[Tumnus1031]

Okay, I realize that ItW is a difficult show (it is Sondheim, after all...) but can't it be pulled off by a high school? I remember reading somewhere on this forum that it was one of the most popular shows put on in high schools.

So, at my school we're FINALLY getting a theater built (we've been performing in the lunchroom for 50 years). And we're trying to convince him that we have the talent and dedication to perform ItW. I've gotten all the "drama kids" at our school to see clips of it on the internet, and they all love it. Unfortunately there are some people who think we can't do it.

Do you think that a high school could put on Into the Woods without being a total disaster? We have a lot of talent at my school, and being the dork I am, I already know, like, the whole soundtrack. The songs don't SEEM amazingly hard (at least, the male parts don't). Then again, I haven't performed them. But I'm hoping we'll get the chance to!

[Luc]

[Amber]

I think it can be done. My community theatre just did the show this past December, with a cast of mostly college-age and younger people, though there were a few adults in the cast. It went really well. I don't believe many of the cast members were "trained actors" either. It IS a very difficult show to pull off. Some roles are very difficult (Baker's Wife and Witch, for female parts-- I played the Witch and found it very challenging, despite having trained vocally.), but if you have the talent, go for it! I don't know about the difficulty of male roles, but it IS Sondheim, so the music is very complex and the characters are truly multidimensional. Cast members must be dedicated and open to learning new things about music because Sondheim writes these lovely little accidentals in the music that you don't think are there until you look at the score, and it doesn't sound right unless you sing them as written. It's an experience in itself rehearsing the show. You'll learn so much more about yourself as an actor trying to tell the story onstage, and even as a person, because of the message the show sends. In that sense, I think it'd be absolutely helpful to your fellow high school theatre kids if you did the show. Some will argue that high schoolers are too young to really understand the complex emotional lives of the various characters, but I think if your actors do their research and really analyze their scripts, it might come to them, and they'll be a success.

In short, I think it'll be a definite challenge for you all, given the complexity of the show, but it'd be totally worth it for you to do because of how much you can take from it. Go for it!!!!! I think it'd be an awesome show to start performing in a new space with.

Sorry for the novel. I LOVE ITW. Like I said, I was in the show, so any questions, you can PM me if you want.

[Tumnus1031]

Thank you for the novel, actually. There are some nay-sayers in our drama kid group and I'm sure this could help convince them. Unfortunately, the two main nonbelievers are some of the strongest actors and singers we'll have next year. Hopefully we'll get them over to our side.

All this character exploration you speak of is the kind of stuff my director lives for. And our choral director, while not involved in drama, will help ANYONE with singing stuff. I'm sure he'd love to work with Sondheim. We've got, like, the best choral program in the state. ^_^

Anyways...is Jack a hard role? In terms of singing he never struck me as particularly difficult, but he looks like a blast to play. (Haha I'm talking as if we ARE doing ItW next year...)

[Amber]

^ Jack's not terrifically difficult, I don't think. I know he has to be played by a tenor (IMHO), just because of the end of "Giants In The Sky" (There are giants in the sky/There are big tall terrible/Awesome scary/Wonderful giants/in the [b]sky[/i]!) Besides that, the music is easy (for Sondheim music), and Jack is a youthful character, so I think he'd be easier for a high school aged person to really find a part of themselves in.

[Kiwi]

Our school is doing Into the Woods next year, and I'm confident we can pull it off. Besides the characters being difficult, however, there's also the sets and lighting. There are a lot of technical aspects that you either need a big budget or a creative mind to achieve. For my school, we're counting on creative minds . For example, you need the three houses at the beginning that end up disappearing by the end of the prologue and shifting to the woods without the lights going out for a set change. There's also the part where the wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother and then the Baker gets them out that you need to make look realistic. There are a lot of things like that you'll have to tackle, which will be more difficult for a high school than a community theatre. So it's not easy, but it's certainly possible.

[Tumnus1031]

I knew Jack was a tenor--I'm only 15 and I can easily sing Jack's parts. The only problem I could see with me, at least, is breathing. I'm terrible about taking breaths in bad places, but that may be because I haven't gotten a chance for much formal training. *shrug*

I think the houses at the beginning can be pulled off. I'm not sure what exactly our stage is going to be like next year...I've heard it's going to be something like an amphitheater--y'know, the seats are raised all around the stage, which is kinda an octagon-shape with no curtain or anything. I think if we get a standard thrust stage, we could probably perform the houses in front of a curtain. And we could just use those cardboard cutouts for like, Cinderella's house and Jack's house later.

Then again, I have no idea what our theater's going to look like, which is what my director really wants to look at before choosing shows. But our musical's in the spring, so I'm sure he'll have plenty of decision-making time.

[Luc]

I strongly disagree with the fact that you need a big budget. It can seriously be done without a single set. Sure, it's wonderful to have big gorgeous sets, but it's by no means necessary. Who says you need three houses? Why not set up three tables and call it three different kitchens? As long as they're isolated from each other, it can easily be done. There's no other big set pieces needed, except for Little Red's house... but do the same thing! Just have a bed instead of a whole house. This show can be SO simple in terms of sets, but since everyone has seen the Broadway DVD, they're too scared to do it because they won't be able to afford that kind of a set. Well, duh! It's Broadway for heaven's sakes. If you (collectively) want your show to look like the Broadway production, keep dreaming- especially if you're in a low-budget high school.



That's my rant for today.

[Mungojerrie_rt]

The Ignation's production I saw had fantastic sets. That had about five piles of giant books because they're fairy tales. The books were stacked and painted in ways that meant thay could be rolled around the stage and put in different positions with different sides facing out to create different styles scenes. It could switch from Cinderella's house with the fireplace and such on one side of the book, and then rotate around to be her mother's grave and switch again to be more trees in the woods. It all looked very nice.

[kozafluitmusique]

My current school did ITW the seniors freshman year.

I'll find pictures (if you want) to post on any one of my friends who I am friends with's fbook.

I've seen clips of it..it was amazing from what I've seen.

[ConverseSneaker]

My school did ITW a few years ago and it was amazing. Another school did ITW this year and they sucked.

This other school had thousands of more money than us, and a beautiful set, sound and are allowed to cut people. What made the difference: the talent. You need to have seriously amazing and capable actors to pull this off well.

[MuzikalThetrFreakXtrodina]

Whenever I hear someone is doing ITW, I always think of ITW Jr. It's actaully just the first act but works as a performance itself. Sondheim is pretty difficult but he can be pulled off.

The first act is easier, and more all age appropriate, and the second act is darker and a lot more difficult to sing.

As for performing it at a high school, you guys could probably pull it off. My school did the Jr version as an 8h grade musical theatre project and they performed quite well.

But, if you have a lot of theatre fanatics at your school beware, ITW doesn't have a big ensemble. They have to pick parts and double casting is just AWEFUL!.

Anyway I hoped this helped.

[Pannic]

I saw a youth production of ITW last Summer.

It was horrendous. They cast a girl as The Narrator, and she just sat off to the side of the stage with a microphone the entire time. And she tried to sing the stuff in the Baritone register.

Also, the venue was TINY, and yet they somehow felt the need to not only use mics, but also to crank them up really loud, so that Repunzel's screams were ear-splitting.

[psych_out]

^ On the other side of the Narrator issue, I saw a local school's production where they made the female narrator the "old lady who lived in a shoe." The girl had a great character voice (she sang the role an octave higher, though) and wig, and usually spoke to an mini-audience of "children" that were younger kids in the district. I didn't like the random kids on stage (they were more or less pointless) but the Narrator became an interesting character, instead of just sort of being there.
I agree with the posters that have said that if a school has the talent and the commitment, it can be pulled off. This local school's sets were fantastic, and their female performers and orchestra were very advanced...their only real problem was that the guys weren't quite at the same level.
So, in short, if you really have the cast and the depth, go for it!

[ilovebway]

I definitely think that the right schools and community theaters can pull it off. However, directors must realize that it is a difficult show, has some challenging acting and singing, and needs a lot of dedication in order to be performed successfully.

[Salome]

Doing act I of ITW without act II is pointless and stupid. All act I is is a set up for Act II.

[kozafluitmusique]

[Luc]

[ilovebway]

[kozafluitmusique]

[Luc]

[Tumnus1031]

Well, I don't have to worry about the Jr. Version...our director insists on doing the whole play if we do it. He says that the Act I is just "fluff" without Act II, and I agree. It doesn't really have much point. So...they live happily ever after. Big whoop.

(Not to mention we did R&H's Cinderella last year...)

[Luc]

[ChrisFitzpatrick]