Take a Journey Into the Woods at The Western Stage

The Western Stage continues its 30^th Anniversary Season December 4^th with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairy tale musical Into the Woods, Junior playing through December 18^th on the main stage, Hartnell College Performing Arts Center. Join us for our special Grand Opening on December 4 – Grandparents and Grandkids will be celebrated! Tickets are now on sale for all performances. Into the Woods, Junior plays Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm. Call the box office at (831) 755-6816 for more information or visit our website at westernstage.com (85 Word PSA)

The Western Stage continues its 30^th Anniversary Season December 4^th with a holiday show that will delight the entire family. Broadway legends Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine revisit our favorite childhood stories with Into the Woods, Junior a dark and funny musical that asks if there really is such a thing as “happily ever after”. Come see Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), the Big Bad Wolf, and many more beloved fairy tale characters come to life. The journey into this magical forest begins when a Baker and his wife enlist the help of a Wicked Witch to help them have a baby. Yet, as everyone knows, a bargain with a witch is no small matter. In order to help them, the Witch requires a lock of golden hair, a bright red hood, and several other items familiar to anybody who has read the Brothers Grimm. So, into the woods the Baker and his wife go, leading the audience into the mysterious and magical world of childhood adventure.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is a Broadway legend. He began his career under the tutorage of Oscar Hammerstein II. After serving as the lyricist for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, he commenced building one of the most stellar careers in contemporary theatre with Broadway hits like A Little Night Music, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Assassins, and Into the Woods. In 1987, the Tony awards program dubbed him “Broadway’s Poet Laureate”. (More can be found on Stephen Sondheim in the supplemental article.)

James Lapine, on the other hand, is an Off-Broadway legend. Both a playwright and director, he worked extensively Off-Broadway before teaming up with Sondheim on their first collaboration Sunday in the Park with George. Other plays by Lapine include Twelve Dreams, The Moment When, and—again with Sondheim—Passion, based on the movie Passione d’Amore. In addition to directing the Broadway premiere of Into the Woods, Lapine also directed David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child in 1988.

The cast of TWS’ Into the Woods is composed of some of the finest young performers in the area. Since 1985, The Western Stage has been committed to developing the talents of young artists with several after school and summer arts programs like Young Company Presents…, Plays-the-Thing, and Junior Theatre. Although not part of the Young Company program, this slimmed down adaptation of Into the Woods, which runs 90 minutes and is designed for young performers, is yet another opportunity for The Western Stage to invest in the youth of the Central Coast.

In that vein, The Western Stage will also be offering matinee performances to several local schools, and providing students and educators with a study guide to use as an educational aid in the classroom. Into the Woods opens a number of exciting and interesting avenues of exploration for educators including the nature of storytelling, narrative, ecology, mask making, and more.

Longtime TWS director, choreographer and performer Anne Marie Hunter directs this magical musical.

Grand Opening (December 4) Tickets are $42 for 3, and $10 for additional children ages 5 – 14. Or, bring a family of 4 for the special price of $44! Tickets for all other performances of Into The Woods, Junior are $25 for adults, $16 for seniors>65/juniors<25/military, and are available by calling The Western Stage Ticket Office at 831-755-6816 or visiting the website at westernstage.com. Into The Woods, Junior plays Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm from December 4-18, 2004, with two additional Saturday matinees at 2pm on December 11th and 18^th. Group rates are also available. Due to campus construction, campus parking is recommended in the West Alisal Street lots between San Vincente & Amherst Drive. Complete directions are online at westernstage.com.

Dan Tarker

Literary Associate

INTO THE WOODS, JUNIOR

Director – Anne Marie Hunter

Choreographer – Laura Morgan

Music Directed by Don Dally & Walt Veasy

Stage Manager – Zalissa Ré Crane

Scenic – David Parker

Sound – Sean Colgan

Lights – Derek Duarte

Props – Lynne Willis

Costumes – Kathrine Ogletree

CAST

Florinda – Aubrey Bauer

The Witch – Corey Lim Beckwith

Granny / Goldylocks – Carolyn Brown

Lucinda – Paje Cipro

Little Red Ridinghood – Caitlin Dios

Cinderella’s Mother – Savannah Paris Goodwin

Cinderella’s Father – Oscar Gutierrez

Jack – Daivd Hackett

Jack’s Mother – Sarah Harrell

Baker’s Wife – Christina Hogan

Cinderella’s Mother – Katie Garner

Cinderella’s Prince / The Mysterious Man / Cowardly Lion – Scott McLeod

Steward – J.D. Morris

Baker – Taylor C. Ogletree

Rapunzel / Alice – Heather Osteraa

Cinderella – Hillary Salbacka

Ginderbread Man – Tim Thomson

Rapunzel’s Prince / Wolf / The Wizard – Rhett Wheeler

The Magical People –Kristen Sage Carder, Brianna Favazza, Savannah Paris Goodwin, Maggie King, David A. Luna,

J.D. Morris, Caitlin St John