2008 Woodie Awards
Musicals return with"Into The Woods"
Charlie McAlpin
Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: Features
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The Giant from "Jack and the Bean Stalk" squashes the narrator of the play while Jack hides in "Rapunzel's" tower. "Cinderella's" Prince lusts after "Sleeping Beauty".
This is the musical "Into the Woods", based on the book by James Lupine with music by Stephen Sondheim.
The music department has aspired to produce this play, the largest musical in Guilford history, after a four-year absence of the genre on campus (previous musicals include Baby and Strider).
Grace Johnson, visiting assistant professor of music, hopes "Into the Woods" will revitalize community interest and rekindle regular musical productions.
The theater studies and music departments jointly produced a musical every other year in the past, but that ceased four years ago. "We hope it will perk up again," Johnson said.
"The first act is 'Once Upon a Time,' said Johnson. "It's based on the real Grimm's fairy tales, not the watered down versions." The second act is 'Happily Ever After'."
"There are definitely some dark, adult subjects going on," said choir director Wendy Looker. The original stories had a much more sinister tone than the subsequent Disney versions.
The play compiles the characters from many known fairy tales into one plot. The first act focuses on their wishes and the second act fulfills them, but not necessarily in ways that would be expected, or preferred.
"We're doing it because we have the voices and the actors, and such strong student interest," Johnson said. "The play has many main characters, and that way we were able to use a lot of the talent we had."
A few of the many recognizable characters interwoven in the story are Snow White (Alana Hoare), Rapunzel (Amanda Hollifield), Cinderella (Leigh Ann Stewart), and Jack (Nathaniel Sebens) from "Jack and the Bean Stalk."
"He's not too bright," said sophomore Sebens, reflecting on his character Jack. "His best friend is a cow that he sells for a handful of beans."
This is the musical "Into the Woods", based on the book by James Lupine with music by Stephen Sondheim.
The music department has aspired to produce this play, the largest musical in Guilford history, after a four-year absence of the genre on campus (previous musicals include Baby and Strider).
Grace Johnson, visiting assistant professor of music, hopes "Into the Woods" will revitalize community interest and rekindle regular musical productions.
The theater studies and music departments jointly produced a musical every other year in the past, but that ceased four years ago. "We hope it will perk up again," Johnson said.
"The first act is 'Once Upon a Time,' said Johnson. "It's based on the real Grimm's fairy tales, not the watered down versions." The second act is 'Happily Ever After'."
"There are definitely some dark, adult subjects going on," said choir director Wendy Looker. The original stories had a much more sinister tone than the subsequent Disney versions.
The play compiles the characters from many known fairy tales into one plot. The first act focuses on their wishes and the second act fulfills them, but not necessarily in ways that would be expected, or preferred.
"We're doing it because we have the voices and the actors, and such strong student interest," Johnson said. "The play has many main characters, and that way we were able to use a lot of the talent we had."
A few of the many recognizable characters interwoven in the story are Snow White (Alana Hoare), Rapunzel (Amanda Hollifield), Cinderella (Leigh Ann Stewart), and Jack (Nathaniel Sebens) from "Jack and the Bean Stalk."
"He's not too bright," said sophomore Sebens, reflecting on his character Jack. "His best friend is a cow that he sells for a handful of beans."
