Every spring, Grier holds the school musical, which entertains not only students and staff, but also piques the interest of people from the outside world. This coming spring, Grier’s Musical Theater Department will be performing the musical “Wonderland,” a spin-off of “Alice in Wonderland.” The musical already seems extremely promising, even though rehearsals are only a couple of weeks in. It will include a variety of dances and musical numbers performed by students who are highly involved in the performing arts programs here at Grier, both dance and theater.
In an interview, senior Aranza Alcala talked about her motivation for joining the Musical Theater Department at Grier, saying “I have sung songs since I was a little kid, and I felt the musical program at Grier is really fascinating.” She also provided a general background on the story of “Wonderland,” stating, “I am playing the role of the Mad Hatter, who is the antagonist trying to take over this “Wonderland.”
The Mad Hatter is one of the main characters in this story that tells about Alice, a girl working for a gaming company called Everhart, who goes down the “rabbit hole,” and discovers Wonderland. Throughout the play, Alice is really on a journey to discover herself, and all of the characters are representative of different parts of her personality.
The students involved with the musical had the extraordinary opportunity to work with Tony-Award winning choreographer Ahmad Simmons. Simmons has been involved in many noteworthy Broadway musicals including “Hadestown,” “Carousel,” “Cats,” and Ivo Van Hove’s revival of “West Side Story.” Simmons choreographed three songs for the musical: “Welcome to Wonderland,” “The Mad Tea Party, ” and “Off With Their Heads.”
Alcala received a special vote of confidence when Simmons let her choreograph her own solo in the dance number for the Mad Hatter. This was an opportunity that she was very excited and appreciative for. Aranza’s passion for dance is clear as she says, “I love dancing; it comprises my whole life.”
Having a Tony-Award winning choreographer is an aspect that definitely makes this Spring musical notable, but so is the fact that Grier will only be the third school in the U.S to perform the show, which is a revised version of the original show “Wonderland.” The play has not been published yet to the public.
Grier will perform this groundbreaking play on May 1st and May 2nd in the dance building. Beyond the musical theater students, it will also include Grier’s dance company along with a live orchestra.
There are a number of wonderful performers in the musical, all possessing great potential. Everyone should look forward to this performance and come support Grier’s Theater Department by coming to see “Wonderland” the very first weekend of May. It will be an amazing and special experience, not only for theater students but for Grier as a whole. You may even be witnessing the next great Broadway star!
