Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods is a musical that will make a person think rather than hum, Julie Willis, the witch in SIUC’s production of the play, said.

Into The Woods is a reflective musical comedy that looks at fairy tale characters and shows the dissatisfaction that comes when the characters get what they want, director David Krasner said.

Some of the characters include Cinderella (Julie Barber), Rapunzel (Jennifer Hampson) and Little Red Ridinghood (Melody Hesketh).

Advertisement

The characters get their heart’s desire, but it comes with a price, Krasner said. Sondheim wanted to be more serious with the script than he was able to, he said.

Krasner said the show has many comic elements that he has brought out.

It’s a comedy, he said. I wanted to highlight the comedy.

He said he wanted to teach the actors to do comedy and to have the energy needed to do it well.

Underneath the comedy is a tale about life, Nicole Madison, who plays the Baker’s Wife, said. She said the whole show has a message in every moment of the show.

The first act is the fairy tale, she said. The second act is life.

The second act is a little darker, reflecting on what happens when you get your wish, Krasner said.

Advertisement*

You have to pay a price to find out who you are, he said. Be careful, you may get what you want.

The woods in the musical represents romance, danger and excitement, he said. The two-dimensional homes in the front of the stage at the beginning of each act are a haven of safety from the dangers presented by the woods, he said.

Going into the woods you find yourself, Krasner said. The homes are safe and secure but dull.

Sondheim took the fairy tales and made them real and human, Willis said.

The fairy tale takes us out of our normal existence, and going into the woods allows us to see what is in our own hearts, Krasner said.

Fairy tales remove us from our boring lives, but we have to find our way back, he said.

The scenic designer Kate Brugh, who designed the set as her thesis show, did a wonderful job in capturing the meaning of the show with her set, he said.

The houses are secure, flat, predictable, and the woods are vast, deep and mysterious, he said. You have to go into the abyss and find yourself, and you have to look the abyss right in the eye.

The set was designed to show a dull, two-dimensional world that becomes an exciting, mysterious three-dimensional world, Brugh said.

The first scene is very flat and bold with outlining, bright colors and easily identifiable images, she said. The woods are dark, very textured, and there is a vagueness where certain things begin and certain things end.

The costumes were designed to help bring out a sense of place and to transform the actors into their characters, Jan Johnston, the costume designer said.

They quickly identify where we are, and they give us an idea of a good character or a bad character, she said.

Into The Woods will be presented at 10 a.m. today, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 12:30 p.m. Sunday in McLeod Theater. Tickets are $4 for students and $8 for adults.