30 p.m. The free event will feature food, games and the chance to meet the Wonderland Characters. Children sixth-grade and under will also receive free admission to the play on Sunday and are invited to dress as their favorite “Alice in Wonderland” character.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

By Tim Kelly

Cast List

Alice (Act 1, S1; Act 2, S1 & S5) Audrey Ruff

Alice (Act 1, S2 & S3; Act 2, S4) Liliana Cortès

Alice (Act 1, S4 & S5; Act 2, S2 & S3) Selena Tzunux

White Rabbit Deyby Muxin

Mouse Raven Hoppe

Mock Turtle Yazmin Lopez-Jochola

Lory Maria Quiroz

Dodo Kole Heins

Red Queen Angie Sarazua