Previews Thursday, October 25th @ 7:30pm, opens Friday October 26th, 8:00pm, runs through Sunday November 18th
“We are delighted to be bringing Into the Woods to our Main Stage again,” says Bruce Curless, Ritz Theatre Producing Artistic Director. “We had a very successful run in the past, now we look forward to bringing this show to our current audiences.
The costumer for this show AJ Garcia has also worked with us in the past, then moved to Florida where he established his costume business East Coast Theatricals. We are very fortunate to be working with AJ again!”
The Ritz Theatre Co. closes their thirty-third year with a Stephen Sondheim classic, Into the Woods. Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, Cinderella, and the Witch return for a triumphant encore! Act One introduces us to all of our favorite fairytale characters, but then in Act Two, the beans, the giant he witch, and the beanstalk all come tumbling down. The music we love, the stories we’ve known . . . or have we? Don’t miss out!
Into the Woods director Craig Hutchings notes: “I am continually excited and inspired by the group of performers and artists who make up our cast of Into the Woods. Bringing together a musical this complex requires a cast filled with high caliber performers, and equally as talented musicians! We here at The Ritz are fortunate to have both. Yes the music is complex, intricate and often painfully specific, but our music director Collin Maier is very much up to the task of teaching, layering and mastering this difficult score. While the characters and story may seem simple on their face, they are all filled with depth and background. When you combine those elements, you end up with the Sondheim masterpiece that is Into the Woods.
And my special thanks go to Josh Bessinger who plays the Baker. He’s also the driving force behind the artistic vision for the set, and his artistic skill has been invaluable. I know you will love his performance as the Baker, but you should also know that he was responsible for far more than his performance.”
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, as well as several others. The musical is tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family (the original beginning of The Grimm Brothers’ Rapunzel), their interaction with a witch who has placed a curse on them, and their interaction with other storybook characters during their journey.
The musical debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986 and premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987, where it won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason) The musical has since been produced many times, with a 1988 US national tour, a 1990 West End production, a 1997 tenth anniversary concert, a 2002 Broadway revival, a 2010 London revival and in 2012 as part of New York City’s outdoor Shakespeare in the Park series.
A Disney film adaptation directed by Rob Marshall and starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski and Johnny Depp was released in 2014. The film grossed over $213 million worldwide and received three Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations.
(Some text courtesy Wikipedia)
CAST
Joshua Bessinger as the Baker
Megan Ruggles as the Baker’s Wife
Jenna Lubas as Cinderella
Jennie Knackstedt as Witch
Brittany Marie as Little Red
Zachary Moore as Jack
Ryan Ruggles as Narrator / Mysterious Man
Melissa Manzano as Jack’s Mother
Michael J. DeFlorio as Cinderella’s Prince / Wolf
Anthony Crosby as Rapunzel’s Prince
Chris Jewell as Steward
Jamie Talamo as Rapunzel
Krysten Cummings as Step Mother
Ellorah Mead as Florinda
Monette Solomon as Lucinda
Nicholas French as Cinderella’s Father
Jomarie Apelt as Granny / Giant
Robert Repici as Milky White
PRODUCTION TEAM
Craig Hutchings — Director
Collin Maier — Music Director
Jonathan Edmondson — Assistant Director
Bruce A. Curless – Producing Artistic Director
Lauren Ackerman — Stage Manager
Maggie Harbord — ASM / Snow White
