The Mid-Prairie High School Theater Department will perform its fall musical “Alice By Heart” this Friday through Sunday. The show recontextualizes the story of “Alice in Wonderland” through the eyes of a girl during the aftermath of the London Blitz, when Germany and Italy attacked England during World War II. 

The show focuses on themes of grief and growing up, themes which senior actress Jillian Clark said were especially impactful for her and her classmates in their final year at Mid-Prairie, “The parts with grief and loss can definitely be sadder at the moment of knowing you’re kind of leaving too, even though Grayson is ‘leaving,’ we also are leaving in a sense.” Greyson Ghumm is a sophomore whose character is sick with tuberculosis.

The show comes on the heels of last year’s award-winning production of Matilda, for which Mid-Prairie earned multiple honors at the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards. Several of the actors said last year’s success is a major motivation this year. Caroline Schrader, a senior, described why she felt people should see the production, “I think anybody sitting in the audience will truly go through every single emotion. It’s fun and sad, and the music is beautiful. You’ll be in for a real show.”

Tickets can be found at mpdrama.booktix.com or on Mid-Prairie Drama’s social media pages on Facebook or Instagram. The show is on stage at Mid-Prairie High School at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.