About the Play:

Alice in Wonderland is a full-length fantasy by Charlotte Chorpenning, adapted from Lewis Carroll. Chasing the White Rabbit, Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. She finds her imagination running wild with curiosity while encountering rabbits that are always late, Tweedle Dees and Dums that are slap-happy, and out-of-the-ordinary Mad Hatters that are just plain crazy. Charlotte Chorpenning's adaptation of Lewis Carroll's children's literary classic Alice in Wonderland is appropriate for the young and young-at-heart.

Alice in Wonderland honours the famous story about a bored little girl named Alice who is looking for adventure. She chases the White Rabbit and tumbles down his mysterious rabbit hole. A strange and twisting journey through Wonderland awaits all who join Alice on her adventure as she meets all its famous residents: the King of Hearts, Red Queen, White Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Gryphon, Mock Turtle, the Dormouse, Mad Hatter and March Hare, the Frog Footman, the Dutchess, the Caterpillar and White Rabbit. She joins the White Rabbit, Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, and many other familiar characters in a mission to rescue the Knave of Hearts from the clutches of the evil Red Queen.

Charlotte Chorpenning's adaptation contains elements of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland, as well as the book's sequel, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There. Many of the poems featured in the two books are included in the production, offering a myriad opportunities for multiple role-playing over a large range or types and ages. The play is regularly performed in repertory, college, middle school, high school, and community theatre productions. Especially recommended for school and contest use.

Cast: 18 female or male, plus extras

What people say:

"This was one of our most successful productions in 35 years of doing children's theater. The audience loved the show and the cast enjoyed performing it. The running time was just right." — David Eggebrecht, Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin

"The closest version to what I desired, after reading many very true to Carroll, but unique in its own creative ways. A novel combination of both books into one witty play." — Christina McAllister, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, North Vancouver, BC

"Incredible! I read five different Alice scripts, and this one was by far the most meaningful. Chorpenning artfully weaves the events together with a deeper meaning, making the show enjoyable for all ages." — Carrie Gerrard, Lake Stevens High School, Lake Stevens, Washington

Charlotte Barrows Chorpenning (1873-1955) was one of America's pioneers in children's theatre. She began writing at age 60 and became one of the most influential people in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) as she developed the model for children's theatre. She was long associated with Chicago's Goodman Theatre, where she directed many of her adaptations of famous fairy and folktales believing that children would come to see plays about characters they knew already. Today the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) gives the Charlotte Chorpenning Cup annually to an outstanding children's theatre writer.