by Bea Peterson
The cast and crew of the Hoosick Falls Central School Drama Club have been working since January on their spring musical presentation, Into the Woods. Director Rob Allen said, “It’s a brilliantly written show, both very funny and also very touching. It’s an incredibly deep show, full of very thought provoking symbolism and life lessons that connect to people at any age.”
Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987. Allen said, “In the same year that Phantom of the Opera dominated the Tony Awards, Into the Woods won three Tonys, beating out Phantom, and others, for Best Score, Best Book and Best Leading Actress. Music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, the book by James Lapine.
On Friday, March 2, power saws could be heard whining way back stage in the school auditorium as sets were being completed for Into the Woods. At the front of the stage the cast was singing, reciting lines and finding their marks on the stage. During a break, members of the cast talked about the play. They are all excited about the show and said it is a lot of fun preparing for it.
Narrator Ana Anderson, who is appearing in her first musical, said, “It’s great how they string everything together.” The show’s one central plot is based on the Grimm’s fairy tales “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel” and “Cinderella.” While Evan Morier, who plays the Baker, has appeared in Community theater, the other performers have limited their performances to the school.
Katherine Danforth, who plays Cinderella, pointed out that Act I of the play is very light and happy, while Act II offers dark drama. “It’s more than happy ever after,” she said. “It’s about wishing for things and being careful what you wish for,” said Gwenfair Youngmann, who plays the Witch.
Amanda Middleton, who plays the Baker’s wife, said the play “gets a little up there.” And Randy Roy, who plays Jack, is enjoying his first theater production. However, he and the rest of the cast feel the play overall will be hard for little kids to grasp. A lot of the characters get “killed.”
The actors have been learning their lines and songs for almost two months and now are into blocking. The entire cast is bubbling over with enthusiasm for this production. Amanda said there are at least ten seniors in the production, including herself. “It’s a nice show to go out with,” she said.
There are different shows the Drama Club would like to try, but getting enough males to fill all the roles is a real problem.
Into the Woods opens Friday, March 23, and runs through Sunday, March 25.