As opening day stems into action, the Granite Bay High School drama department presents a re-fern-ished adaptation of Into the Woods.
Combining the classic stories of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk and a few other familiar characters, the play introduces an unconventional twist on some of Grimms’ most famous fairytales.
Into the Woods centers around a baker and his wife in their pursual of removing a curse that was placed upon them. To do so, the couple must find four peculiar items – a slipper as pure as gold, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a cow as white as milk. The search leads them into the woods, where they encounter the other fairytale characters.
The witch, who placed the curse on the baker’s house, is slightly more independent but still heavily involved in the interactions of the other characters.
“She doesn’t really care about what other people think of her,” said senior Kassidy Henson, who is playing the role of the witch. “She’s wise. She tries to … advise other people, but they don’t tend to listen to her because she’s an outcast.”
The play is divided into two contrasting segments. While Act I more closely mirrors classic fantasies, the plot drastically alters in Act II.
“All of our conflicts from the first thing seem to resolve,” said junior Saawan Tiwari, who is working on costume design and acting as Rapunzel’s prince. “We end our show at act one, but then the show starts up again at act two and it feels almost forced.”
The tone from Act I shifts from being lighthearted to bearing dark undertones as the characters experience the repercussions of their actions. The characters learn the consequences of receiving what they originally hoped for.
“(Act II is) just so relatable,” Henson said. “Usually fairytales are just the dream, and Into the Woods makes fairytales a reality … What you wish is what you get.”
Before entering into the serious phase of the play, Act I provides the audience with comic relief.
Some of the characters, while not being particularly dynamic, are designed to be humorous. Such characters include the princes of Cinderella and Rapunzel.
“(The princes) have these two songs where they’re literally having this sibling rivalry of who has the hardest maiden to catch,” Tiwari said.
Into the Woods was selected as the drama department’s spring production partially because of the recent release of a movie revision.
The movie, which was released in 2014, stars many lead actors and actresses such as Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp.
“They did a very good job for a movie adaptation,” Tiwari said, “(but) when you come see the show, you will get a completely different experience.”
According to set designer Kendall Smith, GBHS’s version of the musical is more colorful and animated than the original script.
To help immerse the audience into the setting, the design team adorned the GBHS theatre with vines and moss.
The production is at 7:00 P.M. on April 14-16 and April 21-23. Student tickets can be bought 10 dollars, and adult tickets cost 12 dollars.
“We try to make it as professional as possible,” Smith said. “Our theatre is good, our sets are going to be great and our music is good. We have professional music people, and we have our band working with us … Everything is really solid and perfect.”
Published on Friday, April 14, 2016
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