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18 students journey “Into the Woods”

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by Alexandria Davis, alternative coverage by Anna Bauman, photos by Katherine Mediavillia

 

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This year, STA will be putting on the musical “Into the Woods”. Originally a book written by James Lapine, the story revolves around a collision of characters from bedside fairy tales, including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. “Into the Woods” gained popularity and was turned into an award-winning musical. Later in 2014 a movie adaption will be released featuring cast members such as Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick. The musical will occur Nov. 5 – 8.

 

The announcement of STA producing “Into the Woods” caused quite a buzz, not only about the selection of the musical, but because of the cast size. For the past few years, about 30 to 40 people were chosen for musicals such as “Honk” and “Curtains.” This year, only 18 students were selected: 12 girls and eight boys.

 

A handful of students seem to prefer a larger cast over a smaller one. Sophomore Lilly McGonigle tried out for “Urinetown: the Musical” last year, which had a cast of roughly 37 students.

 

“I think ‘Into the Woods’ is a great musical and a classic so I understand [the theater department] wanting to do it,” McGonigle said. “But I would have preferred a musical with a chorus.”

 

Freshman Bridget Graham felt the same. Graham has tried out for musicals at her grade school as well as for the Catholic Youth Theater program.

 

“It would be nice if there was a chorus,” Graham said. “But I guess that’s just how [this play] is.”

 

However, a couple of students didn’t seem to mind the smaller cast.

 

“I think it’s okay [to have a smaller cast],” sophomore Eilis Leptien said. “It’s not that big of a deal because you can still be an understudy, which is still a good part to be.” According to theater department head Shana Prentiss, the understudies will also be playing a bigger role in the production.

 

“The understudies will take a role in [tech crew] because they will have to be [at rehearsals] anyway,” Prentiss said. “Those kids will sort of be tied into that crew automatically… and will most likely [be a part of] run crew or helping with costumes.”

 

Even though the students have mixed opinions on the matter,  Prentiss explains that the reason for having a smaller cast this year is due to the difficulty of the production.

 

“It has to be [a smaller cast] because of how difficult this production is …” Prentiss said. “The music is incredibly, incredibly difficult, the staging is difficult … There is not a single thing in this entire production that is simple. We wouldn’t be able to pull it off with anything larger than [what the script is] asking for. Every once in a while somebody will do this production and add a chorus; I personally don’t think it works.”

 

Despite her concern of the production’s complex nature, Prentiss remains excited.

 

“Every single thing scares me, but I’m excited about that,” Prentiss said. “I’m really excited for that challenge, not only for myself but for our students because I think we have the talent. I would not have selected [‘Into the Woods’] if I didn’t think that we couldn’t pull it off and pull it off wonderfully.”

 

Students who participate in theater productions at STA have shown just how much they are capable of. The last fall production of “Urinetown” was nominated for five awards at the 12th annual Blue Star Awards in last May; they won the   award for “Outstanding Ensemble.” “Curtains” was also nominated for three Blue Star Awards in 2012.

 

“I really look for stories we can tell and can tell well and things that will showcase our students,” Prentiss said. “It’s fun to do a smaller show every now and then just because you get to focus in on very specific gifts and specific abilities. It’s a great challenge for all of us. And its hard when you have a cast that small because you are really only highlighting a few [students] but sometimes that can be a really great experience.”

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