By Catawba Student Elizabeth Lackey of Denver, N.C.
“Into the woods we go again, we have to every now and then!” Looking for a show filled with laughter, heartfelt music, and a group of people going through different trials together? Catawba College’s upcoming production of “Into the Woods” is the show for you!
“Into the Woods”will run at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 through Saturday, April 13, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee also offered on Saturday, April 13. Tickets are free for Catawba students and faculty, $15 for adults, and $10 for non-Catawba students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased at www.catawba.edu/theatretix or via phone (704) 637-4481.
With “A witch. A wish. A wolf. What could go wrong?” You’ll find out as you follow the journey of the Baker and the Baker’s wife as they encounter a witch, a lad with a beanstalk, a princess, a maiden locked in a tower, a girl with a red cape, and a few charming princes. Theatre Arts Professor Dr. Bradley Stephenson directs this wishful production alongside assistant director and student Sarah Grace Cuthbert of Arlington, Va.
Longing for a child, the Baker and the Baker’s wife encounter a Witch who tells the couple how they may obtain their wish of having a child. If they can obtain the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold in three days’ time, they shall have their beloved child. However, this is not your classic fairytale. Sometimes the things most wished for, are not the things actually wanted the most. What happens to the classic fairytale characters after they receive their wish?
As Dr. Stephenson says, this production teaches us about “wishing and families and loss.” He says he wanted to create this show to be about storytelling. He did not want to trick anyone into believing these people are really Cinderella, or Jack and the Beanstalk, so there’s no illusionism in the musical.
“We are a troupe of storytellers who are coming together to tell a story when we find this audience. And through that telling of the story, we discover things about ourselves and we hope the audience discovers things about themselves too” explains Dr. Stephenson.
The cast includes Caroline Kirk of Ipswich, Mass., as the Witch; Jameson Clanton of Garner, N.C., as the Baker; Sarah Rasey of Holly Springs, N.C., as the Baker’s Wife; Gracie Rodriguez of Greensboro, N.C., as Cinderella; Jessica Pautz of Mooresville, N.C., as Little Red; Jacob Hammill of Gold Hill, N.C., as Jack; Elizabeth Lackey of Denver, N.C., as Jack’s Mother/ Cinderella’s Stepmother; Amery Barton of Salisbury, N.C., as Florinda; Savannah Shaver of Salisbury, N.C., as Lucinda; Zachary Karvon of Concord, N.C., as Cinderella’s Prince/ Wolf; Robert Parks of Mt. Airy, N.C., as Rapunzel’s Prince; Miranda Sibbett of Whiteville, N.C., as Rapunzel/ Cinderella’s Mother; Charles Phoenix Karvon of Chicago, Ill., as the Narrator/ Mysterious Man; and Brielle Jobe of Frederick, Md., as Milky White/ Giant.
Behind the scenes, in addition to Sarah Grace Cuthbert previously noted as assistant director, Ada Rosado Valdez of Knightdale, N.C., serves as stage manager; Madison Dolchan of Frostburg, Md., and Mollie Wasserman of Pineville, N.C., as assistant stage managers; Shannon Harris of Reidsville, N.C., as choreographer; Taylor Kroop of Boynton Beach, Fla., as props master; Veronica Bendele of Troutman, N.C., as hair and makeup designer; Dominic Masotti of Greenville, S.C., as assistant costume designer; Elizabeth Lackey of Denver, N.C., as publicity; Emily Owens of Greensboro, N.C., as sound designer; and Matthew Windsor of Mooresville, N.C., as master electrician. Theatre Arts Professor David Pulliam is set designer, Professor Chris Zink is lighting designer, and Professor Erin Dougherty is costume designer.
