‘Into The Woods’ opens in Will Theatre on April 20
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| From left, Ben Perreria (The Baker), Kyle Smith (Jack), Zoe Pepin (Cinderella) and Lauren Todd (Jack’s Mother) appear in URI Theatre’s production of “Into The Woods.” (URI Photos/Jesse Dufault) |
Ever wonder what happens after “happily ever after” in
your favorite fairy tales? It might not be pretty.
You can get an entertaining take on the aftermath when
the University of Rhode Island Theatre Department stages the popular “Into The
Woods,” Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s modern classic that reworks fairy
tales we all remember from childhood. The play opens a six-show run Thursday,
April 20, in Robert E. Will Theatre in the Fine Arts Center.
The Tony Award-winning musical intricately blends the
plots of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, following Little Red Riding Hood,
Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack (of the Beanstalk). Tying the musical together
are the Baker and his Wife, who want to start a family but have been cursed by
the Witch. To lift the curse, they have three days to bring the Witch Red
Riding Hood’s cape, a lock of Rapunzel’s hair, Cinderella’s golden slippers and
Jack’s cow.
The first act wraps up nicely – curse lifted, storybook characters’ wishes fulfilled – happily ever after achieved. But there is a whole second act to stage – full of deceit, infidelity, a rampaging giant, and death.
“It’s like two different musicals in tone,” says director
Tracy Liz Miller, assistant teacher professor in theatre. “In the second act,
we’re reintroduced to the same characters. It’s happily ever after – but is
it? It’s fascinating. We’ve all grown up with these stories and what
happens at the end of the book. Happily ever after isn’t really reality. No one
is immortal, no one is without sickness or hardship.”
“One of the things that makes this show so popular is its
enchanting nature,” says Naomi Tyler ’23, of Warwick, who plays the Witch. “The
mystical qualities of each character and their stories make it so easy for the
audience to fall into that world. However, underneath the gorgeous voices and
costumes remains a story of love, loss, chosen family, deception and pain. I
believe there is a lesson in the show for absolutely everyone.”
“I think ‘Into The Woods’ is so popular because it shows
well-known characters, but in a way we haven’t seen them,” adds Giulia Russo
’23, an education and theatre major. “After the happily ever after we see in
act one and the endings we are all familiar with, the characters find
themselves going down a path that is unfamiliar to them and the audience. They
have to work together to figure out the end of the story. I think that really
resonates with people.”
Zoe Pepin ’23, a theatre major from Maynard,
Massachusetts, who plays Cinderella, says she wanted to be in the musical
because it encompasses all the things she grew up loving – music, singing and
the fairy tales she was raised on.
“Cinderella is definitely a dream role for me,” she says.
“My favorite thing about her is her development over the course of the story.
She starts the musical naive and indecisive, but grows to be determined and
responsible. The role challenges me to fully embody both a clumsy
wanna-be-princess and a resolute survivor.”
Russo, of Caldwell, New Jersey, always wanted to play a
princess and found that role in Rapunzel. “It’s definitely a dream role and one
I’ve had a lot of fun playing. It’s been a challenge to really dig into her
story.”
The role of the Witch, says Tyler, is a lot less simple
than it might seem. “The damage from her past causes her to love Rapunzel so
deeply, and in turn causes the same damage she suffered. What could be a very
fun or ‘evil’ role is actually filled with so much passion and
pain.”
The nearly three-hour play itself – like the giant and
his mother, who wreak havoc – is a beast to produce, Miller says. The play has
about 35 actors, a production team of about 35 designers, technicians,
managers, artists, and more.
“There’s 18 lead actors and another 15 or 16
understudies,” Miller says. “There are lots of props, lots of costumes, lots of
scenery, and we’re probably going to have one of the more complicated lighting
designs that we’ve done in a long time. Thank goodness for all the brains to
keep it organized.”
Along with the production team, Miller has gotten help
from theatre professor Paula McGlasson, who directed URI’s 2003 production of
“Into The Woods,” and many other Sondheim musicals. Also, visiting artist
Esther Zabinski, a professional musician and conductor based in Rhode Island,
has played an important role as music director. The show has music front to
back – with about 90 “distinct musical starting points” and a 12-piece
orchestra.
“Steven Sondheim’s work is the Shakespeare of musicals,”
said Miller. “It takes a very talented, skilled music director to not only
teach the music to the actors but also conduct the orchestra alongside the
show.”
While the play has captured the hearts of millions, it is
full of marginalized characters, socioeconomic and gender bias, ableism, and
some very nasty deeds – all common in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales that serve
as its source material, Miller says.
In exploring their own characters, the actors have been
focusing on the stories of those marginalized characters.
“We’re tasked with training our next professional actors
to enter the world and we’re dealing with questions we don’t know the answers
to,” she says. “We’re asking who deserves to be living, who deserves to have
safety. Those are the conversations we’re having.
“We honor the playwrights’ work,” she adds. “And if we
honor it, we should allow the audience to ask the questions themselves. Our
work allows the audience to come to their own conclusions and how they feel
about that.”
Pardon our appearance: With the Fine Arts Center undergoing construction, patrons must use the
theater entrance in the back of the building, accessed from the parking lot on
Bills Road. Look for the marked entrance to the right of the fenced off construction
area.
“Into The Woods” runs April 21-22 and 27-28 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. in Will Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $18 for senior citizens and URI students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (401) 874-5843. For more information on tickets and the University’s COVID-19 policy, go to the ticket website.