Who cares about a mad hatter? Alice wants to know who wrote this ransom note! The Playhouse will open its second Off the Hill outreach touring production of the 2024-25 season this February with Alice in the Hundred Acre Wood, a world premiere whodunit for young audiences commissioned from Playhouse Resident Artist Maggie Lou Rader. This clever crossover between the worlds of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh and Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland features the famous childhood characters you know and love in a thrilling whodunit mystery that will entertain audiences both big and small.

Alice is now 13 years old. She’s older, she’s wiser, and she’s Wonderland’s best detective. However, she’s a little too good at her job, and things in Wonderland have been normal — or at least, as normal as they can be. When Winnie-the-Pooh recruits her to investigate the kidnapping of Christopher Robin, every resident of the Hundred Acre Wood becomes a potential suspect. As Christopher Robin’s friends assist Alice in cracking the case, she supports them in return by providing coping skills and tools to help them manage their emotions.

This campy caper, directed by Playhouse Artistic Engagement Manager Katie Baskerville, features whimsical costumes and adaptive scenery, transporting audiences from Alice’s office in Wonderland — red-string evidence board and all — to the forest floor of the Hundred Acre Wood. The script calls for two versatile actors — one portraying Alice and the other taking on the roles of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and more. The production explores themes of collaboration and friendship, as the characters learn how to regulate and communicate their emotions. “It’s okay to have big feelings, and it’s important to talk to your friends about them so they can help support you,” Baskerville said. “We also want to stress the lifelong importance of imagination. Laughter and play are fun at any age, whether you’re 5 or 105.”

Maggie Lou Rader

Playwright Maggie Lou Rader, a familiar face in Cincinnati theatre, has appeared as an actor on stage with the Playhouse (as The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol), as well as with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Ensemble Theatre Company, Know Theatre and others. She has written over a dozen plays ranging from fierce dramas to Theatre for Young Audience (TYA) pieces, including Alice in Neverland, the first of Alice’s cross-canon adventures, where she solves the disappearance of another beloved character — Peter Pan! Rader is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild and the winner of the Patty Abramson New Play Award and the Notre Dame Performing Arts New Play Festival, among other honors. 

Rader wants to inspire younger audiences to spark their own creativity and see the magic in storytelling and hopes that adults will see themselves reflected in the story as well. “I hope [younger audiences] discover something that intrigues them to want to tell stories themselves, and that they can start with the stories they know,” she said. “The best children’s theatre is the kind where the adults are laughing too. Humor is humor, no matter how old you are. I hope adults will see characters that they grew up with too, and that it gives them a chance to be kids again.”

Alice in the Hundred Acre Wood will tour the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area from February 24 through May 2 and is recommended for children ages 5 and up. Visit cincyplay.com for more information on performance dates and locations.