The “Alice in Wonderland” musical at Rochester Memorial school has the fourth graders all going a little mad.

Yelling, dancing and singing are all part of a day’s work for the cast as they take on the eccentric characters of the Lewis Carroll novel. The action centers around Alice’s trial by the court of the King and Queen of Hearts.

With the show opening January 26, members of the cast said they were ready to take the stage.

Elise Mello, who plays the mischievous Cheshire Cat, says the best part of her character is that she can “go over the top.”

“I like how I get to act insane,” Mello said. “I go cross-eyed out of nowhere and smile really big to make my eyes huge.”

Acting crazy is something Andrew Stelle said he also has to perfect as the Mad Hatter.

“I just have to be really goofy,” Stelle said. “I get really loud for no reason.”

The dance scenes are a favorite among the cast members, who have been rehearsing for the past two months.

Abby McCarthy, who plays one of the speaking cards in the King and Queen’s court, says the cast’s hard work paid off.

“The group dances are really the best part of the musical,” McCarthy said. “They’re fun to do and they just look cool.”

“The dances are really funny to watch,” said Hannah Johnson, who plays the White Rabbit. “Everyone is in them, and we just dance all over the place.”

Cecilia Prefontaine, who plays Rose Bud, says most of the cast participates in the singing as well as the dancing.

“We all sing the songs together but we also all get to sing a line in the song too,” Prefontaine said. “I’m excited for that.”

The musical is being directed by the school’s music teacher, Sue Ellis, with costumes and sets designed by art teacher Joanne Smith.

Nancy Sparklin, the special education secretary for the school, is accompanying the show on piano. Sparklin has been working on the fourth grade musicals with Ellis for the past 11 years.

Sparklin said she was impressed at how easy the cast has gotten into their characters.
“This was the first group that grasped everything so quickly that we didn’t have to stop to polish it,” Sparklin said. “What amazes me about this grade level is ,you tell them once, and they remember everything.”

The school last performed “Alice in Wonderland” nine years ago.

“We do something new every year, but it’s been so long since we’ve done this,” she said. “It was time to bring it back out again.”

The cast will be performing on Thursday at 7 p.m., with their production being the first held on the newly built Rochester Memorial stage.