Children show off their talents

The Youth Theatre Ensemble of the Bloomington Playwrights Project presented its production of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" this weekend with an energy and enthusiasm that only children can produce. \nThe musical was adapted by Musical Theatre International to better suit children, removing the adult content and shortening the play to a length that was more manageable for young performers. Despite the shortening of the show, all of the songs from the original production remained intact. The result was an hour-long abridged version of the fairy tale farce that was jam-packed with music.\nDirected by Sandra Freund, the musical was the result of a three-week intensive training camp at the BPP. Children ages nine to 15 quickly learned their roles and the music during the nine to four rehearsal sessions. Freund workshopped the children in acting exercises and musical techniques. Her hard work and fun teaching practices showed on the children's happy faces as they flawlessly conducted their lines and danced through the sometimes intricate choreography.\nNot every pitch was perfect, in fact many were not, and the solos were sometimes hard to hear, but that didn't matter. The play was propelled by the hard work and effort of the child actors. It was clear they enjoyed the production process and the songs they were singing.\nThe main stage of the BPP was transformed into a magical forest by colorful paintings on the black walls. Rapunzel's tower, Jack's beanstalk, Cinderella's hearth, Red Riding Hood's grandmother's house and a baker's kitchen sat in the woods, and characters bumped into each other and affected each other's lives in pursuit of their own goals. The baker and his wife want a baby but are cursed to infertility by a cruel witch aptly played by 10-year-old Caitlin Diekhoff. In order to break the witch's spell, the couple must find items needed to make a potion. Chance encounters with the other fairy tale characters result in their dreams coming true.\nParticularly enjoyable in this performance was 11-year-old Maya Wahrman who played Little Red. She was convincing in portraying her character's cockiness. She also had a rich voice and was very good at projecting.\nTwelve-year-old Autum Martin who played Wolf also had a nice voice and did a terrific job in her duet with Wahrman in which Wolf tries to convince Little Red to stay in the forest longer than she should.\nEleven-year-old Jordan Goodmon, who played Cinderella, also had one of the nicer voices of the group and eight-year-old Kate Seader was absolutely adorable as the cow Milky White.\nWhile I always find that children's productions are worth seeing based on the children's excitement alone, this show was particularly well done with nearly professional make-up and costumes. I highly recommend seeing the BPP's future children's productions.