CHS goes 'Into the Woods'

Some familiar fairy tale characters are going to get wrapped up in the same story as Chester High School's Drama Department presents "Into the Woods" at Juergens Gymnasium.

The show continues tonight and Saturday night with 7 p.m. showings, while Sunday's matinee is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students kindergarten through 12th grade.

"It's an intertwined story about a lot of different fairy tale characters," said Brenda Coop, drama director at CHS. "And some characters aren't actually fairy tale characters that Stephen Sondheim dreamed up for the show to make sure everybody is intertwined with each other.

"It's just about a baker and a baker's wife trying to find their wish because they found out they can't have children because of a curse.

Coop noted that each character has their own wish and goes "into the woods" to get their wish.

"At the end of the first act, everybody gets their wish," Coop said. "The second act is the consequences that happen because of their wish. It gets a little bit more scarier and a little bit more suspenseful."

A look at the cast list reveals some familiar characters in fairy tale lore such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood.

"We have Cinderella, who is a huge part of it," Coop said. "And Jack and the Beanstalk, which is also a huge part of it. "Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are toward the end, they're not as big of characters as what Cinderella and Jack and the Baker and Baker's Wife are."

Kylie Liefer, a CHS sophomore in her first major role, will play the villain, the Witch.

"So there's the good, the bad and the truly ugly," Coop said.

Coop also described the process of putting on each year's production.

"I start as soon as the curtain falls on the previous show," Coop said. "This show has always been one of those shows I want to do. This is my dream show.

"It's not familiar with a lot of people, so I've always kind of stayed away from it because I was afraid maybe people wouldn't want to come see it because it's not something like Wizard of Oz or Beauty and the Beast."

The film adaptation of Into the Woods was released in 2014 and starred Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp, among others.

It went on to gross $213 million worldwide during its theatrical run and earned three Academy Award nominations - including best supporting actress for Streep - and three Golden Globe nominations.

"When Disney came out with the movie, which I wasn't really that excited about how they handled the movie because it's not like the Broadway version," Coop said. "The Broadway version is a lot funnier and and it's just a great show."

In deciding to take on such a challenge, Coop praised her cast.

"I have the right mix of talent this year," Coop said. "And I knew it coming in from last year, that we could do (Into the Woods)."

Included among the cast are four actors and actresses making their debut - Jacob Hoffman (sophomore, Rapunzel's Prince), Elizabeth Soellner (freshman, Rapunzel), Reilly Holley (senior, The Steward) and Kaleb Hughes (freshman, Cinderella's Father/Wolf #2/Male Understudy).

"It's an ensemble cast, which is another reason why I kind of stayed away from it for a number of years because there's only 24 in the cast," Coop said. "It's really meant for 19, but we do have 24. Every single person has a key role in this."

The cast list also includes some show veterans like Lucas Doiron and Elizabeth Heffernan.

"I couldn't be happier with my role in the production," said Heffernan, who plays the Baker's Wife. "The baker's wife is so driven and passionate. It's such a fun part to play, and I can't wait to hopefully connect with the audience emotionally."

Heffernan also spoke on the difficulty of the production.

"This is such a difficult show in so many ways," she said. "The length of the production is longer than what we have done in the past. The story is, in itself, unorthodox and exciting.

"There will be something for all ages. More than anything, though, the intricacy of the music makes this show so difficult and so unique."

Overall, Coop is anticipating another series of great performances from a drama department known for them.

"The community of Chester is outstanding and I think they're going to be blown away with this show," Coop said. "They're still talking about Beauty and the Beast, which I love, and ever since then, they've always loved the shows that we've done."