Friday, February 28th at 7:30 p.m. | March 1st, 7:30 p.m. | March 2nd, 2:00 p.m.
New World School of the Arts college music theater program presents the popular musical Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Under the direction of James Randolph, this modern twist on Grimm’s fairy tales follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel and other magical characters who come to the realization that what you want is necessarily what you need. “It is the story of all these fairy tale characters after they live happily ever after,” said Randolph. “It’s great material – wonderful characters and a great deal of texture that the students can learn how to play. Plus, it is one of the most done musicals in America. If we want to train our students to be able to be competitive I think it’s a really great opportunity.”
Into the Woods debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987. It won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical. Into The Woods has been produced many times, with a 1988 US national tour, a 1990 West End production, a 1991 television 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.
NWSA theater faculty James Randolph talks to uVu about Into the Woods Randolph highlights that the musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. “Sondheim and Lapine in this musical have created a world out of control where surviving life is sometimes all any of us can do. The students can relate to the musical based on their own lives. All the characters have to loose their innocence in order to survive – it’s about coming of age and becoming much more aware. It has to do with the nature of loss because some of the characters don’t survive this fairy tale. The Grimm Brothers were particularly innovative in the way in which they dealt with all types of violence, sense of loss, and sometimes-unpardonable crimes against children. The show really helps to highlight that and it offers the moral of how you survive in a society that can be out to get.”
About the NWSA Theater program:
Theater and music theater students at NWSA hone their craft through acting technique, movement and speech classes, focusing on fundamentals of physical and emotional preparation. With performance at its core, training is based on the classical texts and the principles of drama as well as practical incursions into the contemporary and experimental edges of theater. Consequently, alumni are found performing onstage nationally and internationally and their talent and vision are recognized and highly regarded in the industry.
New World School of the Arts was created by the Florida Legislature as a center of excellence in the performing and visual arts, and it is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College and the University of Florida.
New World School of the Arts
25 NE 2nd Street
Miami, FL 33132
Ph: 305.237.3135
nwsa.mdc.edu
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