Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society begins preparing for its annual panto- Alice in Wonderwall

Auditions took place this week for Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society’s autumn pantomime – Alice in Wonderland – just days after the launch event for the show at the Strand Theatre.

The auditions for the panto, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, were on Monday evening.

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Carrick Musical Society PRO Siobhán Grace-Regan, who is the show’s Chorus Mistress, said rehearsals will get underway after the Society’s other big autumn event – the Melodies & Memories concert at the Strand on September 5.

Alice in Wonderwall will be staged at the Strand Theatre from Tuesday, October 21 to Saturday, October 25 and is an original pantomime written by the show’s director Sandra Power and her husband Conor Power. It’s the fourth pantomime the couple have co-written for Carrick Musical Society.

Siobán Grace-Regan reported there was a great turn-out of Musical Society members old and new at the launch event for the show in the Strand Theatre’s Christy’s Bar last Thursday.

“Sandra gave a brief overview of the show and its characters. It’s loosely based on Alice in Wonderland with the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Chesire Cat among the characters.”

Joining Sandra Power and Siobhán Grace-Regan on the show’s production team are Production Manager Nicole Breen and Choreographer Claire O’Hara.

The cast will include children and teenagers who attend Carrick Musical Society’s Academy of Performing Arts. They will begin preparing for the panto when they resume their weekly musical theatre sessions at the Strand Theatre in early September.

The panto launch was followed by a rehearsal for the Melodies & Memories concert. Tickets for the show can be purchased at the Strand Theatre’s box office on Saturday, August 30 and Wednesday, September 3 from 11am to 3ppm

You can either visit the box office or phone Marian at (051) 645050. Tickets can also be purchased online via: www.ticketsource.com/strandtheatre

Panto ‘Gentlemen Princes’ pictured at the Alice in Wonderwall pantomime launch night at the Strand Theatre last week: From left: Michael O’Hara, Liam Hogan, Richard Dunphy, Jonathan Caulfield, Declan Robinson, Ger Breen and Jim Kennedy. Pictures Anne Marie Magorrian

Check out more photos from Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society's panto launch night in this week's edition of The Nationalist now on sale in local shops. 

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