By Leanne Parks ’25
We are all familiar with the classic fairy tales of Jack and the Beanstalk with his white cow, Little Red Riding Hood with her red cape, Rapunzel with her long golden hair, and Cinderella with her glass slipper. But, have you ever seen these cautionary tales interconnect into one single story? From the singing, to the set, to the costuming, Choate’s upcoming spring production Into the Woods will be a culmination of months of hard work.
Theater teacher Ms. Deighna DeRiu, the director of Into the Woods, described how this year’s spring musical stands out from the shows Choate has done in the past. “We haven’t done a [Stephen] Sondheim [musical] in a long time … It’s much more unique and innovative for when it came out, but it is still much more of a traditional musical in the sense that it’s written as a musical, not a jukebox musical.”
Not only are the songs in Into the Woods written in a traditional musical theater style rather than a pop style, but the technically difficult nature of the music has also pushed the cast and crew to adapt to Sondheim’s challenging compositions.
The cast of Into the Woods has been hard at work throughout the spring term. Rehearsals, which vary between singing, dancing, acting, or a mix of all three, run daily for two hours, with an additional two hours on Wednesdays and three-hour rehearsals on Saturdays.
The music director of the show, Mr. Nathaniel Baker, has led the cast in learning the music. Although the work during music rehearsals has been challenging, many actors find it to be an enjoyable part of preparing for the show. Candace Beverly ’25 described music rehearsals as her favorite part of the process. “One of my favorite things is when we all have music rehearsals, and we stand in circles, and we sing, and everyone’s hyping each other up,” Beverly said.
Despite the number of hours the cast of Into the Woods has put into perfecting the show, they are not the only group to have the spotlight. Through their creativity and crafting skills, Ms. Deriu and countless crew members have made this show possible. Assistant stage manager and set builder Justyce Easter-Butcher ’24 touched on the number of details the team must consider in order to create the set successfully. Easter-Butcher discussed how they built stage props for the set, such as Jack’s house, and the questions they had to ask themselves in the process, such as how to “build the frame for [Jack’s house]” and “[figuring] out how to cut it on the [Computer Numerical Control (CNC)], and then … figuring out how to fly it because [Jack’s house] flies in and out.” This attention to detail serves not only to protect the safety of the actors on stage but also helps bring the show to life.
Beyond all the rehearsing, set building, and technical design that goes into preparation for the show, many participants believe that the community is the most important aspect of the production. The group of around 30 performers has become tight-knit, and are growing closer throughout the rehearsal process as they prepare to perform together on stage.
Jordan Dodd ’25 said that his favorite part of the rehearsal process is tech week, or the week leading up to the show. During this time, the cast and crew spend the most time in the Paul Mellon Arts Center, where they often stay late to run the show in its entirety.
Dodd said, “During tech week is when the most camaraderie is seen, because we are all going crazy without sunlight. I think tech week is probably the most beautiful week of creating the show usually, because [we] get to go crazy together.”
Whether you’re a musical lover or have never seen a live performance, Into the Woods has been designed for all to come and enjoy. Tickets are now available on the PMAC website for performances on May 16 at 7:30 p.m., May 17 at 7:30 p.m., and May 18 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
