Cast of “Into the Woods”
We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, or Jack and the Beanstalk—in our mind’s eye, we’ve all seen Rapunzel letting down her long hair, and Cinderella dancing with the prince.
But what if there was a darker nuance to those stories that tradition has covered up in favor of happy endings? And do we even really know what a happy ending is?
“Into the Woods,” a musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine remixing and deconstructing our favorite Grimms’ fairy tales, takes a stab at answering these questions—and you will soon be able to see it come to life at Open Stage, directed by Stuart Landon.
Every narrative track in the story follows a famous fairy tale character, except one, which follows the Baker and his Wife, who want to break a curse that has prevented them from having a child. Alexis Campbell, who will play the Baker’s Wife in Open Stage’s rendition, is quick to point out the irony in her character not having an actual name.
“She’s just the ‘Baker’s Wife,’ and she’s never referred to anything past her connection to her husband,” she said.
And so her wish for happiness is also connected to the Baker, and yet—“She’s so independent. She has wants, too.”
Campbell paused and added a quick note.
“I think that a lot of women get caught up in what they can do for others and forget to do things for themselves,” she said.
In fact, it seems that many of the characters of “Into The Woods” have a skewed perception of what is at the end of the road to happiness. Like Cinderella, for example. Played by Chloe Acquaviva, she is not your typical Cinderella character sketch.
“She is ditzy and klutzy and not at all poised and classy like the Cinderella we’ve grown up with,” Acquaviva said. “She just wants to go to the ball.”
But then she meets the Prince, and he’s not at all what she hoped for. Each character begins to realize that they will have to work to be happy.
“And no one wants to work to be happy,” Landon said. “They just want it to happen.”
Landon mentioned that a small cast will play multiple characters in this fairy tale world, which brings a whole new element of fun to the stage. Though the story gets quite dark, he stressed its transformative magic.
“It’s still an enchanting show,” he said. “It’s a chance for the audience to get lost in another world and escape.”
“Into the Woods” runs Feb. 18 to March 11 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.openstagehbg.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS
At Open Stage
www.openstagehbg.com
717-232-6736
Edgar Allan Poe’s
“The Masque of the Red Death”
A gothic musical experience
Feb. 3 & 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Black Newsbeat
With Dr. Kimeka Campbell
Feb. 8 & 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine’s
“Into the Woods”
Feb. 18 to March 11
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