Ashland District School is taking a trip Into the Woods.  On April 1, 2, and 3, students will perform Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods in an abbreviated format, making it suitable for all ages to enjoy. 

Into the Woods, Junior is a monster mash of fairy tales.  A wicked witch manipulates a helpless couple, the Baker and his Wife, into collecting various items from other characters they meet.  The play features such classics as Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Snow White, just to name a few.

Mr. Jonathan Simonoff, the pre-k through 12 music teacher, is the musical director of the play and is hoping for a huge success.  “We have lost quite a few Mondays to snow storms, but we are making up for lost time now,” Simonoff said at rehearsal Wednesday, March 9.

Along side Mr. Simonoff are Mrs. Diette, the accompanist, with Mrs. Shari Ward and Mr. Steven Wierzbowski acting as co-directors.  “We are all very excited to be a part of the first full musical performance in our new auditorium,” Ward said, “ and this particular cast of students has been a joy to work with.” 

Wierzbowski, a new English teacher at ADS, holds a degree in theater and brings a new dimension to the play.  “I’m interested in the acting and Mr. Simonoff deals with the music,” Wierzbowski said.  “It’s been a great experience getting to know the students and working with them in the theater.” 

Wierzbowski also will be helping students put on a student-written musical and a night of one act plays in May.  In this production of Into the Woods, the students in his theater class are helping to flesh out the characters. 

A member of the theater class and a senior at ADS, Katelynn Orcutt, plays the part of the witch.  “I want to get over my stage fright,” Orcutt said with a smile.  She enjoys the comic effect of the play.  “I hope the audience laughs a bunch!”

Jordan Beaulier, also a theater student and a senior, and Amos Ward, a junior, play the roles of Rapunzel’s prince and Cinderella’s prince (and the wolf), respectively.  Both Beaulier and Ward like the arrogance of their princes’ personalities and jokingly said, “We get to act normal!” Both agreed that they are having a good time.

Cassie Bolstridge, a seventh grader, plays the steward and is one of the youngest actors in the production.  “I like being with everyone,” Bolstridge says, “and you get to see that you have really accomplished something.”

Other characters and the actors who play them are:  Cinderella, Shea Craig; Little Red, Gabrielle Cyr; Jack, Kali A. Pelletier; Granny/Rapunzel, Chelsea Hammond; Baker, Keith; Jack’s Mother/Florinda, Brooke LaBelle; Baker’s Wife, Christina MacDonald; Cinderella’s Father, Jakob Grey-Purvis; Lucinda, Ally Beaulier; Stepmother, Rachel Gillis; Milkey White, Kylee Lothrop.