“Today” and “tonight” signify Friday, April 10.
CHIMACUM — Wonderland is here, complete with the Caterpillar, the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. The trees are larger than life. So is the teapot.
And director Ellie Spitzbart couldn’t be happier with the situation, officially known as Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” on stage at the Chimacum High School auditorium tonight through April 25.
“From seventh grade to seniors in high school, these students have shown talents I could not imagine,” Spitzbart, head of the Chimacum High drama program, writes in her director’s notes.
Doors of the auditorium at 91 West Valley Road open at 6:30 p.m., and show time for “Alice” is 7 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday as well as April 17-19 and April 25.
The final show will include Chimacum High School senior Damien Suarez and friends providing American sign language interpretation.
Tickets are $5 for adults and teens, while children 12 and younger are admitted free. Those who want to see the play a few times can purchase a show pass for $10.
Nicola Pieper, 17 and a fan of this story since she was a young girl, plays the title role.
She’s already a veteran of many theater productions — she played Juliet Capulet in Chimacum High’s 2014 show “The Desperate Housewives of Shakespeare” — as well as a filmmaker whose credits include “The True El,” a spoof of the Cinderella story.
“Alice in Wonderland” is rich in crazy characters, yes, but Nicola finds Carroll imbued it with some social commentary.
She particularly enjoys a couple of moments: the opening scene with the Cheshire Cat, portrayed by senior Rian Plastow, and the tea party scene with Mad Hatter Cassius Jennings.
Alice’s adventure also has her meeting the Queen and King of Hearts (Alisha Bruner and David Kraut), the White Rabbit (Jayme Reidt, who also plays the Maid and Tweedledum), Humpty Dumpty (Cora Wittler, also Tweedledee, the Cook and the Mock Turtle) and the Dormouse (Nyyra Cloud).
They’re surrounded by the pink, violet, blue, white and yellow flowers (Owen Brummell, Erin Crouch, Nyyra Cloud, Lucy Miller and Anneliese Toepper, all of whom play additional roles).
Serving as stagehands are Nicola’s sister Melanie Pieper along with Michael Slagle and Josh Conklin.
Another twist exists here: appearances by Chimacum schoolteachers
and staff.
Principal Whitney Meissner portrays the Caterpillar, while various teachers — different ones each weekend — make cameos.
Matt Orr, Kevin Racine, Brad Ahrndt, Guin Joyce, Nancy Rouch, Garth Gourley, Linda Boyd, Shellie Friedrich, Barb Fogerson and Bethel Moore will slip in.
Together, the students and teachers have turned this into “something fantastic,” Spitzbart writes.
Nicola, for her part, hopes play-goers see how much Alice grows through her journey.
“I want people to go away being curious,” she added, “about what her world has to do with our world.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
