It’s a dark musical fantasy about a magical journey that incorporates elements from some of the best-known European fairy tales, says Professor of Theater Davis Robinson.
He’s directing a cast of at least twenty student performers, who’ll be acting, singing, and dancing their way through a production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods in Pickard Theater later this week.
Robinson describes the show a “mash-up” of various folk tales, featuring characters like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and the giant-killer Jack, of “Jack and the Beanstalk” fame. In Act One, the characters find themselves on various quests, says Robinson. “The show takes its idea from these stories that have been around forever about going into the woods and into the darkness and searching for something.”
The characters complete their quests by the end of Act One, all finding what they’re looking for, he says. “The second act is a little darker and a little more mysterious,” adds Robinson, exploring what happens when you’ve got what you want and the idea that getting what you want may come at a cost.
The show features a twelve-piece orchestra, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni, under the direction of visiting lecturer Jeff Christmas (who’s also director of the ߲о Chamber Choir). Unusually for a musical, explains Robinson, the musicians are on the stage, sharing the limelight with the actors. “I wanted to open up the stage area so that the orchestra became the woods but gave us places to run in between them and around them… so they're really embedded into the scene.”
Into the Woods, directed by Davis Robinson, will be performed at Pickard Theater, Memorial Hall, November 7–9, at 7:30 p.m. .
Slideshow: Check out these images from the dress rehearsal. Photography by Alex Cornell du Houx '06
