Lawrence Academy to present “Into the Woods” in February

/ lawrenceacademynews

By Jack Horsman ‘18

This winter, Lawrence Academy will present the popular musical Into the Woods, February 20-22, 2020, in the Richardson-Mees Performing Arts Center (RMPAC). 

This production, originally written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, centers around a retelling of multiple iconic fairy tales, including: “Cinderella”, “Rapunzel”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, and “Little Red Riding Hood”; all tied together by the story of a baker and his wife, who wish to start a family but have been cursed by a witch.

Beyond the pure entertainment of this wondrous tale, there is a deeper message, which was important to Director of Music Jenny Cooper — who also directs the annual winter musical — when choosing what production the theatre department would put on this trimester.

Original “Playbill” graphic

“I always start with a musical that has a message that we can learn that’s relevant to the way that we experience our lives and the way that I hope the students will be as they move into the adult world,” she explained.

This message, Cooper says, is essentially to be careful what you wish for. 

“There’s a line in [the play] that says, ‘do you know what you wish?  Are you certain what you wish is what you want?” she added. “It’s playing with the idea of this happily ever after and what happens in the real world, which is almost never that.”

Victoria Lucotoni ’22 (left) and Mia Gage ’20 (right), shown in the fall production of “Pride and Prejudice”, play Baker’s Wife and The Witch, respectively, in “Into the Woods”.

When audiences come to watch LA’s version of this beloved musical, Cooper says that “they should expect to laugh and cry.  They should expect to be moved by some really beautiful storytelling and really beautiful singing and… to be just in awe of the honesty that the students are willing to share with an audience on stage.”

Cast List

Rapunzel -—- Faith Massoni ’22
Cinderella —— Mary Grabowski ’20
Baker’s Wife -—— Victoria Lucontoni ’22
Little Red Riding Hood -—- Bitsy Crandall ’22
The Witch —— Mia Gage ’20
Florinda -—- Alex Kelly ’23
Lucinda —— Lalu Saldanha ’20
Stepmother -—- Sabrina Ladiwala ’20
Jack’s Mother —— Lulu Feeney ’21
Cinderella’s Mother / Granny -—- Abby Remis ’23
Jack —— Ravi Nguyen ’23
Baker -—- Stephen La Sala ’21
Cinderella’s Prince / The Wolf —— Michael Kroll ’21
Rapunzel’s Prince / Steward -—- Eric Fish ’23
Narrator —— Paloma Harker ’23
Mysterious Man -—- Liv Ristaino ’23
Cinderella’s Father —— Camryn Georges ’22
Giant / Sleeping Beauty -—- Zahria Huggins ’23

Come see Into the Woods being performed on February 20, 21, and 22, 2020 in the RMPAC located on Lawrence Academy’s campus in Groton, MA.