Out of the Box and Down the Rabbit Hole

Out of the Box Theatre (OOB) has specialized in selecting off-beat, often off-Broadway contemporary musicals to mount in town in the intimate space of Center Stage Theater ever since its founding by Samantha Eve. The latest example in the universe of alternative conversation-inspiring shows is OOB’s first production of the new season, Alice by Heart, which will have its Southern California premiere November 10-19. Created by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, the Tony and Grammy award-winning team behind Spring Awakening (an earlier OOB hit), and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress), the musical is set in an abandoned underground tube station during the London Blitz of World War II, where teenage Alice and her tuberculosis-stricken childhood friend Alfred have taken shelter.

The main character’s name is no accident: Alice by Heart is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the famed Lewis Carroll book that has inspired countless adaptations over the decades.

“Alice wants her friend to dive down the rabbit hole with her into their favorite story that they used to read when they were kids as an escape, a safe space,” Eve said. “But they’ve grown up and changed, and when they travel there, they realize that Wonderland has changed too. The characters are there – the Queen of Hearts, the Caterpillar, the mock turtle – but they’re different because they exist in the world that Alice has created. Splinters of reality start to fracture the fantasy.”

Eve said the musical shouldn’t be considered a straight adaptation of the famous book. 

“It’s this Alice in her own wonderland. It borrows from the imagination of Lewis Carroll but it’s about a girl who is in a very stressful situation trying to cope with her life as she grows up in that challenging time. I think that’s something we all can relate to, the things from our childhood that have stayed with us and shaped us, that we use to find meaning and reason for the things that are happening when we get older.”

Eve, who is also directing, said that Alice by Heart fits snuggly in OOB’s oeuvre for two important aspects. 

“The music is absolutely phenomenal,” she said, noting that’s what first got her attention when she caught the world premiere run in New York in 2019. “It’s this great kind of folk pop that’s really lovely and both fun and emotional. But it’s also that it doesn’t require a lot in terms of sets or props. A lot of the fantasy is really created by the actors, which I love. And we have a great cast!” 

Visit www.outoftheboxtheatre.org for more information