Preview- Into the Woods- Face Productions
21-1-16
By: Haddie Nguyen
Face Productions is presenting their latest musical delight with a production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. The musical twists the plots of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairytales, including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood. This hilarious musical explores the consequences of the wishes and desires of many of our most beloved childhood characters. Heckler nominee, Conor O'Grady is directing this production, "The themes of family, relationships, parenthood, adolescence chasing a wish transcend time and geography, and people of all ages will find something to relate to. The songs are immensely challenging, but breathtaking for the audience. The stories and characters are exactly those that people all over the world grew up with for many generations, yet we can see them presented in a way we've never seen before."
The story's main characters are a Baker and his wife, who are left barren and have to go on a journey to appease a Witch's demands to reach their dream of having a child. With a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold, they must create a potion to appease the Witch and restore her former beauty. On their way, the Baker and his wife cross paths with many familiar characters. Who will make it out of the woods alive? And will we find truth in the old phrase of "happily ever after"? Is there really such a thing? "Act 2 is brilliant in its ability to explore the consequences of our actions and being careful what you wish for... At the same time, the characters are faced with real-life issues such as responsibility, grief and abandonment, allowing a depth of character and story that we do not often come across in modern fairytales. Themes hearken to our modern times: the vengeful giant reminds us of terrorism, (and, at the time of its original release in 1987, the devastating stomp of the AIDS epidemic across America). While the banding together of a community to defend and re-build their lives is as inspirational as it is poignantly relevant to today's society, " says Conor.
Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987 to critical acclaim. It won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical. The show has since enjoyed continuous revivals, world tours, and major awards. Disney’s 2014 film adaptation was directed by Rob Marshall and featured an all-star cast including Meryl Streep. It earned over 200 million dollars, as well as three Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
Local actors, including Roy Rolloda and Jessica Peralta, will be playing the Baker and the Baker’s Wife; Sophie Connell will be playing the sassy Little Red Riding Hood. The show is choreographed by Claire Johnson, with Enrico Narvaez as Musical Director. The show also features many professional and veteran performers, a live band, and some seriously talented community theatre actors. With a challenging and captivating score, dark comedy, and familiar stories presented as you’ve never seen before. Into the Woods is an invigorating and exciting new project for Face Productions. "Into The Woods is a very challenging musical for both the kids' and adults so seeing all this hard work come together will be hugely satisfying. It is an excellent opportunity to showcase the amount of talent that we have in Face Academy... There are a lot of fun and quirky moments in this somewhat serious story which will appeal to both adults and children," says Candice Caalsen. Candice is not only a teacher at Face Productions and the director of the junior version with student actors; she will also be taking on the beloved role of the Witch in the full version of the play during the run.
Into the Woods will be playing from February 4th to 7th at Hong Kong City Hall in the theatre space. Tickets can now be purchased through URBTIX box offices and online. Tickets for the full production are 395HKD with 295HKD concessionary tickets for students, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Showtimes for the full version are at 8pm on the 4th through 6th and 7:30pm on Sunday, the 7th. If you're interested in seeing the junior version of the show, with adorable kid actors, you can see this on 6th and 7th at 10:30am and 2:30pm. Tickets for the junior version of the production are 275HKD for adults and 175HKD at concessionary prices. You can find out more information about Into the Woods and see more pictures of the cast at Face Productions' Facebook page!
For more information about Into the Woods, click here.
*Face Productions publicity photos were taken by Kirill Voloshin.
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