After attending the Walnut Street Theatre Summer Camp, Samuel Elder, Skylar Raye Noyes, Samantha Riley and Kelly White, all 13-year-old students of Moorestown’s William Allen Middle School, will be taking a magical leap down the rabbit hole, performing in the Walnut Street Theatre for Kids’ production of “Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr.” Elder will be playing the part of the iconic White Rabbit, Noyes will be Violet of the Girls of Golden Afternoon, Riley will be Dormouse and a Cardsmen, and White will be March Hare of the Tea Party.
This will be Elder’s and Riley’s debut on the Walnut Street Theatre Stage, while it will be Noyes’ and White’s second year with Camp Walnut.
This will be Noyes’ third time on the Walnut Street Theatre Stage, performing in productions since she was young. When she was 2 years old, she started ballet and loved being on stage. Then in first grade, her music teacher gave her a solo in the Thanksgiving show.
“I realized I loved singing in front of an audience and have been performing ever since,” Noyes said.
White got into theater because of her siblings. Her older brother and sister were into theater and, wanting to join them, she decided to try it out. Elder was very much the same, except his father and friends did theater. Now, they both are really into performing.
The Walnut Street Theatre Camp experience helps children learn about all aspects of theater to expand their skills with singing, acting and more.
“The classes there at Camp Walnut are taught by real professionals, so it is kind of like a glimpse into the life of an actor. It really helps you open up and be more willing to try new things,” White said.
The children all enjoyed their time at the camp, however because it was Elder’s first time, he felt that he benefited greatly.
“It was really fun and I learned a lot. It was very based on improv and it’s not my best field of work so I learned a lot in that,” Elder said. “The counselors are great and I learned a lot through everything. And you make a lot of new friends through Camp Walnut, so it is a great camp.”
Elder is a little nervous for his debut on the Walnut Theatre Stage, but he thinks he will have a great time. Hopefully, Elder
won’t take after his character, White Rabbit, who is always
“He is always late to almost everything. He can’t not be late. He is always dillydallying even though he is always in the mindset that he has to be quick,” Elder said of his character.
White plays a few different parts in the musical, however, her biggest role is as March Hare in the Tea Party, along with the Mad Hatter, Door Mouse and Mock Turtle. According to White, it’s pretty crazy with lots of moving and jumping around. She described her character as “really fun and quirky.”
Noyes said her character Violet is “sassy and snooty,” which she said she would play up with lots of energy and fun expressions on stage.
For Noyes, her favorite part about the whole experience is being on stage.
“I love to see all the kids light up when they see their favorite characters come out on stage,” Noyes said.
White encourages people to come, but to also bring their kids to “Alice in Wonderland Jr.”
“It’s going to be more relatable to the kids because kids are performing it. It’s just a really fun and quirky show,” White said. “There are a lot of fun songs and dances that I think kids will enjoy.”
Of the show, Noyes said this version will be very different than any other “Alice in Wonderland” because it has so much energy. The audience will actually feel like they are traveling down the rabbit hole into the “wacky world of Wonderland” with the actors.
“It’s very bizarre, that is one of the words you’ll hear about ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in general. The plot is very cool. You’ll get a ton of different things thrown at you, and it is really fun to work things out with you friends,” Elder said.
Based on the book by Lewis Carroll and the 1951 Disney film, the hour-long musical “Alice in Wonderland Jr.” will be performed live at Walnut Street Theatre Sept. 20 through Sept. 28. Tickets are $14 to $16 with group discounts available for groups of 10 or more. For tickets and information, call (215) 574–3550 or (800) 982–2787. Tickets can also be purchased online at Ticketmaster or by visiting the Walnut’s website at www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org.
Edit: Another Moorestown resident was found to be in the Walnut Street Theatre’s production! Samantha Riley, 13, of William Allen Middle School was added to this article. She will be playing the Dormouse and one of the Cardsmen in Disney’s “Alice In Wonderland Jr.” An additional picture was added as well with Riley as the Dormouse with Kelly White in Walnut Street Theatre for Kids’ production of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland Jr.” Photo was taken by Mark Garvin, as were all of the photos.
