ARTS

MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL PLAY NOVEMBER 16, 2019

When a once-beautiful witch curses a baker and his wife, rendering them childless, they venture “into the woods” to find what they need to reverse the spell and restore the witch's beauty: “A cow as white as milk, hair as yellow as corn, a cape as red as blood, and a slipper as pure as gold.” During their journey, they meet Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Jack, each one on a quest to fulfill a wish. This is the synopsis of Into the Woods, Jr. by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim. The tangled web of familiar storylines lends

itself well to our audience. While our little tigers enjoyed seeing those familiar characters come to life and intersect with each other, James Lapine’s witty characters and irreverent text engaged the adults in the room and gave our middle school performers some meat to sink their acting chops into.

Stephen Sondheim’s score is notoriously complex. Heidi Wolter (assistant musical director) searched for a month for a pianist willing to accompany our performance. Most candidates were unwilling to tackle such difficult music. We were thrilled when Russ Davis agreed to do it for us. When I suggested Into the Woods, Jr. to Aaron Velthouse (musical director) he cautioned me that the music would be difficult, but that our current middle schoolers are a strong group, and he felt confident they could sing it. He was right. Our cast was excited to be presented with the challenges the score presented—most of them were somewhat familiar with it from the movie a few years back. They really rose to the occasion—often being prepared

with memorized lyrics before we asked them to be, helping each other master tricky rhythms and pitches, and enjoying the complexities of Sondheim’s score.

And then, somewhere in the middle of our intense focus on the singing of this difficult score, I started to notice how gifted this cast was as actors. They were thoughtful and intentional about what their characters were feeling as they were heading into the unknown to go after a wish they were desperate for—a baby, or freedom from a miserable home, or true love. They brought humor and true connection to their time on stage and were a joy to watch. Middle school is such a wild time—kids are generally so aware of how they are perceived, and sometimes that can make them more reluctant to take risks on stage and commit to being ridiculous or vulnerable in front of their peers. It takes true bravery to look past those insecurities and play a character who is silly when you want to be taken seriously, or who is in love (this one is particularly hard for middle schoolers!). I was humbled

to see our young cast push themselves past their comfort zones—and there is no doubt that their efforts paid off. They delivered the difficult score beautifully, as Aaron Velthouse said they would, but they also proved themselves as actors— willing to take risks and challenging each other to rise, just like the baker and his wife, realizing they are both stronger when they depend on each other.