BLUMENTHAL REVIEW Actor Cole Thompson is living the dream with the Broadway Revival of Into the Woods

COMING APRIL 11–16 TO CHARLOTTE

by Liz Rothaus Bertrand

For 23 year old actor Cole Thompson, the past year has seemed a lot like a fairytale. In the span of a few months, he went from recent college grad to landing a leading role on Broadway.

And he did it while portraying Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk fame) in the starstudded revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, now on its way to Charlotte.

The show is a musical mashup of fables including Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood. But the multiple Tony Award-winning musical is not meant just for kids.

“Everybody can find a character they relate to and a story that they relate to in the show,” said Thompson, who has been with the production since it launched last spring.

Originally slated for a two-week run as part of New York’s City Center’s celebrated Encores! series, Into the Woods was such a massive hit that one week in, Thompson learned the show would be transferring to Broadway and the producers wanted him to go with it.

“It’s like the dream come true,” said Thompson, who graduated in 2021 from the University of Michigan’s renowned musical theater program.

Now, after multiple Broadway extensions, Into the Woods is headed to exclusive engagements around the country. And Charlotte is lucky to be one of only 10 cities that will get to host it.

The production will run April 11 - 16 at Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Belk Theater. Thompson, who hails from Southfield, Michigan, near Detroit, grew up singing and performing in school choirs. He got hooked on musical theater during high school.

Over the last year as a cast member of Into the Woods he’s had the chance to work with a long list of musical theater legends.

As the show heads out across the country, most of its extraordinary Broadway company is coming along too. This includes performing powerhouses like two-time Drama Desk Award winner Montego Glover (Memphis, The Color Purple, Hamilton) as The Witch, Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show, Falsettos, 9 to 5: The Musical) as The Baker’s Wife, Sebastian Arcelus (Wicked, Jersey Boys, “House of Cards”) as The Baker, and Tony Award winner Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!, Hair, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf.

“I’ve been so lucky,” he said. “Everyone in the cast has been the sweetest human being on stage and off stage.”

That camaraderie has set the tone for the production and taken away the pressure of having to prove himself, acting alongside these incredible performers. “I just felt like I was up there having fun with them,” he said.

“No matter how many awards you have, how big a name you have… we’re all just still together trying to put on a show.”

And among the performers he’s had the most fun with has been his sidekick in the production, Milky White, the cow. Ingeniously conceived as a low-tech, life-size puppet for this revival, Milky White—who comes to life with the help of puppeteer and Broadway newcomer Kennedy Kanagawa— has developed her own cult following throughout the run.

“I love that the puppet is so alive,” Thompson said. “It makes it a lot easier to act alongside it. She’s like a little puppy or something. It’s just the best time… hearing the audience’s oohs and ahhs and cheers for Milky White every night.”

For other aspiring performers, Thompson shares these two bits of advice that have served him well: Don’t compare yourself to others because everyone’s path is so different in this industry, he said, and you have to be your own #1 supporter and fan.

“You can’t look forward if you’re looking to the side,” he said. “...No one else can bring what you bring to the table because it’s so uniquely you.”

For tickets to Into the Woods, visit BlumenthalArts.org or call the box office at 704.372.1000.