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INTO THE WOODS
Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Book by JAMES LAPINE

Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine


Performance Details | Creative Team | Cast | Production Stills




PERFORMANCE DETAILS

SPRINGWOOD CIVIC CENTRE April 19, 20, 26, 27, May 3 & 4 at 8pm
April 21, 27, 28 and May 4 at 2pm

CREATIVE TEAM

Direction by MARNIE ENGEL
Musical Direction by DAVID KALMAN
Production Design by JOSHUA MASON

CAST




The Witch
Samantha O'Hare

The Baker
Adam Majsay

The Baker's Wife
Nicole Beaver

Red Riding Hood
Jenni Wren

Narrator
Mark Watson

Cinderella
Keara Donohoe

Jack
Robert Hall

Jack's Mother
Cathie Simpson

Rapunzel
Rosemary Cooper

Cinderella's Prince
David Tucker

Rapunzel's Prince
John Donohoe

Stepmother
Kathleen Leary

Stepsisters
Naomi Gardiner & Jaelithe Wedd

Cinderella's Mother
Trish Donohoe

Cinderella's Father
John Baltaks

Wolf
Brett Jeffers & Tim Crew

Steward
Ernie Panaioli

Granny
Patricia Napolitano

Understudy Jack
Bradley Carroll


Into the Woods blends various familiar fairy tales with an original story of a childless Baker and his Wife, who catalyze the action of the story by attempting to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child.

In the first act, the characters set out to achieve their goal of living "Happily Ever After" through familiar routes - Cinderella goes to the Ball and captures the heart of Prince Charming, Jack climbs the Beanstalk and finds a land of Giants and Gold, Little Red Riding Hood survives her clash with the wolf at Grandma's house, and Rapunzel manages to escape her tower with the aid of a handsome prince who climbs her long hair. The Baker and his Wife move through their stories while pursuing their own goal - the witch who keeps Rapunzel (revealed to be the Baker's sister) has put the curse on his house, and agrees to lift it if the Baker and his Wife can find the ingredients to help her reverse a spell which her mother has laid on her, keeping her old and ugly. Those ingredients are: A Slipper As Pure As Gold, which the Baker's wife gets from Cinderella, A Cow As White As Milk, which the Baker buys from Jack in exchange for the fateful magic beans, A Cape As Red As Blood, which the Baker gets from Little Red Riding Hood in exchange for freeing her and Granny from the Wolf, and Hair As Yellow As Corn, which they get from Rapunzel. The ingredients are gathered, and the spell works, stripping the Witch of her power, but restoring her beauty. At the end of Act I, all characters seem poised to live "Happily Ever After".

Act Two, however, deals with the consequences that traditional fairy tales conveniently ignore. What does one do with a dead Giant in the back yard? Does marrying a Prince really lead to a happy and fulfilling life? Is carving up the wolf the solution? Is the Giant always wrong? In Act Two, all the characters must deal with what happens AFTER "Happily Ever After". As they face a genuine threat to their community, they realize that all actions have consequences, and their lives are inescapably interdependent, but also that that interdependence is their greatest strength.

- June Abernathy

Into the Woods starring Vanessa Williams is currently playing at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre and moves to Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre on April 25.

Reviews following the production's opening night in California have been extremely positive. Variety said it has "aged like fine wine" and "is as accessible and robust as the original, but also far more balanced and mature. And it demonstrates that the show's complexity was genuine." The Los Angeles Times calls this production a "richly textured production" that "emerges from the thickets in triumph." The Los Angeles Daily News suggests that "'enchanting' isn't a strong enough word for what's on stage."

from sondheim.com





Adam Majsay


Nicole Beaver

Original Broadway Production by Heidi Landesman, Rocco Landesman, Rick Steiner, M. Anthony Fisher, Frederic H. Mayerson, Jujamcyn Theatres
Originally produced by the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Ca.
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE OF MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL

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