(Photo by Christina Steiner )
By Luke Riela, Staff Writer -- riela14@up.edu
Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" combines a bunch of fairy tales into one musical.
However, that doesn't mean it's a normal fairy tale – or a normal musical for that matter.
According to senior Brian Burger, who plays the Narrator and the Mysterious Man, even those who don't like musicals could certainly enjoy this performance.
"What I love about Sondheim's musicals is that they're so lyrical," Burger said. "They feel like more of a play than a typical musical."
Sondheim is a famous composer and lyricist whose best works include "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Follies" and "A Little Night Music."
"This is probably Sondheim's most popular piece," Director Andrew Golla said.
Freshman Kellan Griffith, playing Little Red Riding Hood's Granny and Cinderella's Mother, said the musical is more than just a happy story.
"It's a fairy tale, so you don't expect something deeper," Griffith said, "but there's actually meaning to it."
The Performing Arts Department will feature "Into the Woods" in Mago Hunt Theater.
There are a number of familiar characters in the performance including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack (from "Jack and the Beanstalk") and Little Red Riding Hood. There are also a number of new characters, namely a baker and his wife who wish to break a witch's curse so they may have a child.
"It's cool how all the characters work with everyone in the play," freshman Jordin Bradley, who plays one of Cinderella's stepsisters, said.
All of these characters interact with each other in the woods as they seek out their personal goals, from Jack who wants to save his cow friend Milky White to Cinderella trying to free herself from imprisonment.
"It's over-the-top character acting. You can't make it funny if you make it real," Bradley said about her character's gruesome injuries.
In act two, a darker side of the fairytale emerges as a vengeful giant roams the woods. Not even the narrator is safe.
"You see a lot of these people wishing and wanting things and the lengths they will go to get them," Golla said. "In the second act, you see some of the consequences of what they did."
Golla mentioned how the second act is a more mature story than the fairy tale of the first act.
"A lot of high schools do the junior version which is just the first act," he said. "The second act is where the story becomes for adults and about adults."
According to Golla, "Into the Woods" is a challenging musical to execute because of the frequent note changes and the importance of perfect timing. Since most of the musical is underscored, the performers must say their lines in tempo to maintain the rhythm.
Despite the difficulty level, Golla has no doubt that it will be a great performance.
"We have a senior class that is gifted both musically and acting wise," Golla said. "If we were going to do it, we wanted to do it with this group."
"Into the Woods" Shows on April 12 - 16 at 7:30 p.m. Shows on April 17 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for students or seniors. The box office is open for reservations, or call 503-943-7287 to get your tickets.
