When I was 17 years old, I did my first community theatre production. It was my first experience with 'theatre people' outside of my high school. There were professional adults in the cast, and a bunch of other kids my age who were taking this stuff much more seriously than my friends at Colonia High.
At the cast party for the show, someone put on a video tape of some musical. "What's this?" I asked, and got some incredulous looks in response. Into The Woods!, they scolded me, as though I was crazy for having never heard of it.
I meant to only watch a few minutes, but two hours later I was still staring at the screen, watching this incredibly funny and moving musical. Characters I had known since childhood - Little Red Ridinghood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and more were suddenly changed forever, made so much more real and human than whatever my childhood had pre-programmed them to be. The story had this twinge of sadness, as though saying we all have to grow up sometime, even in fairy tales.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I was looking for a second musical to direct at Rye Neck. Into The Woods had always been a possibility, but this past year it had reappeared on my radar three distinctive times - first the movie that came out in December 2014, then in a stunning Off-Broadway revivial that I took students to see in April, and then finally an original Broadway cast reunion I attended in Brooklyn back in June. Each of these unique takes and experiences based around a now 30-year-old musical really made it clear that something was in the air, and the time to do the show was now.
I also loved that the show featured so many characters - as always, I wanted to provide as many opportunities for roles as I could to our cast. The students at Rye Neck are just so darn talented and creative, I wanted every excuse to tap into that energy. And Into The Woods has such intelligence and humor. As Rye Neck’s theatre director, I feel a responsbility to ensure our young cast not only has fun, but also that they work on shows that are well-written and transformative - not just fluff.
I'd like to thank my two creative partners, Michael Mastroianni and Jesse Pellegrino, for their talent and professionalism on this journey. Thanks also to Preston Briggs, who once again spent hours and hours on weekends building our amazing sets practically by himself.
Most of all, I’m grateful to the students, who since November have given up their free time to rehearse, learn their very tricky songs, dance up a storm, and perform their lines with such amazing energy and humor. I've really enjoyed watching them tackle this difficult Sondheim piece, and I can’t wait for you to see the results of their hard work.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy Into The Woods!
Scott Harris
