In Bethel’s spring musical, the beloved classic Alice in Wonderland becomes a vehicle for navigating love, loss and growing up in trying circumstances.
The music and theater departments present Alice by Heart, with book by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson, music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Steven Sater, March 6, 7 and 8 in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center.
Curtain times are 7 p.m. on March 6 and 7, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on March 8, Sunday. Friday’s performance will be interpreted for the D/deaf community by Boklund Interpreting Services.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors, and students are free. Buy online at https://www.bethelks.edu/fine-arts/theater/theater-department-presents/, in Schultz Student Center 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, or at the door (availability not guaranteed).
Although Alice by Heart is based on the children’s book by Lewis Carroll, the production would be rated PG-13. It includes loud noises, flashing lights, sexual references, body-image themes and mild profanity, depicts gun violence (bombs), bullying and drug use, and is not intended for young audiences.
Alice by Heart is set in an underground tube (subway) station in London during the Nazi bombings, or Blitz, in World War II.
Teenager Alice Spencer and her best friend, Alfred, are forced to take shelter with many others in the station. When Alfred, suffering from tuberculosis, is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their favorite book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – and when the book is damaged, Alice vows to speak “Alice by heart.”
Alice and Alfred tumble down the rabbit hole in their imaginations. People around them start to resemble characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle and the Caterpillar. And together they explore first love, loss, the power of imagination and the courage to move forward.
The Bethel cast of Alice by Heart is: Kyra Linenberger as Alice Spencer/Alice; Jacob Schrag as Alfred Hallam/White Rabbit/March Hare; Liam Ortman as Nigel/Dormouse/Young Alfred; Mara Oswald as Young Alice; Ben Janzen as Harold Pudding/Mad Hatter; Maira Abrile de Paiva as Tabatha/Cheshire Cat; Timothy Schrag as Angus/Caterpillar 1/Knave; Joy Jones as Caterpillar 2; Abby Koontz as Red Cross Nurse/Queen of Hearts; Mason Bolen as Doctor Butridge/King of Hearts/Jabberwocky; Tyrel Wagner as Dodgy/Duchess; April Powls as Mock Turtle; Stefany Cortes-Hernandez as Mock Mock Turtle; Victoria Wright as Clarissa/Mock Mock Mock Turtle; Annabelle Francoeur as MMMM Turtle; Lilli Reisser as MMMMM Turtle; Maddie Anderson as Queen of Diamonds; Adriana Russell as Queen of Clubs; Adah Hodge as Knave of Hearts; Riley Hartvickson as Knave of Spades; Ethan Wilcox as Knave of Clubs; and Simon Hodge as Knave of Diamonds.
Damon Klassen, Bethel director of theater, directs Alice by Heart, with Jocelyn Wilkinson as technical director and Lexi Nickel as stage manager.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
