Welcome to Wonderland! Inside Opening Night of MCC's ALICE BY HEART

Hello I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. MCC Theatre has kicked off their

brand new theatre space on West 52nd Street with the new Duncan Sheik, Stephen

Sater and Jesse Nelson musical Alice by Heart. And we're here to celebrate with

the company on opening night. It's an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland with the whole twist that takes place in

London Blitz during World War II. We're in a tube station. Every prop has

responsibility from cots that they used to sleep on and the blankets and ration that they used to

eat uh the gas mask it's a lot you have to see for yourself but it's it's it's fun it's physical

theater i can tell you that yeah i'm very new to this and they've been so kind to me and have

taught me to let go because theater is so different than film and things happen and you can mess up

and they're they just go out and they do their thing and they leave it on the stage and that's

and beautiful to learn from them. It's a really phenomenal group of talent

And you really had to sort of leave your ego at the door when you're spending eight hours a day

making shapes and the choreography of the minutiae of a caterpillar. You really do have to be patient, trust

It was a challenge for all of us, but it's so rewarding once it all clicks into place

It's been a painstaking five years for me. But tonight is you know it feels like all the hard work finally pays off because we get to dance Let talk about working with this creative team Tell me what it was like being in the room with Duncan and Steven and Jesse

No, I definitely, I used to, I'd sweat a lot in my pits being around them

I was very nervous a lot because I grew up on their stuff. So they're big heroes of mine and now they're big friends

And they were so trusting of this entire amazing ensemble to bring whatever their heart and their flavor was to it

And I think it shows, and I think the show itself is growing

and all from their vision and where they went with this. I mean, it's already bonkers as it is

and it's gone even crazier down the rabbit hole. Well, I mean, Stephen and I have a shorthand

so we know how we work together. Jessie was part of the process from the beginning

and then she stepped back, and then she came back in, and she's been an amazing director

and then, you know, Rick and the Cooperman brothers really knocked it out of the park

and they sort of tied the whole room together and that's my feeling

And our whole creative team just did such great work so I just feel so fortunate

I feel kind of overwhelmed. You know, we've been working on it for 10 years

so it's amazing to finally be here, you know. I love what Steven told me

You've been working the past few weeks with fine-tuning That must be so exciting when you're working on a brand new musical

Yes. In fact the actors were given a whole new first scene four days ago five days ago Yeah I love that part of it They put it up you hear the audience feedback you fine it I enjoyed seeing the cast grow and seeing them find that

oh, wait a second, I can do more than I thought I could. And really embracing the style of movement that we've set on them

and building it together with them. If we did a time hop to the first day of rehearsal

oh man, we're all different people then. And we've basically been through hell and back

And now we have something kind of pretty cool to show for it. You know, Molly Gordon, I'm sure you know this

She's been with us for all nine years. And Noah's been with us for five years

Noah Galvin. Everyone else is new. And we had that amazing fortune to have Bernie Telsey as our producer and our casting person

I mean, how amazing is that? We searched so long. We were so relentless to get the perfect mad person for each one of these characters and the roles

because they all play at least two characters, as you saw. They're their tube character and their Wonderland character

and they all had to be indelible. It's as a writer what it means to hear your words come to life in that way

Profound. So I started out at Powerhouse, so we're behind music stands

and now being in the space with this incredible cast and a score and lyrics that I'm sitting backstage

hearing things for the first time every time. So it's an endurance run, is what it feels like

There's so much energy that we're feeding off of, and the audience is so generous with us So I feel my heart is racing Duncan music I was just telling his parents actually I moved every time I hear these songs in a real genuine way

So that makes everything a lot easier, you know. And then Stephen is such a poet

And the more that I listen to the show and I hear, like, the elegance of the craft that he's put into the sequencing of telling this story

it's a masterclass. They're amazing. It's a totally new way of working on a musical for me

I haven't done a piece that has movement that is used in quite this way ever in my life

So it's been very tiring. A lot of physical awareness that I haven't had prior to on other shows

So it's been a great learning process. It's been beautiful and I love the product that we have now

It's been a master class in creativity. I couldn't have asked for a more creative creative team more creative cast mates everybody working together to build one thing

It's like the definition of an ensemble piece and I couldn't be more grateful to be a part of it

This cast is absolutely Astonishing There's 12 of us on stage and we have each other's backs like I've never experienced. It's really exciting really thrilling

Also, I get to play five different roles in the show. They're all really distinct

They're all iconic and I get to kind of put my spin on each of them. It's a thrill Well, this is my first time doing an off-Broadway show, and it felt very experimental and indie to be doing this very, like, heady piece

But the audience loved it, and I think we really made some true art tonight

It was exciting. Fantastic