Into the Woods: Q&A with Cast Members

The musical, “Into the Woods,” a Brother’s Grimm fairy tale medley, has no defined leads but instead features an extensive ensemble cast.

Accordingly, the Q&A is presented in collective responses rather than individual sessions.

Overall, the cast loved the diverse emotions the musical portrays.

“It’s quirky and funny and the audience will love both the comic side and the serious parts,” junior Joey Cortez, who portrays the titular character in “Jack and the Bean Stalk,” said. Cortez is one of the veterans players, having participating in six musicals since middle school.

Of course, before being happy Disney stories, the Brother’s Grimm tales were indeed grim and the original musical “Into the Woods” and the Disney film honors that tradition with a matching darkness.

“It will be exciting to see iconic fairy tale characters presented in different ways,” junior Dominic Nocera, who portrays the wolf and Cinderella’s prince, said. Nocera is the most seasoned performer in the group, now on his tenth musical since elementary school.

Junior Jordan Gilchrist said that although the story is a fairy tale, it has powerful themes that apply to everyday life.

Newcomer junior Austin Dambach, who plays Rapunzel’s prince, said the musical has been a great experience.

“I was initially scared but I’m liking it more and more.”

The cast also loved the flexibility their characters provided.

“Red is brave, self confident and loud while I’m typically a quiet person,” freshmen Tara Marsh, portraying Little Red Riding Hood, said.

“I love playing someone with a very dynamic role,” sophomore Danica Teodora, playing Rapunzel, said.

Regarding Cinderella, freshman Annie Macomb said, “The character is shy but grows into a confident character.”

“I love the witch because she’s a crazy character,” freshman Cami Cortez said.

“The harder to act the part, the more fun it is,” Nocera commented.

“Into the Woods” hasn’t been all fun and games though. A musical requires long hours of practice for several months and this one has been particularly challenging, so advanced that the students were required to put on a workshop in the summer to demonstrate they could perform the musical.

Freshmen Keegan Reisinger said hitting the high notes took a lot of hard work to get right.

However, the cast largely agreed that what makes “Into the Woods” exceptionally challenging is that the melodies don’t match what the orchestra is playing.

Though the difficulty of the production has brought the cast together. Resinginer’s favorite part of participating was the sense of community.

“Everyone is so talented, and it’s just fun to work with them,” he said.

“Into the Woods” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 and 14 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 15. Admission is $13 for adults and $11 for students and senior citizens.

“For those who haven’t seen the movie or musical before, seeing it here for the first time will be exciting,” Marsh said.

The cast would also like to praise their directors for all their hard work brilliance in bringing the musical to life.

“Into the Woods” is directed by Laura Adams, Casey Falotico, Angela Lansbery, Felecia Greco, and Cynthia Pertile.

Since none of the leads are seniors, most don’t have defined post-graduation plans, although Nocera has an eye on Penn State for biomedical engineering with a career in prosthetics. Dombach is looking at Ohio State for biology to be an internal medicine doctor.