Past Shows - Into The Woods
September 2009 - Into The Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Venue - The Masque, Barton Seagrave
Take
the plots from a bunch of your favourite fairy tales and weave them into
a single story, add words and music by Stephen Sondheim and you have Into
The Woods...
The story revolves around a Baker and his wife who are cursed with the inability to have a child. Their next door neighbour is a Witch, who we find placed the curse on the Baker's family because his parents stole from her garden. If the Baker and his wife want the curse removed, the wife has to enter the woods to find and collect a set of ingredients for a potion the Witch wants to make.
In their search for the ingredients, the Baker and his wife meet up with Jack (of beanstalk fame), Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and their respective Princes, each of whom is busy with their own fairy tale and each of whom has one of the ingredients for the Witch's potion that the Baker and his wife need.
Using some morally debatable tactics the Baker and his wife manage to collect all the ingredients. By the time act one ends, Jack has killed his giant, is now rich, and owns a hen that lays golden eggs, the wolf is dead, Cinderella and Rapunzel have got their princes, the Witch has made her potion and been transformed into a beautiful woman, and of course, the curse has been lifted from the Baker and his wife, so everyone can live happily ever after...
Er well... not quite...
What exactly do you do with an irate giant's wife who flattens your house and garden and is hell bent on revenge for her husband's premature demise?
And what do you do when you're now a Princess and your Prince has grown bored with your marriage as has happened to both Cinderella and Rapunzel, their husbands now lusting after two new princesses: Snow White and Sleeping Beauty?
Like all good Fairy Tales all is resolved, but not before the giant flattens Rapunzel, the cast manage to get the Narator killed off and the Witch and the Baker's Wife meet their demise. But in the end The Baker, Jack, Cinderella and Red Hiding Hood manage to finish off the Giant's wife, but as for living happily ever after... well the final words from Cinderella are "I wish".
Into The Woods - The Cast & Crew
Director: Mark Walker Musical
Director : Kaye Tompkins
Assistant Director: Jane Walker
Stage Management and Crew: Alan Galway, Tracey Galway, Jane Walker
Lighting And Sound: Nick Maple and Team
Front Of House Management: Stewart and Suzanne Lewis
|
Character |
Played By |
| Narator | André Anthony |
| Cinderella | Anita Walker |
| Jack | Nick Gardiner |
| Milky White the Cow | Jane Greeves |
| The Baker | Neil Richardson |
| Baker's Wife | Leisa Cooke |
| Cinderella's Stepmother | Pam Carter |
| Florinda | Kimberly Hammond |
| Lucinda | Claire Edwards |
| Jack's Mother | Karen Coles |
| Little Red Riding Hood | Debbie Spooner |
| The Witch | Jenny Tymon |
| Cinderella's Father | Mark Walker |
| Cinderella's Mother | Maxine Anthony |
| Mysterious Man | André Anthony |
| The Wolf | Lester Cooke |
| Rapunzel | Clare Patrick |
| Raunzel's Price | Ian Stark |
| Red Riding Hood's Granny | Maxine Anthony |
| Cinderella's Prince | Lester Cooke |
| Steward | Gaby Baciu |
| Snow White | Heather Smith |
| Sleeping Beauty | Jane Greeves |
What People Said
|
INTO THE WOODS MASQUE THEATRE BARTON SEAGRAVE FRIDAY 18TH and SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER AT 7.30PM The Nomads bring the fairytale land of INTO THE WOODS to the Masque Theatre this weekend. I was delighted to be invited to the final run through of this fascinating Stephen Sondheim musical. First performed in 1986 this classic piece of musical theatre entwines many of the stories that have been told to generations of children. James Lapine’s libretto is enhanced wonderfully with some classic Sondheim music and lyrics which the cast cope with well, no mean feat given the extraordinary amount of words Mr Sondheim packs into most of the songs!! At this final run through “off set” the pace of the show was upbeat with the cast very proficient in the main. Anita Walker, as Cinderella, sang beautifully and brought all the aspects of the character to life with aplomb as did Leisa Cooke as The Baker’s Wife, who yet again reminded us of her wonderful versatility. The two aforementioned were the mainstays of this production and their voices blended beautifully in the poignant, yet funny duet “He’s A Very Nice Prince.” Neil Richardson, gives a warm understated performance as the troubled Baker, Karen Coles’ portrayal of Jack’s Mother was a fine example of comedy acting and will, I am sure, have the audiences laughing long and loud. Jack himself, played by Nicky Gardiner, has an appropriate naivety that will have the more maternal audience members wanting to “take him home” The young man copes very well with this demanding role as he sings of “Giants In The Sky” as well as pining for his somewhat intriguing Pet Cow, Milky White (Jane Greeves)!!! Debbie Spooner’s energetic Little Red Riding Hood had me in stitches and her characterisation prompted me to think that I would rather meet a Wolf on a dark night in the woods than tackle this Red Cloaked Assassin! The Two Princes (Lester Cooke and Ian Stark) show that vanity is the order of the day, their “Agony” duet is sung very well indeed. Further to the above you will see The Witch, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella’s Step Sisters (surely the prettiest “Ugly Sisters” ever seen!) and a curious Old Man. Congratulations to Mark Walker and The Nomads production team. It is good to see companies attempting the more difficult/unusual productions and I truly hope that they attract good audiences for this 2 night run. Jonathan Reynolds |
