Pushcart Players to Present ALICE IN WONDERLAND as Part of NTJA Stages Festival

Pushcart Players, New Jersey's Emmy-nominated and award-winning theater for young audiences performs "Alice in Wonderland" at multiple locations during the month of March as part of the NJ Theatre Alliance's "Stages Festival 2016." Performances offered free to the public will take place at the Ocean County Library branches of Toms River (Weds, March 9 at 6:30 pm), Brick (Mon, March 21 at 6:30 pm), Stafford (Sat, March 26 at 2:00 pm), and Point Pleasant Beach (March 30 at 3:00 pm).

"Alice in Wonderland" is re-imagined and designed by Pushcart Players co-founder Ruth Fost, and directed by artistic director Paul Whelihan. Filled with madcap characters and pure nonsense, this tale about a curious and proactive young girl has enchanted readers for many generations. Cleverly adapted from Lewis Carroll's classic books, Pushcart's musical boasts spectacular scenic elements, playfully designed puppets by Terrence P. Burnett, and whimsical orchestrations by Tony and Drama Desk award-winner Larry Hochman.

"'Alice...' is perhaps one of the best-known stories for children," said Whelihan. "People often view it as a 'girl's story' and mostly appropriate for 'little kids.' But it's so much more than that, especially with Pushcart's dynamic spin. Ours is a journey of adolescent discovery. It crosses gender and age boundaries, and is funny and thought-provoking all at once."

Pushcart has been stirring up serious fun for more than 4 decades. Since 1974, the company's traveled over 2 million miles nationally and abroad to serve more than 8 million children and their families with meaningful theater. From the White House in the nation's capital, to the little red schoolhouse in America's rural sprawl, Pushcart productions are noted for excellence and innovation. Professional Actors' Equity Association actors and stage managers perform. An illustrated book of "Pushcart's Alice in Wonderland" highlights the production's significant moments and offers further arts related activities (available on amazon.com).

The "Alice in Wonderland" cast includes Stacie Gogo (Alice), JD Lynch (Mad Hatter, et.al.), James Holden (Cheshire Cat, et.al.), and Layan Elwazani (Red Queen, et.al.). Gogo appeared Off-Broadway as a Kit Kat Girl in 'Cabaret' at the Players Theatre, as Penny Pingleton in 'Hairspray' at the Westchester Broadway Theatre, in the ensemble of 'Grease!' at the Surflight Theatre, and she has also toured nationally. Lynch has been a beloved matinee idol in New Hope PA (Bucks County Playhouse) and in Shawnee, PA. He was most recently seen in the role of Samuel in an original play, "Fading Light," at the New York Fringe Festival.

James Holden recently played Uncle Ernie in West Virginia Public Theatre's production of "The Who's Tommy." In New York, he played the loveable cop, Flapjack in both "Doubles Crossed" and the sequel "Doubles Crossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo," both with Funny...Sheesh Productions. Holden can be seen on television in "Celebrity Ghost Stories," "I'd Kill for You," and "Redrum." Layan Elwazani appeared as Louise in "Gypsy," Anita in "West Side Story", and The Human Race Theatre Company's production of "Mame." She is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Wright State University.

Paul Whelihan directs, stage-manages and performs off-Broadway (47th Street Theater, 59 East 59 Theatres, NY Fringe Festival, 54 Below) and regionally (Royal Poincianna Playhouse, Broward Center for the Arts, Centenary Stage, The Bickford Theatre, The Growing Stage, Luna Stage Company, Forum Cultural Arts Center, Quillo Arts Center, Dreamcatcher Rep) in musicals, dramas, original works and locally produced television, film and web series projects.

Larry Hochman is the Tony and Drama Desk award-winner for best orchestrations for "The Book of Mormon." He received Tony nominations for "The Scottsboro Boys," "Monty Python's Spamalot," (Hochman also received Drama Desk nominations for both), Fiddler on the Roof (2004 revival) and "A Class Act." Larry composed additional music for Disney's "Little Mermaid," for Stephen Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" and for numerous celebrity concerts. Other awards include the ASCAP Award for Musical Theater ("One Man Band"), 4 Emmy Awards for "The Wonder Pets" television series, and a Bistro Award for composing "One Man Band." He has orchestrated and/or written the scores for the majority of Pushcart's productions.

Ruth Fost creates the Pushcart scripts, designs the sets, builds the costumes and inspires the company to discover new frontiers in educational theater. Susie Paplow choreographs "Alice in Wonderland." Paplow has created the dance for the majority of Pushcart's shows, and has performed with the company, as well as in theaters throughout the eastern seaboard.

PUSHCART PLAYERS is the award-winning professional touring theater company specializing in arts education for children. Twice nominated for an Emmy©, Pushcart is the recipient of numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation. A social-profit organization founded in 1974, Pushcart brings substantive musical theater, workshops, and residencies to young people and their families in schools and theaters nationwide. All performances travel with innovative scenery, complete lighting and state of the art sound systems, making it adaptable to any location.

The NJ Theatre Alliance is the coalition of all the State's professional theatres. Every March, The Stages Festival provides free and discounted performances, workshops, play readings, and behind-the-scenes events for all ages (www.njtheatrealliance.org #NJstages). Toms River Library is located at 101 Washington Street (for reservations call 732-349-6200); Brick Library is at 301 Chambers Bridge Road (732-477-4513); Stafford Library is in Manahawkin at 129 North Main Street (609-597-3381); Point Pleasant Beach Library is at 710 McLean Avenue (732-892-4575). For further information on this or any of Pushcart's programs and services, contact Pushcart Players at 973-857-1115, information@pushcartplayers.org or visit the website at www.pushcartplayers.org.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gerry Goodstein