By Andrew Warmenhoven
Have you been to the school musical before? Whether you have or haven’t, this year’s winter production, Into the Woods, will be a musical worth seeing.
The musical mixes characters from Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack of the Beanstalk, as well as a baker and his wife, into a presentation similar to a storybook. The musical was originally performed on Broadway in 1987 and was revived last year. Into the Woods explores how to deal with misfortune and displays the importance of community and family. “I find the musical very uplifting,” Mr. Porter, the director, said. Freshman Lola Zein believes the message is, “don’t take stuff for granted, you may always want more, but don’t take what you have for granted because things can always get worse.”
Mr. Porter, who is in his 24th year at St. Andrew’s, would love to see more support from the community at the plays and musicals. “I would love, in general, to get more students to come out to the plays,” Mr. Porter said. To encourage this, the musical will be free for students. “I’m excited to see the audience’s reaction to the show because I think they’re all going to not only really enjoy it but be moved by it.” The musical will be performed on Friday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m, Saturday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m, and Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m.
After the school day, the actors are currently in technical rehearsals. “I’m very excited about the cast; it’s a really good one,” Mr. Porter said, “Everyone’s in the right part.” The loft for the band and the set have been constructed. The set was designed to create the feel of a storybook, and the woods are also prominent. According to senior Carmen Facciobene, “This year I further improved my welding skills by constructing Rapunzel’s Tower” and “the experience has been super enriching.” Junior Melissa Nugent adds that while welding has definitely been a challenge with building the set, for her as Stage Manager the most challenging part of this production is “corralling everyone and making sure they are where they need to be.”
“I’m excited to see the cast’s growth through this, and I know they’re going to bring their ‘A’ game,” Mr. Porter said. “We’ll have a great show.” The musical is especially challenging because of the speed of the songs and difficult melodies. The new choreographer and assistant director, Savina Barini, has been helping students with these challenges; they bring “a lot of great new energy and ideas to the production,” Mr. Porter said. Carroll Drucker, who plays Rapunzel, manages the challenges of this difficult score “by going through it like twenty times with Mr. Yonce and practicing it with Lara.”This is not the first time St. Andrew’s will perform Into the Woods. The musical was the first Mr. Porter directed at Saint Andrew’s and will be one of only four so far to be repeated. The musical was a suggestion by several students this year displaying interest in performing it. It will be interesting to see the final product of everyone’s hard work.
