Alice by Heart

In the organizer's words:

Young musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater

How do historical events that took place more than eighty years ago, a famous children's book that is even older, the music of current Broadway productions and the life experiences of young people today fit together? In 1941, in the rubble of the German attacks on London during the Second World War, Alice Spencer's turbulent, aspiring teenage life is turned upside down. She and her best friend Alfred are forced to seek shelter in a subway station. Alice reads her favorite book "Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll and tries to come to terms with her experiences of grief, loss, fear and longing. When Alfred, who is suffering from tuberculosis, is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into her beloved book and travel to this very Wonderland. Although the book is snatched from her, the two set off because Alice knows the story by heart. On their journey through the fairy tale, "Alice By Heart" explores encounters with first love, overcoming pain and the courage to look ahead. In the end, however, the two return to the reality of the underground shelter, the return to war and illness. And yet: "Alice By Heart" encourages everyone to celebrate the transformative power of the imagination, even in the hardest of times.

Following on from "Spring Awakening", the Young Musical takes on a work by the two celebrated authors Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik for a second time. And once again, the young actors' own questions and experiences meet a "classic" original and its contemporary musical and dramaturgical realization.

"Against the dark sides of the material, there is a zest for life that cannot be taken away from the young people!" (LZ)