By Melanys Perez Lopez
Theatre TSC will debut its production of the musical “Alice by Heart” at 7 p.m. on April 3 in Turner Auditorium. Additional performances will be held at 7 p.m. on April 4-5 and April 11-12, with a final showing at 2 p.m. on April 13.
Tickets are free for Tallahassee State College students, faculty, and staff at the door. General admission tickets are available for purchase.
Presented by Theatre TSC and the TSC Foundation, the production aims to engage students with live performances and strengthen the campus arts community.
Dee Selmore, the director of the musical, said she is thrilled to return to her alma mater to direct this production. Her first experience with theater at TSC shaped her career path, and now she is eager to inspire the next generation of performers.
“It’s almost surreal,” Selmore said. “Before the auditions, I just went into the theater for a moment… It was like, look at where you’ve come, like how much of a difference just time makes.”
In “Alice by Heart,” set during World War II, Alice and her friend Alfred seek refuge in a London bomb shelter, where Alice encourages Alfred to escape into their beloved book, Alice in Wonderland, according to a Feb 26, 2019, review published by The Guardian. The musical, which premiered Off-Broadway at MCC Theater in 2019, was co-written by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, the Tony Award-winning duo behind Spring Awakening. As they immerse themselves in the story, the musical explores themes of first love, loss, and resilience in the face of adversity.
“Bombs are falling through the air, splintering the darkness of the London night while children cower in a tube shelter, deep underground,” The Guardian review said. “But bombs can fall inside, too, like Alice by Heart, an extravagantly well-intentioned and hopelessly inert new musical.”
TSC first-year student Callie Huffman, who plays Alice in the musical, said she has been passionate about theater for years and put a lot of effort into preparing for this role. Alice is a headstrong but caring character who struggles with grief and guilt while trying to spend as much time as possible with her friend Alfred.
“No song is bad in this show. It’s weird, it’s cool, it’s kooky. Because, like ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ it’s all that,” Huffman said. “It’s beautiful. It’s just the harmonies, the duets. It’s amazing music. It’s well written and a lot of fun to sing.”
