PHOTOS: 'Alice Through the Looking Glass ... And What She Found There'

Check out Jeff Wegge's photos from "Alice Through the Looking Glass ... And What She Found There."

If you have photos from one of the performances, please add your photos to this gallery.

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Something different is happening on stage at Stillwater Area High School.

Junior high and high school students from across the district will be performing, “Alice Through the Looking Glass ...and what she found there.”

It’s a play with music about growing up. Performances will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 1, 2 and 3 in the Stillwater Area High School Auditorium.

“Alice” is not the same childhood character you might remember and neither is the world she visits. Theatre Director Haeri Tollefson has written the script based on the Lewis Carroll original, but updated the characters for today’s audience.

“It occurred to me that all the characters in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass’ were based on people he knew or historical, perhaps political figures,” Tollefson said. “After just a little exploration I realized my suspicions were confirmed and thought it might be due for an update. As the writing evolved I also realized its similarity to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ stories; Dorothy meets a series of characters, Alice meets a series of characters. I thought about the different people or ‘characters’ we all meet throughout our lives and how they affect us. It occurred to me that these are really stories about ‘growing up.’”

Updating the characters and story means you’ll recognize more than a few of the characters with contemporary music and dance.

A giant chessboard becomes a stage atop the stage with trap doors and a rake for the Cheshire Cat (Virginia VanLieshout) to dance on.

Tweedle Dee and Dum (Morgan Killen & Lucy Langmack) are two BFF girlfriends that dress alike, talk alike and finish each other’s sentences. The White Queen (Emily Adrian) is similar to “Mother Nature,” urging Alice to see the REAL beauty of life. The Red Queen (Sara Swartz) is a loud, brash Ethel Merman “drama queen,” where theatre and performance are her ONLY life.

“The show is different even from the audition process where you didn’t have to sing or dance, but could choose to just read,” Tollefson said. “The script was written after auditions and if we liked someone for a character and they could sing or dance we gave the character a song or movement. 

“I think ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ will be a thoroughly enjoyable evening of entertainment with something for everyone,” Tollefson said. “It has the silliness of Monty Python and musical quirkiness plus visual spectacle of Cirque du Soleil.”

All seating is general admission. Tickets are $6 students and seniors and $9 for adults.

For tickets and information, call 651-351-8109.