| Alice by Heart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Music | Duncan Sheik |
| Lyrics | Steven Sater |
| Book | Steven Sater Jessie Nelson |
| Basis | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland byLewis Carroll |
| Productions | 2019Off-Broadway |
Alice by Heart is amusical with music byDuncan Sheik, lyrics bySteven Sater, and a book by Sater withJessie Nelson. Inspired by the 1865 novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland, the musical was originally presented in 2012 at theRoyal National Theatre in London.[1]
In 1941, following theLondon Blitz ofWorld War II, the life of teenAlice Spencer is disrupted as she and her best friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in aLondon Underground tube station. Alfred, suffering fromtuberculosis, isquarantined ("West of Words"). Alice urges him to escape with her into their cherished bookAlice's Adventures in Wonderland and travel down the rabbit hole toWonderland. Nurse Cross, who is in charge of keeping everyone safe, rips Alice's book as a punishment for visiting Alfred despite his quarantine. Alice becomes very defiant and declares she knows it "by heart" and will recount the story anyway.
The people hiding in the shelter slowly change into some of the book's characters, and Alfred himself changes into theWhite Rabbit[2][3] ("Down the Hole"). During her time in Wonderland, Alice changes parts of the story, such as spending too much time with the White Rabbit and forgetting Chapter 3 ("Still"). She gets teased by not one, but two,Caterpillars who encourage her to smoke with them ("Chillin' the Regrets"). Alice convinces Alfred to join her, and they both become high ("The Key Is"). She then receives advice from theCheshire Cat; dances theLobsterQuadrille with the White Rabbit ("Those Long Eyes"); is berated for growing up too fast by theDuchess; playscroquet with theQueen of Hearts ("Manage Your Flamingo") and other slight twists on scenes fromAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Alfred is tired of being the White Rabbit and wants to finish his life as himself, in the bunker with Alice, so he attempts to get her to finish the story early and to help her move on by taunting her as the much less friendlyMarch Hare. She tells him she hates him for getting sick; however, before she can apologize he gets taken to Ward D ("Sick to Death of Alice-ness"). Alice attempts to go to him but is halted by theJabberwock. The Jabberwock taunts her with claims of insanity and grief. Alice defeats him with thoughts of Alfred. ("Brillig, Braelig").
The Cheshire Cat urges Alice to let Alfred go and face her grief ("Some Things Fall Away"). Alice soon meetsMock Turtles who encourage her to not move on and to live wholly in her grief ("Your Shell of Grief").
Alfred returns, wishing to finish the story with Alice, but Alice, taking the Mock Turtles' advice, pleads with him not to move on. Alfred asks how Alice will grieve him, both of them lamenting what could have been ("Another Room In Your Head"). She tries to kiss him, hoping to contract tuberculosis and die with him. He refuses, resuming the story as the hateful March Hare despite her protests.
During the trial ("Isn't It a Trial"/"Do You Think We Think You're Alice?"), Alice stands up for herself, and finally, Alfred joins her. With the help of Tabatha as the Cheshire Cat, they break out of Wonderland and back into the bunker ("I've Shrunk Enough"). Alfred and Alice realize it's time to say goodbye and close the book ("Still (Reprise)"). They then admit their feelings for each other before Alfred dies ("Afternoon"). The show ends with Alice finally accepting Alfred's death, and trying to be optimistic about life with everyone else in the bunker ("Winter Blooms").
Alice by Heart was originally commissioned in 2012 by theRoyal National Theatre in London, and was performed by youth companies around the U.K.[1] The musical was developed as a workshop by Theatre Aspen (Aspen, Colorado) in July 2014.[4] The musical received an additional workshop byMCC Theater in December 2015.[5]
New York Stage and Film &Vassar at thePowerhouse Theater presented a workshop production in July 2018. Director Jessie Nelson noted: “We’re attempting to explore the power of a book and what the story has meant to this girl…”[6]
MCC Theater company announcedAlice by Heart would be part of the inauguralOff-Broadway season of the Newman Mills Theater.[7] Directed byJessie Nelson, with choreography by Rick and Jeff Kuperman, set design by Edward Pierce, costumes byPaloma Young, and lighting byBradley King,[2] the production opened February 26, 2019, eventually extending its engagement to close April 7.[8][9]
The first Spanish production was staged inBuenos Aires in August 2024, directed by Julio Panno.
The first Portuguese adaptation was staged at Teatro Estúdio,São Paulo in July 2025, directed by Gustavo Barchilon, starring Gabi Camisotti as Alice Spencer and Diego Montez as Alfred.[10][11]
°Not included in the Original Cast Recording
°°Not included in the Original Cast Recording or the current licensed version of the show
| Character | Theatre Aspen Workshop (2014)[12][13] | Workshop (2015)[14] | Vassar Workshop (2018)[15] | Off Broadway (2019)[16] | Buenos Aires (2024)[17] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Spencer/Alice | Molly Gordon | Agostina Becco | |||
| White Rabbit/Alfred Hallam/March Hare | Mike Faist | Ben Platt | J. Quinton Johnson | Colton Ryan | Valentin Zannelli |
| Cheshire Cat/Tabatha/Caterpillar 2 | Phillipa Soo | Emmy Raver-Lampman | Gizel Jimenez | Nkeki Obi-Melekwe* | Sofia Val |
| Queen of Hearts/Red Cross Nurse | Nathaly Lopez | Mary Testa | Lesli Margherita | Grace McLean | Micaela Romano |
| Magpie | Sydney Shepherd[18] | Ro Noziglia | |||
| King of Hearts/Dr Butridge/Jabberwock/Duck/Mock Turtle | Marrick Smith | David Patrick Kelly | Don Stephenson | Andrew Kober | Hernan Castelli |
| Mad Hatter/Harold Pudding/Mock Turtle/Pigeon/Knave of Spades | Andrew Mueller | Alex Brightman | Wesley Taylor | Walter Canella | |
| Caterpillar/Angus/Knave of Hearts | Rodney Ingram | Anthony Ramos | Heath Saunders | Julian Rubino/Matias Marastoni | |
| Dodgy/Duchess/Dodo/Mock Turtle | Noah Galvin | Angel Hernandez | |||
| Dormouse/Nigel/Eaglet/Knave of Clubs | Riley Costello | Z Infante | Nicolas Martinez | ||
| Clarissa/Canary/Queen of Diamonds/Mock Turtle | Stephanie Hsu | Ashley Park | Megan Masako Haley | Catherine Ricafort | Barbara Willis |
The Off-Broadway production received mixed reviews. While some praised the visual aspects of the story and some of the performances, many criticized the story, calling it muddled and confusing, and were unable to see the parallels of theLondon Blitz ofWorld War II andAlice's Adventures in Wonderland. Some critics also gave the show unfavorable comparisons toSpring Awakening, which Sheik and Sater both worked on together.
Ben Brantley ofThe New York Times stated "The real-world characters are so hastily established and sketchily drawn that there's nothing compelling or surprising in their metamorphoses. It's also hard to grasp any necessary relationship between war-warped London in 1941 and the particulars of Wonderland."[19]
David Cote, ofThe Observer, drew a comparison withSpring Awakening in his review "The difference:Spring Awakening was a straightforward adaptation of playwrightFrank Wedekind's satirical-tragical portrait of hormonal adolescents and hypocritical adults in 19th-centuryGermany. Sater pared down the text and added his tender, sensual lyrics. Sheik brought his ruminative but groove-smart talent to the table. The result was a potent collision of signifiers-teen rebellion that transcended the historical period through emo rock.Alice By Heart is a more muddled concoction, tangled up in too many layers of reality and fantasy, trauma and whimsy, to deliver its emotional payload."[20]
Matt Windman ofamNewYork Metro gave the show two out of four stars and stated, "Although sincerely intended and full of creative touches,Alice by Heart is a disjointed, depressing and bewildering mess. It would be near impossible to follow it without a working knowledge of the source material."[21]
Some reviewers took a more positive approach. Frank Rizzo ofVariety praised the performances, stating "The cast is solid, though the peripheral characters are thinly drawn even as their surreal alter egos revel in extravagance.Wesley Taylor has an especially fine time as theMad Hatter, andAndrew Kober takes on five roles with flair, includingKing of Hearts and an imposing Jabberwocky. [sic]"[22]
Elysa Gardner ofNew York Stage Review, in another positive review, described the show as "a darkly whimsical, utterly transporting musical that recalls[Spring] Awakening both in its general focus-on anxious, pining youths who must pay the price for their elders' folly-and the lush, often melancholy but exhilarating beauty of its score."[23]
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ||||
| Drama Desk Awards[24] | Outstanding Choreographer | Rick and Jeff Kuperman | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Costume Design | Paloma Young | Nominated | ||
| Lucille Lortel Awards[25][26] | Outstanding Choreographer | Rick and Jeff Kuperman | Won | |
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Heath Saunders | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design | Paloma Young | Won | ||
| Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography[citation needed] | Outstanding Choreography | Rick and Jeff Kuperman | Won | |
| Outstanding Male Dancer | Zachary Downer | Nominated | ||
| Wesley Taylor | Won | |||
| Outstanding Female Dancer | Mia DiLena | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Ensemble | MCC Theater | Nominated |
Gretchen Shope won the 2024Jimmy Award for Best Actress portraying Alice in her high school's production ofAlice by Heart.[27]
An original cast recording was released throughSh-K-Boom Records on June 28, 2019. It peaked at number 5 on the US Cast Albums chart.[28]
A novelization of the same name by Sater was published on February 4, 2020.[29]
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