JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Once upon a time….at JRT

Jonesborough Repertory Theatre proudly presented their first student musical – Into the Woods Junior. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine.

Based on classic fairy tales, Into the Woods Junior was created by Musical Theatre International (MTI). The production has been specially adapted from Broadway’s original Into the Woods, abridged for young performers, and transposed for young voices.

Explains MTI on Into the Woods Junior, "The Brothers Grimm ‘go Broadway’ as Sondheim and Lapine offer up a cockeyed fairy tale where all of your favorite characters - Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (and his beanstalk) and The Witch - meet and interact on their journeys." The Baker and his wife want a child and realize a curse has been put on their home. In order to break the curse they need one item from all of the other fairy tale characters, including, for example, a lock of Rapunzel’s hair.

JRT’s future Broadway stars included Annika Burley, Christina Fulcher, Walker Godfrey, Sarah Hall, Colin & Hannah Jeffress, Jake Jones, Kathryn & Sarah Ann Kenneson, Kathleen & Sarah King, Ellen LaPrade, Chase McNabb, Hunter Miller, Andrew Nichols, Kevin O’Bryan, Chrissy Portwine, Lucas Schmidt, Haley Sullivan, Cassidy Taylor, Gabby Wexler, Alaina & Ashlyn Wood.

The production camp was directed by Kathleen Buttolph, choreographed by Robin Beals, musical direction by Marianne Stevens, piano accompaniment by Cristin Colvin, and sound and staging assistant is Janette Gaines. Pamela Adolphi was the production’s lighting designer. Landon Simmons was the light board operator.

Into the Woods premiered on Broadway in 1987 starring Bernadette Peters as the Witch and Joanna Gleason as the Baker’s wife, who won the Tony for Best Actress in a musical. The show won several more Tony awards including Best Score and Best Book. It was revived on Broadway in 2002.