The stage was covered in a collection of seemingly dissonant objects. At the center was a piano, surrounded by falling objects to the right and a grandfather clock and a bed to the left.
The cast began taking the stage, attendees quieted their voices until one member stopped and said, “You don’t have to quiet down. We haven’t started.”
Within minutes, the company took the stage for the opening of Act I: Prologue/“Into the Woods.” From there, the production moved into a series of character vignettes, starting with that of Cinderella trying to earn the right to attend the ball and Little Red Riding Hood, preparing to visit her grandmother.
The first showing of “Into the Woods” took place Tuesday at the IU Auditorium and was attended by students, staff and fans of theater alike. The Tony Award-winning show was brought to the auditorium by Fiasco Theatre and boasts just 10 actors and one piano.
Sophomore Ariana Ramon said she was familiar with the film before opening night but had yet to see the stage show.
“I really love ‘Into the Woods,’ and I really love seeing shows at IU because it’s convenient – great for the cost,” Ramon said. “I’m interested to see the sets, too.”
IU Jacobs School of Music alumnus Evan Rees acts as musical director and pianist for the show. He participated in Bloomington Playwrights Project’s “The Truman Show” during his time here and “The Visit” on Broadway.
Maria Talbert, managing director at the IU Auditorium, said there is a lot that makes this version of the classic show stand out and inspired the auditorium to bring it to Bloomington.
“We chose to present this production of ‘Into the Woods’ because of its creative reinterpretation, its artistic excellence and its beautiful story and score by Broadway legends James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim,” Talbert said in an email. “This is unlike any other musical on our season, and we know audiences will be swept away by this wildly-imaginative adaptation.”
“Into the Woods” follows the lives of a variety of familiar fairytale characters as they navigate through unconventional versions of their storybook lives. The themes present in this show take their roots in the classic nursery tales, which makes them all the more relatable, Talbert said.
“This story pulls from universally familiar fairytales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk and uses them as a springboard to talk about larger themes, like love, desire and unforeseen consequences of our actions,” Talbert said.
Talbert said the show resonates with a wide audience, including fans of stage and those who saw the film, starring such celebrities as Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt.
“‘Into the Woods’ appeals to a wide variety of patrons, and we expect our audiences to reflect that,” Talbert said. “The musical has always been a theatre-lovers (sic.) favorite, but it gained widespread popularity after the feature film was released over a year ago.”
Freshman Luke Staebler said he had seen both the film and one recorded version of the stage show and was interested to see the theatrical elements played out on a live stage.
“I’m just a really big musical theater fan, so any show I get to see, I’m down,” Staebler said. “I know for one of the songs, the wolf song, they use a treadmill to simulate the walking, so I’m very excited about that. The music is also iconic.”
Jacob Owens, a friend of Ramon and Staebler, visited the auditorium for the show after seeing “Rent” and said the programming always manages to impress.
“They bring some really awesome shows,” Owens said.
