‘Wonderland High’ comes to New Egypt H.S. stage

By Michael Benavides
Staff Writer

PLUMSTED – A musical about a transfer student’s experiences in a new high school will be performed on the New Egypt High School stage when students present “Wonderland High” on March 3-5.

“Wonderland High” will be presented at 7 p.m. March 3, at 7 p.m. March 4 and at 2 p.m. March 5 at the high school, 117 Evergreen Road, New Egypt.

Members of the public are invited to attend the show. Tickets may be purchased at www.nehs.booktix.com. Tickets for the March 3-4 performances are $8 and tickets for the March 5 performance are $6.

The musical will be directed by teacher Gabe Marquez, who said the play is about a transfer student named Arthur Bloom and the trouble he has fitting in at Wonderland High.

“The first day in a new school can be difficult, but for Arthur Bloom it may prove impossible. Newly relocated from Kansas City, Arthur discovers Wonderland High is not your ordinary high school,” Marquez said.

“Thrown into a school where croquet is bigger than football, the school store sells much more than paper and pens, and lockers hold a lot more than books, Arthur finds that being ‘cool’ is the only rule and even eating lunch in the cafeteria is an ordeal.

“As he makes new friends (and a couple of enemies), Arthur learns to stand up for himself and helps others learn the importance of self-reliance and commitment to one’s principles and passions,” the director said.

The cast of “Wonderland High” features Riley Manion (Arthur Bloom), Julia Nalbone (Coach Barker), the voice of New Egypt High School Principal Michael Mendes (Principal Cheshire), Corynn Fazio (Dr. Bloom), MaryGrace Roach (Stan), Tanner Kazio (Harry), Grace Cooper (Katt), Luisa Pugliese (Marianne), Natalie Cooper (Alice), Claire Cronce (Alicia), Alicia Harris (Allison), Morgan Staub (Dee Dee Tweedle), Emma Humphrey (Sandy Tweedle), Nick Uster (Paul), Sam Hekl (Parker) and the director, Gabe Marquez (Preston).

Additional cast members are David Marshall (Matt Adder), Rebekah Schroeder (April May), Julia Brown (Dora Mouskowitz ), and the Garden Glees: Beyonce Layne (Rose), Sophia Delgado (Daisy), Naomi Daniels (Lily), Janie Emery (Violet), Rachel Gilman (Blossom) and Jessie Delgado (Bluebelle).

Members of the ensemble are Nicole Emley, Julia Morrissey, Bella Cognato and Savannah Tucker.

Marquez said he thought it was a great idea to get Mendes involved with the musical.

“Principal Cheshire is a character in the show who is heard and not seen, and the students thought it would be a great opportunity to have Mr. Mendes be involved in the program.
“Similarly, this year’s seniors are the first freshman class I had as a new director four years ago. As a gift to them starting their musical journey with me back then, I decided to act, sing and dance alongside them this year,” Marquez said.
“It has been an interesting challenge this year to put myself in their shoes and take a step back in decision making. This has allowed students to step up and develop leadership skills,” the director said.
Marquez said he chose “Wonderland High” as New Egypt’s spring musical because he believed it would challenge his students creatively.

“I felt our program always did a well known show, or an older show, each challenging our skills as actors, singers and dancers,” he said. “But I felt we were always just retelling a story that was already told.

“We were recreating familiar dance routines or re-enacting familiar scenes, never truly creating. I was looking for a show that would challenge our students to be creative, embrace new challenges, and truly create a show without any mental limits of ‘that’s not how it was done before,’ ” Marquez said.

“This year’s musical season has been a huge adjustment for the directing staff and the students. Without having any prior knowledge, we have had to dissect the script to understand stage directions, and scrutinize the lyrics to understand our motivation for a song or scene.

“Another obstacle we had to overcome was having a fairly young cast. Of the 29 cast members, only four are seniors. This has allowed some of our younger performers to gain a lot of stage experience for delivering lines and learning new choreography. For students new to the program, it allowed us to go back to basics and build foundational skills to work off for next year,” Marquez said.
The director invited everyone to come see the show.

“Community members looking for a hilarious and energetic new show should definitely come out. The story of our time in high school is one we can all relate to … Our students have been working extremely hard to bring this production to life.

“Our behind-the-scenes students have been part of the set design and our pit orchestra is growing to allow musicians to take on new roles and include more instruments,” Marquez said.