'Alice Through the Internet' at Naugatuck High School - My Review

The Naugatuck High School Drama Club had worked hard to present Alice Through the Internet by Robert Frankel and it showed. What they lack in funding, they make up for in talent.  Director Devin Burroughs assured us that "yes, you are seeing double! This year's club is the smallest group we have ever had at NHS and one of the largest shows we have ever undertaken. By the end I think you will agree they all have more than enough personalities to go around." This reviewer certainly agrees.

Two actors that made very good use of this personality opened the show. Junior Preston Bogan and his buddy sophomore Kaylin Spaulding entered the theatre dressed in bathrobes and appeared to be as lost as the title character. Their hilarious banter (probably improvised) was priceless as they subtly pointed out the emergency exits. The inside joke was that the names of their characters Brian and Michelle are the names of Preston's real-life grandparents.

Then the journey of Alice, played by the very talented Katie Coyle dressed in black and white stripes, unfolded on the stage. She began in the "real world" as an introvert who gets sucked into the internet and all that it entails. There she meets a large number of kooky characters that inhabit the internet and our computers, all costumed in appropriate garb, as she tries to get back home.

The director added a break to this one-act, but the running time was still exactly one hour. At the close of the first act, Brian and Michelle reappeared to talk up the concessions available in the lobby and they came back one last time at the conclusion of the intermission to get the play started again. Although I really enjoyed the scripted show, these "bits" between Mr. Bogan and Ms. Spaulding were probably my favorite part of the performance.

All of the students involved did a great job, especially since they all had to play so many parts. These required lots of costume changes and there were no missteps. The costumes featured references to well-known internet sites that insiders would enjoy. The background that was painted by the students to be a riff on a Facebook page was really effective; it was a white canvas the last time I had seen it and the transformation was impressive. The tech crew led by Christine Sears pulled off all the cues.

Senior Chelsea Newman had fun with the roles of Facelook and a Firewall. Freshman Chelsy Luis was the other Firewall. Senior (and Naugatuck Teen Theater member)  Steph Hensley was terrific as Alice's friend Victoria, Spam 2 and Tripp. Junior Hailey Diaz was great as Chatty Cathy and sophomore Danielle D'Olivera did a great job as Alice's mother and an App. Sophomore Jenna Miller intended to being a member of the tech crew, but ended up onstage as Cookie. Mike Newman, a sophomore who will appear in NTT's Annie Get Your Gun, played Alice's understanding boyfriend while senior Kinzey Warholic, who had never been in drama club before, had a lot to do as a (program) Bug.

This is a really fun show for all ages. The youngest computer users will enjoy all the inside jokes, while more seasoned audience members will just get caught up in the fun story. Listen for a couple of local references and a shout out to the director, who completes her final year with the NHS Drama Club with this show.

The show closes on Friday at 7:00.