On May 8 at 7:30 p.m., Ledyard High School will open for its spring musical, Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. The production is a collaboration between the music and drama departments which are led respectively by Russell Hammond and Paul Zotos. A very challenging show to perform with mostly solo vocal work, Into the Woods elaborates on many of the classic fairy tales that children grow up hearing, as Ledyard High Drama Production Manager Laurie Gwin explained.
“It’s a somewhat dark musical,” Gwin said. “The characters in it are the characters from Grimm’s fairy tales: Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, so they’re all characters that we’ve grown up with. And there’s an underlying storyline about a baker and his wife who are unable to have a baby because of a curse that was put on them and how they go about trying to undo the curse.”
According to Gwin, the first act focuses on the hopes and dreams of the main characters. Cinderella wants to marry her prince, Rapunzel wants to escape her tower, the baker and his wife want to reverse their curse, and so on. The first act concludes exactly the way most of these stories end—happily ever after. The second act, however, is where much of the intrigue begins.
“The second act really asks, ‘What happens to the happily ever after?’” Gwin explained. “What happens when you find a big, dead giant in your backyard and you have to dispose of it? What happens when Cinderella marries the prince and life isn’t quite as perfect as she had hoped? What happens when Rapunzel does escape her tower and is no longer protected from the realities of the world? So it’s really how everyone deals with the happily ever after, and there are various lessons imparted through the musical. The second half is really about people gaining insight on themselves and their lives.”
The play features six lead characters: the baker and his wife, played by Matthew Llewellyn and Christine Flemming; James Pelliffier plays Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk; Cinderella is performed by Emily Janacek; Rachelle Seney plays Little Red Riding Hood; and Rapunzel is brought to life by Angela Joy Lamb. Various other smaller roles also play a part in the telling of the stories and the entire show is accompanied by an orchestra consisting of mostly professionals and a few select students.
Other key figures behind the scenes include Stage Manager Sarah Ganong, who worked very closely with all the actors, and Assistant Stage Manager Erika Johnson, as well as helper Melissa Buriak who worked diligently in nearly all aspects of the production including props, set building, costumes, and ticket sales. The production is scheduled for three performances on May 8, May 9, and May 10.
Show times for the May 8, 9, and 10 performances are all at 7:30 p.m. at the Ledyard High auditorium. For tickets or questions, contact Laurie Gwin at 464-8940.