If you know the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, then you’ll be right at home in the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium this week, beginning Thursday.
That’s because the Concord High School drama club is putting on four performances of Into the Woods, a musical that intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales into one big show.
The story centers around four main characters: Cinderella, Jack, the Baker and his wife.
It starts with a series of wishes that are of the utmost importance. Cinderella wants to go to the King’s Festival; Jack wishes his cow could give milk; and the Baker wishes that he and his wife could have a child.
As the wishes are learned, you meet Cinderella’s stepmother and step-sisters, Jack’s mother and Little Red Riding Hood.
Then there’s the Baker’s next-door neighbor, the witch, who has cursed the Baker because of something that happened long ago, and the only way to break the spell is for the Baker to bring back a list of four things – a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold.
The fairy tales weave together as the Baker sets off on his adventure to find the four items.
And if you love all of these tales individually, you’re likely going to love when they all come together.
“It’s interesting how they all intertwine, interconnect,” said director Clint Klose.
Act I is very happy and joyous, but as the musical switches to Act II, it becomes very dark.
“You’ll recognize the stories, but in Act II, it’s very different,” Klose said.
Into the Woods was written by James Lapine with the music done by none other than Stephen Sondheim.
“It’s not your typical simplified music,” Klose said.
It was made into a movie in 2014, but it’s no replacement for what you’ll find on the Concord High stage.
And it’s a big show with 23 cast members, a crew of 30 others behind the scenes and a pit of 17 musicians.
“It’s quite a group,” Klose said.
It’s a show that Klose has wanted to put on before, but he felt this was the right group to pull it off.
“We always like to do shows that aren’t your typical show,” Klose said.
There will be four performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., along with a matinee 2 p.m. show on Saturday.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors, and may be reserved by calling 717-7670 or purchased at the door.
