“Stephen Sondheim’s stage classic Into the Woods, a dark and subversive musical take on fairy tales, not only survives but triumphs in the composer’s most unlikely collaboration with Disney.” —New York Post
Centenary Stage Company’s Nextstage Repertory presents
Into the Woods
By Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Carl Wallnau and Lea Antolini-Lid
Choreography by Lea Antolini-Lid
Music Direction by Jarred Lee
Lighting Design by Joyce Laio
WHEN: April 28 through May 8
WHERE: Sitnik Theater of the Lackland Performing Arts Center, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown
TICKETS: $17.50 for adults and $10.00 for children under 12.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the CSC box office at (908) 979 – 0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 – 5pm and two hours prior to every performance. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center; 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. CSC can also be found on social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Into the Woods was created by Stephen Sondheim and writer James Lapine and it originally premiered in 1987 on Broadway. The musical is set in an alternate world of four of The Grimm’s fairy tales. Into the Woods tells the tale of a childless baker and his wife who are desperate to have a baby. They attempt to lift the curse that has been placed on the Baker’s side of the family by a witch because his father stole magic beans. Along the way they encounter Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Each one of the characters have a desperate desire that they will do anything to achieve, but when wishes don’t go the way they thought they would, the characters realize something that had never occurred to them before; that maybe wishes aren’t always what they appear to be.
Into the Woods will be performed by Nextstage Repertory, Centenary College Theater Department’s student-based Performance Company under the auspices of the Centenary Stage Company. Nextstage Repertory provides students with the opportunity to perform along-side the production standard of a fully operational professional regional theater. The Centenary College Theater Department has been in existence for 16 years and has continued to grow and expand, now boasting a musical theater concentration. Students are able to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre with concentrations in Costume Design, Dance, Performance Studies, Production Management, Technical Theater and Musical Theater.
The production is directed by CSC Artistic Director / Centenary College Chairman of the Fine Arts Department, Carl Wallnau and Lea Antolini-Lid, Assistant Professor of Theater / Dance and director of CSC’s Young Audience Series, with music direction by Jarred Lee-a vocal coach and pianist whose Broadway credits include American Psycho, On The Twentieth Century, and Something Rotten, and Joyce Laio-an award winning NYC-based lighting designer.
The cast and crew features Centenary College Theater Students Dominick Garatino (Byram, NJ), Yentl Oliver (Irvington, NJ), Victoria Pulido (Hackettstown, NJ), Megan Schmeidhauser (Stanhope, NJ), Joseph Anselmo (Dumont, NJ), Sasha Onishchuk (Oakdale, NJ), Jana Byrnes (Hackettstown, NJ), Angelina Taysktra (Washington, NJ), Alex Holbrook (Greensboro Bend, VT), Sarah Farber (High Bridge, NJ), Chris Kolwicz (Mahwah, NJ), Nick Bettens (Stanhope, NJ), Cina Gabel (Vernon, NJ), Greensville, SC), Stephanie Anderson (Mount Arlington, NJ), Lauren Taglienti (Hackettstown, NJ), Tom Farber (High Bridge, NJ), James Williams (Hackettstown, NJ), Conner Goerk (Hackettstown, NJ), Takiyiia Grundy (Irvington, NJ), Sonya Thiel (Bangor, PA), James Thrash (Bethlehem, PA), Quiomarie Munoz (Cherry Hill, NJ), Matt Kenny (Hackettstown, NJ), Amaryllis Cummings (Linden, NJ), Jalyn Lovejoy (Hackettstown, NJ), and CSC Intern Zach Weidner (Easton, PA).
Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary College’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world. Centenary College’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, NJ with its equestrian facility in Washington Township (Morris County). The Centenary College School of Professional Studies offers degree programs in two locations: Parsippany and Edison, and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey. The School of International Programs recruits international students for study at Centenary and Centenary students for study abroad.
The 2015-16 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Premier Season Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank of New Jersey, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
