The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Programs in Theater and Music Theater at Princeton University will present Into the Woods on April 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. The production celebrates the launch of Princeton’s Program in Music Theater and is directed by faculty member Ethan Heard with music direction by Music Department alumna Emily Whitaker and a featured performance by senior Emily Libresco. 

Into the Woods is one of Stephen Sondheim’s most popular works in which he and James Lapine take everyone’s favorite characters from the Brothers Grimm fairytales and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant story. The Tony Award-winning book and score follow a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch’s curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results. Sondheim’s sophisticated score provides the performers a challenge musically and Lapine’s book calls upon the actors to bring to life characters who depart from stereotypical myth. Designers stretch their imaginations in creating the fantastical elements of this magical world.

In Heard’s directorial approach, a young girl replaces the old man as narrator, and she begins the journey that brings these iconic storybook characters together in a library where the stories spring to life from pop-up books. The story then voyages into the woods through a series of doors. As the story moves into what happens “after happily ever after” in the second act and the characters face the outcomes of the choices they have made, this architecture begins to break down and the audience is drawn more deeply into an apocalyptic world where the characters are now refugees in a brutal landscape. Heard sees a clear parallel between the plight of the characters and current world events and draws very sharp contrasts between the first and second acts of the play.

“For me, this show is about parents and children, loss of innocence, growing up, and learning,” explains Heard. “The Woods are a place of yearning and adventure, adolescence and growth, magic and transformation, desire and possibility.”

“In post-election 2017,” he adds, “I’m especially interested in illuminating the harsh contrast between Jack and his mother’s poverty and Cinderella’s stepsisters’ Kardashian fashion; the Wolf as sexual aggression incarnate; the Giant wreaking havoc like a terrorist or natural disaster; characters fleeing the kingdom as refugees; and the deaths of some of the characters as sudden and horrific.”

Professional designers working with Heard to bring his vision to the stage are Miodrag Guberinic designing the costumes and Reid Thompson designing the sets. Thompson has provided scenic design for a number of theater and opera companies including Yale Repertory Company, Berkshire Theater Festival, Ars Nova, Heartbeat Opera, Theater Squared, and Stonybrook Opera.

Emily Whitaker, Princeton Class of 2015, serves as music director and conductor. She earned her AB from the department of music as a pianist and a certificate in theater from the Lewis Center for the Arts.

The production is part of a spring semester theater/music theater course that provides students with a rigorous and challenging experience of creating theater under near-professional circumstances. Students work with a professional director, a majority professional design team and stage manager, and either are cast in a role or take on major production roles such as designer, stage manager, assistant stage manager, assistant designer or assistant director.

Tickets for Into the Woods are $12 general admission and $11 for students and seniors when purchased in advance, and $17 general admission and $15 for students and seniors purchased the day of performances at the box office. Tickets are available through University ticketing and McCarter box office. To purchase tickets online visit arts.princeton.edu/events/into-the-woods/2017-04-14/ or call Princeton University Ticketing at (609) 258-9220 or McCarter at (609) 258-2787, or stop by the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office or McCarter box office. Tickets will also be available at the door prior to performances.