The College of William and Mary Theatre Department hopes to entice the community into Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall one last time before the venue closes for two years of renovations as the troupe prepares to go “Into the Woods” with its latest production April 19-22.
The musical originally debuted on Broadway in 1987, written by James Lapine with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim of “Sweeney Todd” and “Company” fame. The story blends various fairy tales into a shared universe and centers around a baker and his wife as they journey to break a witch’s curse that prevents them from having a child. The adventure that follows dances with death and darkness alongside humor and hope.
“I think everybody has grown up with fairy tales,” said director Ann Nieman, the guest artist William and Mary recruited to lead the charge, emphasizing the lessons one can learn from them. “They’re timelessly relevant. Sometimes, what you wish for is not really what you want.”
The college hoped to capitalize on Nieman’s experience directing and choreographing 200-plus regional theater productions across the U.S. and Germany, as well as dancing all over the country and on Broadway.
“It’s inspiring to have an industry professional come in,” said Alex Poirier, who plays Cinderella’s evil stepmother in the show. “She holds us to a higher standard. It inspires us to reach higher.”
Nieman said she aims to stay true to the original work, but the subversive story means she’s also not bound by the restraints of producing a more typical piece.
“There are so many fantastical elements in it,” she said. “You can make it your own world.”
The woods themselves loom omnipresent over the proceedings, dark and gloomy yet with a glittery shimmer indicative of the musical’s ever-changing tone.
“The woods themselves are very present and very integral, almost another character,” Nieman said, adding that costume designer Patricia Wesp’s creations also reflect the forest’s presence.
Phi Beta Kappa farewell
Mary Turgeon, who plays the baker’s wife, said that although the production is not heavy on dance, Nieman’s background in the art form shines through.
“She adds a really cool sense of physicality that’s really heightened things,” she said.
As a senior on her 15th production with the college’s theatre program, Turgeon recalled the awe she felt as a freshman when she first entered Phi Beta Kappa Hall and dreamt of making memories on its stage.
It makes producing the theater’s final main stage production a bittersweet occasion.
“I definitely feel an honor and a responsibility,” Nieman said.
Anthony Madalone, a freshman portraying Rapunzel’s prince and the wolf who plagues Little Red Riding Hood, said the venue’s closure makes for added pressure but also added excitement. As for the show itself, Madalone said he appreciates the story’s interpretation of its classic characters.
“I personally like how they alter some of the characters,” he said. As an example, he used his prince character, who in the standard fairy tale serves as an object of affection with little else on which to stand. Lapine and Sondheim play off of that in their writing.
Nieman lauded Sondheim’s complex score and witty lyrics.
“His music is very intricate and very layered,” she said. “He’s able to weave words together that are surprising and fun at the same time.”
Poirier praised the show’s surprising twists and turns.
“It sort of hinges on the aspects of it being over-the-top but also darker than you’d expect,” she said. “It takes such a dark turn. And yet it has a hopeful, happy ending.”
The cast and crew also had little more than three weeks of rehearsals to prepare for performing their Phi Beta Kappa Hall farewell.
“I think that makes it all the more fun and it keeps the energy really present,” Poirier said. “We all put our hearts and souls into it.”
Want to go?
“Into the Woods” runs April 19-22 at Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall. Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for military or $12 for students and children, available at wm.edu/boxoffice, the Phi Beta Kappa box office or by calling 221-2674.
Birkenmeyer can be reached by phone at 757-790-3029.
