Alice in Wonderland-The Queen’s Point of View

Alice gets all the credit in Wonderland, but what about the characters who actually live there? And what about the Queen’s point of view? She has a tough job, made worse by the fact that a spoiled little girl just arrived and started tearing everything up! Now, the Queen of Hearts, along with her trusty Jokers and other royal servants, must find her and stop the madness.

About the Playwright

Sara Feinberg has taught theatre for more than 20 years, both in schools and in local and nationally known theatres, such as The Children’s Theatre in Minneapolis. She has written countless plays for hundreds of groups of children and teens over her tenure as a teaching artist and has designed, produced, and directed productions for students from preschool to adults. Sara graduated from Ithaca College with a major in music (voice) and a minor in theatre and has a master’s in teaching from Hamline University. Currently, Sara works full-time as a theatre teacher to students in grades K-8.

Excerpt from the Script:

CHARACTERS:
Queen of Hearts
Alice
Cheshire Cat
Joker 1
Joker 2
Joker 3
Joker 4
Ace of Hearts
2 of Hearts
3 of Hearts
4 of Hearts
5 of Hearts
(Executioners and Guards can be played by the same actors.)
Guards (2-4)
Executioner 1
Executioner 2
Humpty Dumpty
White Rabbit
(Mad Hatter and others at the tea party can be doubled with Walrus and other animals.)
Mad Hatter
March Hare
Dormouse
Walrus
Mock Turtle
Gryphon
(Flamingos and Hedgehogs can be doubled with King’s horses and men. Another option is to just have one of each of these characters.)
Flamingo 1
Flamingo 2
Hedgehog 1
Hedgehog 2
King’s Horse 1
King’s Horse 2
King’s Men 1
Kings Men 2
Crowd

Scene 1

Queen: The Queen of Hearts always gets a bad rap in every Alice story ever written. You know, I’m not all that bad. Really. Okay, okay, so I lose my temper every once in a while…

(Ace of Hearts enters, holding a pair of scissors and trailing a bunch of leaves.)

Queen: You there!

Ace: Who, me?

Queen: Yes, you! What do you think you’re doing?

Ace: Uh…gardening?

Queen: You call this gardening? You’re trailing leaves all across my newly polished floors!

Ace: Whoops! Uh…sorry

Queen: Sorry, it isn’t enough! Guards!

(Guards enter)

Guards: Yes, Oh, Queen?

Queen: Off with their head!

(Guards take Ace away.)

Ace: Hey! Wait! Don’t be so hasty!

Queen: As I was saying…

(2, 3, 4, and 5 of Hearts enter.)

2: Oh Mighty Queen…

Queen: Who dares interrupt my soliloquy?

3: Oh, please hear us, oh Queen!

Queen: I will not be interrupted! Guards!

(Guards enter.)

4: No, wait! You’ll want to hear this.

Queen: I’d better! What is it? Make it snappy!

5: Someone has just entered your kingdom from another world.

Queen: What?

2: Yes, oh, Queen. Someone young…

3: Pretty…

4: With a blue dress.

5: A girl, to be exact.

Queen: A girl? In my kingdom? What does she want?

2: I’m not sure, oh Queen.

3: She’s probably harmless.

Queen: Probably harmless? Are you kidding? I’ll bet she’s after my throne! Yes, that’s it! She wants to be the new Queen. Well, I won’t let her. Rabbit! Oh, where’s a nice white rabbit when you need one?

(Rabbit enters.)

Rabbit: Yes, oh, Queen?

Queen: Rabbit, find this girl who has just arrived from another world. Follow her. Make sure she doesn’t pull any funny business.

Rabbit: Right away, oh Queen.

Queen: That will do for now. I must get to her first before she finds me. But how can I stop her?

4: Are you sure she wants to steal your throne?

Queen: Don’t be stupid; of course, she wants to steal my throne! Why else would she be here?

5: Maybe it was just an accident.

Queen: Oh yeah? Well, maybe I’ll just accidentally…chop off your heads!

All Cards: We agree with you!

Queen: I thought you’d see it my way. Now, who should I employ to catch her?

(Jokers enter, talking and laughing. They take one look at the Queen and try to make a hasty exit.)

Queen: Jokers! Just the cards I wanted to see.

Joker 1: Who, us? But you hate jokes.

Joker 2: Yeah, especially our jokes.

Joker 3: I mean, once you were gonna chop off our heads if we ever said…

Joker 4: Shh! Don’t say it again!

Joker 3: Whoops! Sorry.

Queen: Yes, you’re all perfect for the job. I need you jokers to capture this girl from another world and bring her to me so I can chop off her head!

Joker 1: But we don’t like violence.

Joker 2: Yeah, it’s so…violent.

Queen: I don’t care what you think! You’re not here to think! Now, bring her to me!

Jokers: Yes, my Queen.

(Jokers Exit)

Queen: As for you…

Cards: What?

Queen: Back to the gardens!

Cards: Oh yeah, right, we’re leaving right now, sorry…(ad libs)

Queen: Why do I have to tell everyone what to do?

Guards: Because you’re the boss?

Queen: Oh, be quiet! Who asked you?