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.”

Sebens comes to the role as a vocalist and music major, but the production has a strong mix of actors as well.

“At the beginning there was a distinction, but those of us who are vocalists have been working on our acting and the actors on their singing,” Sebens said. “It’s pretty seamless now.”

Actors and musicians received private lessons as a part of the class they take in conjunction with the play. Since the project is so large, the music department decided to give course credit to the students involved.

They meet twice a week just like a normal class to practice and receive voice lessons. They earn between one and four credits depending on their involvement in the show.

The theatre and music collaboration extends beyond the actors. Although the production is credited to the music department, Johnson notes that it would have been impossible to do without help and guidance from the theatre studies department.

“Our hope is that this is going to rekindle the collaboration of the music and theatre departments as it was in the olden days,” Johnson said.

The set of Into the Woods is unobtrusive with two-dimensional models to convey three-dimensional settings – Rapunzel’s tower is a flat surface with painted bricks suggesting a circular structure – much like the artwork on the pages of a fairy tale book.

Sebens praises Sondheim’s musical talent, explaining that the music alone is reason enough to see the show.

“Stephen Sondheim is a great composer and lyricist,” said Looker. Last year she and theatre studies professor Jack Zerbe produced a review of Sondheim songs from his musicals, including “A Little Night Music” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”.

Looker is excited to expand Sondheim’s work to an entire musical.

“It’s great music: very interesting and very complicated,” Looker said. “There are some very moving moments, which is kind of strange for a fairy tale.”

The entire play can be characterized as strange. “It’s a fairy tale for the parents,” said Looker. From the pedophilic “Wolf” (Parks Marion) to the bloodthirsty “Little Red Riding Hood” (Joanna Kelly), the musical abounds with dark humor and unexpected wit.

“We’ve had to be resourceful,” Looker said about their tight budget. “We found the money, but it’s not just sitting there waiting to be spent.”

If the show is a success, it will be a triumph for the music department.

“It’s historic,” Sebens said. “It’s something you just don’t get to see very much. It’s funny. It’s a great show.