Maine East's 'Lookingglass Alice' to tell 'Alice in Wonderland' story using circus arts

Maine East will become the second high school in the U.S. to stage "Lookingglass Alice" when the play will be performed six times Thursday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 1.

The show will be performed at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, 4 and 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1. Maine East High School is at 2601 Dempster St., Park Ridge. Tickets, $7, are available at www.showtix4u.com/event-details/76118.

The play tells the story of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Lookingglass" utilizing the circus arts.

Maine East's production contains several circus elements and the school has partnered with the Actors Gymnasium in Evanston to help stage the show. That was made possible by a $4,200 grant from the Maine Township High School Foundation. As part of rehearsals, 24 Maine East students have visited the Actors Gymnasium for a circus workshop, and recently the circus apparatus were set up for the play on the stage.

In addition, actress Molly Hernández is assisting with the production as she played Alice in 2022 at Lookingglass Theatre Company. She worked with director Karen Hall when she was the director of the All-State play and they have remained close since that time.

Hernández helped Maine East get the rights from the playwright David Catlin.