Cast and crew members are busily rehearsing for the Musical Comedy Guild production of Into the Woods, which runs from Nov. 18 to Nov. 21, [sootoday.com] reported.
The show takes the stage at 7 p.m. each evening at the Sault Community Theatre Centre.
“I’m loving it. It’s a bucket list show that I’ve wanted to direct,” David Dellaire, Into the Woods director, told [sootoday.com].
“The producer, Michael Dal Cin, has been great. The cast has been exceptional. They’re really lovely people. They’re really hard-working. They’re all really dedicated and committed and easy to work with.”
Into the Woods is a 1986 musical featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. The story follows The Baker and The Baker’s Wife, two main characters cursed by a witch. To break the spell, they must venture into the woods to find a white cow, hair as yellow as corn, a blood-red cape, and a slipper of gold. Along the way, the couple encounters familiar storybook characters including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.
“There are a lot of emotional moments and there’s a balance of comedy and tragedy,” Dellaire told [sootoday.com].
“The obvious thing that will pull people to the show is that it includes a lot of their childhood fairy tales mixed into one big show.”
While the original musical features 18 roles, Dellaire expanded the cast to 36 performers.
“When you do community theatre you often get a lot more interest than you have roles to offer,” Dellaire told [sootoday.com]. “It’s really not kind to turn people down, and you want people to have experience so they can go on to do other things and be in other shows. It’s just about providing opportunities.”
Leo Moore stars in the male lead role as The Baker. “It’s fantastic,” Moore told [sootoday.com] of his role and the production. “There is a lot about The Baker that you can really dive into as an actor. He’s complex with a range of emotions.”
Moore said that challenges arise from Sondheim’s distinct compositional style. “Sondheim is a very interesting composer and he writes very difficult music. So it’s been a little bit more of a challenge to learn and memorize all those lines and those songs,” Moore told [sootoday.com]. “It’s just quirky, the way that the lines are worded. The way that they’re structured is a little bit different than normal.”
Lauren Kinney plays the female lead role as The Baker’s Wife. “She’s a lot of fun. She’s very spunky and quite funny. I’ve really enjoyed leaning into playing her,” Kinney told [sootoday.com]. “She’s strong willed and tenacious. She knows what she wants.”
Kinney has participated in Musical Comedy Guild productions for the past 20 years.
“I love musical theatre because it incorporates two of the biggest passions in my life, music and dancing,” Kinney told [sootoday.com]. “I just love being on the stage and it helps when you have such a great theatre community like we have in the Sault.”
Tickets are available at the Sault Community Theatre Centre box office in Station Mall or through the Sault Community Theatre Centre website, [sootoday.com] reported.
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