A Broadway musical comes to life on the Laredo stage when LCC’s Opera Workshop presents a special adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine production, “Into the Woods,” April 13 to 16.
LCC will launch the live theater production on Wednesday, April 13, with a matinee show for school children at 10 a.m. in the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater. Admission for the special student show is $3 per person.
The Opera Workshop will hold evening shows, which run April 14 to 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Martinez Fine Arts Center theater. Admission is $5 per person.
Dr. Joseph C. Crabtree, Opera Workshop director, said that “Into the Woods” blends several known fairy tales with an original story of a childless baker and his wife, who catalyze the action of the story by attempting to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child.
“This musical intertwines the plots of popular fairy tales to create a single, bigger one. The first act opens with the stories of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk,’ ‘Cinderella,’ and the baker and his wife,” Crabtree explained.
Other familiar fairy tale characters that appear include Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, as well as Cinderella, Rapunzel and their respective princes.
All characters seem poised to live “happily ever after” at the end of the first act. However, in Act Two the plot focuses on the consequences that traditional fairy tales conveniently ignore. What must the characters deal with in life after “happily ever after?”
“The entire story line plays on the audience’s childhood sense of who these characters should be, pitting it in opposition with who they actually are— a bunch of real people stuck in some rather odd circumstances. The characters become endearing through their more human qualities,” Crabtree said.
The original Broadway show of “Into the Woods” opened in 1987 and ran for 764 performances until closing in 1989. It won Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason). The show also won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.
For more information about the LCC Opera Workshop production of “Into the Woods,” contact the LCC Music and Dance Department by calling 721-5330.
Little Red (Imelda Castilla) and Granny (Margot Paz) react as the Wolf (Stephen Miller) rushes in for the attack during a scene of the popular Broadway musical, “Into the Woods.” The live theater production will be presented by the Laredo Community College Opera Workshop, beginning Wednesday, April 13, with a matinee showing for middle and high school children at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater. Admission for the special student showing is $3. Evening presentations for the general public will be presented April 14 to 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Martinez Fine Arts Center theater. Admission to the evening shows is $5 per person. For more information, contact the LCC Music and Dance Department by calling 721-5330.
Below are other scenes of the LCC Opera Workshop's "Into the Woods"
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