The worlds of Alice and Dorothy come together on the OHS stage
The Onaway Drama Department will be presenting its last production of the school year tonight and tomorrow in the OHS cafetorium. It is Joseph Robinette?s ?Dorothy Meets Alice.? There will be two performances, both at 7:30 p.m.
The play version of the delightful meeting of two of literature?s most famous ladies unfolds when Judson Watson, a fictional character from Onaway played by Cameron Penny, puts off a book report until the last minute, then suddenly finds himself in a strange place somewhere between Oz and Wonderland.
?It is an interesting story line,? said Penny Wednesday after a presentation to a room filled with elementary students. ?You are taking two classic stories and putting a new age spin on them.?
THE STUDENTS STARED wide-eyed waiting for the next character to take the stage and laughed at the antics of the Mad Hatter, played by Nathan Brasseaur.
?This is probably one of the easier plays to put together as far as the cast showing up for practices and learning their lines,? said director Sarah Ross-Koves. ?I feel better about this show than I have in a while.
?I think a lot of it has to do with the fact they are characters they know, and I think that helps. These are characters they?ve seen portrayed in plays and movies and on TV. That kind of gets them to focus.?
Following Wednesday?s run-through, Coves main focus in rehearsals was getting the actors to say their lines in their proper places and to reduce some of the improvisation, although there still will be plenty, which adds an element of unpredictability.
DURING THE two-act play, Judson, Dorothy, Alice and the Mad Hatter try to unscramble the stories and steer the cowardly-lion, scarecrow, and white rabbit to
The rest of the cast includes: Heather Stalker (Dorothy), Alyse Sachs (Alice), Grant Malone (white rabbit), Tony Madison (tin man), Deanna Jared (scarecrow), Nicole Arold (dormouse), Kayla Bischer (cowardly lion), Tori Penny (wicked witch), and Chelsea Kent (red queen).
The crew consists of Neil Osantowski, lights and sound; Shaylee Sachs, stage manager; Crystal McDowell and Tiffany Kortman, stage crew; Tori Penny, Cameron Penny, Kortman, and Arold, set construction.
The junior class will be running concessions.
?People should bring their kids because it is a good lesson about why you need to do your homework,? said Coves. She also said it will ?support the community, because it is a fun and entertaining thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night in the middle of winter. It help breaks that cabin fever.? You?re guaranteed to come away with a smile or two.