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‘Alice in Wonderland’ coming to Malden High School on May 3

MHS Play Production group sending its Class of 2025 seniors out on a fun note

By Jenayah Moreno

MHS Blue and Gold

With spring finally arrived, Malden High School’s Play Production class looks forward to putting on its annual spring play, closing the year off for the many seniors who will soon be leaving it behind. This year, Play Pro plans to bring a “mad” twist to Malden High with “Alice in Wonderland” – coming on May 3 to the Jenkins Auditorium. The electric choice of “Alice in Wonderland” was rooted in an attempt to make the 15 graduating seniors have an enjoyable and relaxing last show.

“Our goal was for our last show to be something fun and lighthearted, something everyone would know and be excited about and really want to invest time into,” Play Pro teacher and Director Ariana Messana said.

With so many Class of 2025 seniors, Messana made special considerations when picking the casting, ensuring that all seniors had a special spot within what would be their last play, and that every senior goes out with one final role to say “goodbye.”

Senior Ashlyn Cullity stated her genuine excitement to portray the lead of “Alice,” while it is also her final resident show. “Within my three years of Play Production, I’ve made so many friends and created an amazing community where I feel so connected, so it’s very sad to be leaving, but ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is such an amazing show to go out on,” Cullity said.

Although the “Alice in Wonderland” we all know is about the nonconformist world that holds the sweet and innocent girl of Alice, Play Pro hopes to enhance the production and give a “creepy” spin to it. “When it comes to design, I liked to think a little bit about the live-action movie, you know how it’s a little bit creepy and has things that might take out the ‘sweet’ version of Alice in Wonderland,” described senior Stage Manager Sarahy Escobar Ayala.

As the production date approaches, many challenges have arisen that the actors, tech and director have been able to push through despite the challenges brought about. One of the most notable challenges for both students and Messana has been the two-week pushback to accommodate the busy end of the year. However, Messana maintains an optimistic view of the earlier date, mentioning that “sometimes, those challenges make us work even harder together as a team.”

For Cullity, keeping the originality while creating a new variant of Alice has been her biggest roadblock in the production thus far. “Alice is a well-known character, and it has been difficult to add my own pieces in it and keep the character to a point where everyone will still know who she is,” Cullity stated.

With Play Production working hard behind the scenes every day, the department is doing its best to bring the most lively and exciting “Alice in Wonderland” that will leave Malden High “mad.”

For more information and updates about the upcoming show, visit @mhsplaypro on Instagram. You can see the show at its double-showing on May 3 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., so be sure to bring a friend and fall into the magical rabbit hole!

Alice in Wonderland Cast List

Produced by Malden High School

2025 Play Production Class

Alice                                                                Ashlyn Cullity

Second Alice/Alice’s Sister     Addison McWayne

Second Alice/Duchess                       Ollie Dodge

Second Alice/Tiger Lily                       Alexia Maciel Lima

Mad Hatter                                                      Matt Jason Chen

Cheshire Cat                                                   Nat Keating

March Hare                                                     Moisha Howser

Dormouse                                                       Dani Licona-Cruz

White Rabbit                                                   Kail Boswell

Fish Footman/Tweedle Dee/

Soldier                                                             Liam Gallagher

Frog Footman/Tweedle Dum/

Soldier                                                             Heitor Soares

Caterpillar/Old Squirrel/

Gardener/Cook                                               Maxwell Torres

Knave of Hearts/Mock Turtle/

Soldier                                                             Erin Grondin

Queen of Hearts/Rose                        Sophie LeBlanc

King of Hearts/White Knight   Gray Herrera

Gryphon/Daisy 1/Gardener    Kimberlee Smith

Daisy                                                               Darian O’Brien

Humpty-Dumpty/Gardener/

Executioner                                                     Kenny Wong