Congratulations to Director Julie Frazier-Smith, Music Director Eugene Villanueva, and the incredible cast and crew of Into the Woods JR. for three wonderful performances in the Palmer Cultural Center over the weekend of March 18–20.

An adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, Into the Woods JR. is a retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm fables and features a number of universally recognized characters, including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood (and the wolf), and Jack (and his beanstalk).

The musical centers on a baker and his wife, whose greatest wish is to have a child; on Cinderella, who wants nothing more than to attend the King's festival; and on Jack, who longs for the day that his cow will give milk. When the baker and his wife learn that their failure to have a child stems from a witch's curse, they embark on a life-changing journey that ties all the characters’ stories together.

LEARN ABOUT THE CAST AND CREW

The students involved in this impressive High School theater production were thrilled to finally have a chance to perform in front of a live audience, and the TASIS community was grateful for the opportunity to support the young artists. Ms. Frazier-Smith, who was the primary director of her first TASIS musical after serving as co-director, assistant director, or choreographer for numerous theatrical productions in the Elementary, Middle, and High School over the past seven years, summed up the show’s three-day run as follows:

This weekend's performance was a beautiful display of just how wonderful our TASIS community is. The actors felt so supported as they excellently shared their work with heart and soul with such enthusiastic audiences. The actors most certainly brought the characters that many of us have grown up reading about to life this weekend. The way the audience was with every note, breath, and action of the actors' performance was stunning. We are so grateful for the opportunity to share this inspiring work. This musical will continue to live on in our hearts as the memory of the melodies and lyrics guide us to see the humor, connection, and magic of our shared human experience and journey in this life. Many thanks to our music director, Mr. Eugene Villanueva, our pianist, Ms. Angela Perini, and our percussionist, Mr. Daniele Bagutti, to each and every performer and crew member, and to our lovely audience. 

Unfortunately, we were not permitted to film any of the performances due to our licensing agreement with Music Theatre International (MTI)^Ⓡ, but a gallery of images can be viewed below (or on the TASIS SmugMug page):