NEWS

 

Last spring, Griffin Small saw the professional touring production of Into the Woods when it stopped in Charlotte. The Community School of Davidson senior was spellbound. “The Baker’s character buildup throughout the story really just left me thinking long after I saw the show,” recalls Small. “I couldn’t stop listening to ‘No More’ (one The Baker’s signature songs).”

Fast forward to this fall, and Small still listening to the song. Only now he’s rehearsing it, as he’s playing The Baker in Community School of Davidson’s joint production with Mooresville Community Children’s Theatre of Into the Woods,” which opens Thursday at the CSD ArtsSpace in Davidson. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, this musical about what happens “happily ever after” debuted on Broadway in 1987 and has enjoyed a rather cult following ever since.

“Into the Woods is very popular with the kids because of the Encores! production, and it’s always been one of my favorites,” explains Melissa Ohlman-Roberge, CSD’s upper school theatre arts educator/director, adding that this is the first time she’s directed the full version of the musical. “Seeing the show performed by young people makes it more impactful, as they deliver the messages they need us, as grownups, to hear.”

Seeing the show performed by this particular group of young people also makes the production special, as actors from across the area auditioned, making it an all-star cast. Five of the seniors in the show plan to pursue musical theatre in college and beyond. Hannah King (Cinderella), Gracie Bryant (The Baker’s Wife), Sophie Miller (The Witch), Griffin Small (The Baker), and Dylan Underwood (Jack) are all in the grueling process of applying to programs across the country.

Gracie Bryant, a senior at Northwest School of the Arts is applying to approximately 25 schools nationwide. “The audition process makes it necessary to cast a wide net,” explains Bryant, who began performing in first grade. Miller, Bryant’s classmate and good friend, echoes how stressful the process is. “Being accepted into a program is not an easy task, with a vast majority of the schools accepting only a dozen candidates out of hundreds of applicants….Navigating the territory is very time consuming.”

Though the odds seem slim, the passion and talent these five teenagers have for theatre is gargantuan. “Basically, I want to keep doing whatever it takes to keep myself surrounded with art and musical theatre and the people I love,” says Small, who played Shrek in last spring’s production of Shrek at CSD. For King, a senior at Merancas Middle College High School who’s been best friends with Bryant and Miller since middle school, playing Cinderella is a goal realized. “I love coming together as a community with my talented peers to tell a story and have it mean something.”

Community is one of the main themes of Into the Woods and is not lost on these actors. Underwood, who’s applying to several BFA programs in North Carolina and New York City, was drawn to the interconnectedness of the show. “In the first act, all of the characters are selfish, willing to sacrifice anything to get their wish,” explains Underwood, who is home-schooled and dual-enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College. “By the end, however, everyone understands that they need each other more than anything else.”

This weekend when Small takes the stage as The Baker, it will be a dream realized, as well as the beginning of a new dream for him and his closest friends. “We’re all in this together,” he says. “We’re helping each other, building each other up.”

Into the Woods runs October 19 through 29 at Community School of Davidson Art Space at 404 Armour Street in Davidson. Shorter versions geared to children will be Saturday, October 21 at 11 a.m. and Friday, October 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://search.seatyourself.biz/…/mooresvillech…/buy-tix.