Written by Tia Agarwal

With musical prep in full swing, the cast list set and songs ready to practice, the theater department is working hard to bring the musical to life. Led by Mr. Hogan, Ms. Marcell, and Ms. Ciaccia, this year’s musical Into the Woods is going to be an ensemble masterpiece. The original 1987 Broadway production directed by Steven Sondheim won three Tony awards including Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical. Furthermore, the Into the Woods movie, starring notable actors such as Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Anna Kendrick, made over $213 million worldwide. The story’s success and uniqueness lies in bringing a three-dimensional perspective to the compilation of many well known fairytale characters and stereotypes. The story brings together all fairytale characters in a world where they must deal with their desires and ponder the question, what happens after the happily ever after?

This year, like many years before, RCDS has its very own student directors Jane Saltz ‘24 and Lily Leand ‘27, who, as Leand says are “basically Mr. Hogan’s assistants and overlook the whole process! Their roles go from sitting in auditions to pitching ideas for staging and blocking, which is how characters move. Leand affirmed that, as student directors, they are very creatively involved. She stated that, “This week we have been testing out a bunch of new ideas. I have been playing different characters so that Mr. Hogan can see the possibilities of his different ideas, and together he, [Saltz], Ms. Ciaccia, and I can come to a decision of what looks the best.” Since the production is in the early stages, the team is currently focused on bringing a rough vision to life. The staging of Into the Woods has to be uniquely designed to fit RCDS’s own stage, which is different from other stages this musical has been performed on before. That’s part of the job for the directors, who spend much of their time acting out scenarios, watching other productions of the musical, and nailing down where they want the characters to be. With the expertise they have gained, the student directors give the cast precise directions, and the musical is slowly brought to life. But Saltz wants it to be deeper than that, expressing, “We want it to be engaging for the audience and understand what’s going on with every character’s mind.” 

Right now the production is in its preliminary weeks. The cast just finished working on the opening Prologue, which is a 15 minute long song! Saltz describes a rough timeline to be working on the story until the stage is ready, and then the introduction of tech and costumes. They’re planning to begin tech rehearsals mid-February that can run as late as 9pm. Leand’s biggest goal this month is to build a Milky White puppet. She stated, “Mrs. Hallen, Mr. Farrant, and I are currently working on building and designing it so that we are able to have a working puppet by the time we get back from winter break!” 

But with all this work, there are bound to be challenges. The biggest challenge the production members face right now is not having a set to work with. They have to imagine everything, posing possible future barriers. Saltz reflected, “if the stage is designed differently than what we imagine, it becomes hard for us to place things.” 

Although both the student directors are doing the RCDS musical for the first time, Saltz has been involved in multiple fall plays, including the most recent one, 1984. She explained that she joined the musical because she has always “loved acting, and since I don’t normally do musicals, I decided it would be a good way to see the directing.” Leand is also very excited, and equally loves musicals: “My favorite musical would have to be Beetlejuice! It was super funny and has a lot of heart. Also, I loved seeing all of the amazing costumes and makeup!” One can see the passion shining through, affirming that the musical is in great hands creatively!

Under the leadership of the student directors, the cast and crew of the musical has been working on expanding the morals of the musical to make them relevant in real life. The dynamics of Into the Woods are unique. On one hand, there are  greatly familiar characters whose stories are supposedly predictable, such as Cinderella and her stepfamily. On the other hand, unexpected facets of these characters and others emerge once they are thrown together into one storyline. For example, you would never think Rapunzel’s prince and Cinderella’s prince would meet, much less sing – the highly anticipated – “Agony” together.

With opening night on February 23, anticipation for the musical runs throughout the school. Guided by Saltz and Leand, the members of the show are bound to deliver an outstanding performance!