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Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School Into the Woods

By • Mar 14th, 2013 • Category: Cappies

Go Into the Woods and discover shockingly entertaining twists on the original and beloved Brothers Grimm Tales. Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School puts on an enchanting production of Into the Woods.

Into the Woods was written by James Lapine, and was composed by Stephen Sondheim. It was first performed at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York on November 5, 1987. The first showing ran for 765 performances and won the 1988 Tony Awards for the Best Book and Score. The production was filmed only 3 years after the original opening night.

Many voices in this performance are extremely melodious, some mentionable examples being Olivia Gacka, who plays the Baker’s Wife, and Alex Bush, who performs as Cinderella’s Prince. Their song together, “Any Moment” shows off their vocal talents and its comic timing is perfect. “It Takes Two” is another vocally talented piece, sung by the Baker’s Wife (Gacka), and the Baker, who is performed by John Dunagan. Bush also performs another outstanding song as Cinderella’s Prince with his hilarious partner, Rapunzel’s Prince, who is played by Alexander Schroeder, in the song “Agony.” Along with its reprise, “Agony” is one of the most entertaining songs. All of these actors also excelled in performing their characters in depth with the proper facial expressions.

There are many other talented actors as well, including Cinderella, the Witch, Jack, and the Narrator/Mysterious Man, who are played by Madi Cupp-Enyard, Katherine Bush, John Rush, and Devin Chabot respectively. All of them play believable characters with well performed reactions to the story. Another mentionable character is Cinderella’s Mother, who is performed by Molly Burgess. Burgess has a clear, beautiful voice, which is showcased in “Cinderella at the Grave.” Many of the actors also have great stage business, including the cow, Milky-White, who is played by Peter Condie, who sways back-and-forth during “It Takes Two.”

The set for Into the Woods is extremely well designed, with authentic trees. During the second act, it is an ingenious idea to have a picture of the Princes in Cinderella’s house. The costumes are also authentic, along with being extremely intricate.

Although many of the actors are extremely vocally talented, some of them are difficult to understand. At some points the acting is bland and lacking in energy as well. The lighting adds to the performance, but at times it was off. Sometimes the spotlights even shone one of the stage crew.

Into the Woods is an absolute fairytale, with quirks at every turn. MICDS puts on a surprisingly enchanting tale that captivates every moment…”Maybe They’re Magic”…

by Tiffany Vonderahe of Northwest School District

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is a program which was founded in 1999, for the purpose of celebrating high school theater arts and providing a learning opportunity for theater and journalism students. You can learn more at cappies.com. (54 articles)