Into the Woods

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Director: Andrew Ceglio*
Musical Director: Drew Lewis
(Download the Flyer)

Scotts Valley Performing Arts is pleased to present Into the Woods as our 2010 Fall Musical offering.  Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, this perennial favorite won several Tony Awards upon its 1987 debut, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason).  It has been produced regularly since then, including a 1988 national tour, a 1990 West End production, a 1991 television production, a 1997 tenth anniversary concert, a 2002 Los Angeles production and a 2002 Broadway revival.

Inspired by Bruno Bettelheim's seminal 1976 book, The Uses of Enchantment, the musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales.  An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch...who raps? They're all among the cockeyed characters we meet in this imaginative tale.  When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk).

Everyone's wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins as a lively irreverent fantasy in the style of "The Princess Bride" becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell our children.

Oh, and by the way, the music is vintage Sondheim.  Complex, haunting, and utterly beautiful, it will stay in your head for years.

There will be 9 performances, from September 24th through October 10th (Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees). 

AUDITION DATES:
Friday, May 21 - 6–10pm
Saturday, May 22 - 10am–12pm and 1–4pm

CALL BACK DATES:
Monday, May 24 - 6–10pm
Tuesday, May 25 - 6–10pm

Questions regarding this show should be sent to info@svpaa.org. To volunteer with the show, please email opportunities@svpaa.org.


*Director's Notes: "Based on Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's most popular folktales as well as other stories remembered from childhood, "Into The Woods" is the imaginative account of what happens when the lives of new and old fairy-tale characters dramatically and humorously come together. This magnificent re-imagining of theses age old classics are brought to life by the Pulitzer Prize-and Tony Award- winning team of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Cinderella, Jack (who climbed the beanstalk), Little Red Riding Hood, and the Baker and his wife set out for the forest on a quest to find "happily ever after." Along the way they meet Rapunzel, a Wicked Witch, a lascivious Wolf, vengeful Giants, a couple of charming Princes, and their own destiny. With wit and wisdom, the authors have given us a parable about the loss of innocence, the joys and sorrows of adulthood, and the price paid for achieving things you really want. For if life has taught us anything it is that "happily ever after" isn't necessarily where the story ends, but where it begins."

-Quotes by Hudson Talbott
-Adapted by Andrew Ceglio (Director)