Victoria Mundell / Staff reporter
Gleneagle hosted the musical West Side Story three years ago in 2019 and students haven’t seen a live musical since. In two weeks, this hiatus comes to an end when the musical theatre department presents this year’s show, Into the Woods.
“Everyone is so excited, especially since some of the cast members are new and will be performing live for the first time,” said Elizabeth Maller, grade 12.
Taking from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, the musical intertwines the classic stories of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel with an original plot involving a baker and his wife and a witch seeking her youth. The witch kickstarts the story when she reveals a curse she had placed on the baker’s family tree, preventing the couple from having children. In return for bringing her a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold in three days, the witch promises to break the curse and grant them a child. Along the couple’s journey, they cross paths with the rest of the characters and in doing so, change each other’s fates.
The book for Into the Woods was written by James Lapine and the music and lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim.
The performances are happening from May 3-6 and May 10-13 at 7pm. Tickets to see the show can be bought online at Showtix4U for $12 for students/seniors and $15 for general admission. Tickets will also be available at the concession stand outside the MPR on the day of the performances, along with snacks to eat during the show.
The story takes place in a giant forest with many locations, because of this the set has been difficult to make. The construction of the set is slightly behind schedule, but the cast is hoping it will be complete as of today. Without some of the major pieces it has been challenging for the cast to practice scenes smoothly; this has been causing a lot of stress as Alexis Nguyen, grade 11, explained.
“We have our ups and downs but so far, it’s coming along quite well. Into the Woods is a difficult show, especially because it’s very long, it’s a 3-hour musical,” said Maller.
Casting finished in September, but it wasn’t until mid-November that work on the Musical began. At this time, the team was focused on the November fundraiser showcase to earn money for the musical theatre department. Lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions impacted the program’s funding, as without live performances they couldn’t raise money through ticket sales, however, this only had minor consequences on the musical.
“I know we struggled a little bit and didn’t get as great of a budget this year. In previous years, we’d have a choreographer come in and we’d have a bigger cast,” said Indah Del Bianco, grade 11.
The cast and crew will have been working on the musical for 6 months come performance time. Rehearsals were run Tuesdays and Thursdays after school during Y-block, and near the end of January, practices were extended to 6:00pm.
“Even if you’re not the biggest fan of musical theatre you should come and see the show, we’ve been working really hard on it and we’re all really proud of what’s come along,” said Maller.
The audience is allowed to be filled to full capacity and masks will not be mandated for both cast and audience members.