About the work
Alice by Heart is a musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, the book co-written with Jessie Nelson, drawing on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It reunited the creators of Spring Awakening and had its world premiere at MCC Theater in New York on February 26, 2019.
Plot
During the Blitz in wartime London, teenager Alice shelters with her gravely ill friend Alfred in an Underground station. To ease his fear, she recounts Alice's Adventures in Wonderland from memory, and the people sheltering with them turn into characters from Carroll's story. Their journey through Wonderland becomes a way of facing Alfred's approaching death and Alice's own loss.
Cultural significance
The show reunited the creative team behind Spring Awakening and earned nominations and wins for costume design and choreography at its off-Broadway premiere, including the Lucille Lortel and Chita Rivera Awards; critical reception was mixed, particularly regarding how the wartime frame relates to the Wonderland scenes.