Community theater presenting “Into the Woods, Jr.”

“We are pleased to share that they are a remarkable group that has hit the ground running and is working hard already to make the show memorable,” said Director Tiffany Van Maren, along with the theater’s board members.

“Directors Carolyn Poston and Tiffany Van Maren have brought this cast together and recruited an amazing crew. Costumers BJ Farris and Teri McGregor are also hard at work to make all the actors shine as they tell Stephen Sondheim’s iconic tale, with a “Junior” twist,” she said.

The Narrator (Gabby Buchnoff) guides the audience through the story, telling them each character's wish.

Cinderella (Teryn Van Maren) wishes to go to the King's Festival. Jack (Tad Cooper) wishes his cow, Milky-White, would give him milk, and the Baker (Oliver Carlos) and Baker's Wife (Lillian Poston) wish to have a child. Jack's Mother (Aida Cooper) wishes for gold and a less foolish son. Cinderella's Stepmother (Sage Farley) and her stepsisters, Florinda (Iris Powers) and Lucinda (Sequoia Merten), laugh at Cinderella's wish. With Cinderella's Father (Erik Cooper), they ride off to the ball without Cinderella, leaving her behind in tears. After stopping at the bakery for sweets, Little Red Ridinghood (Amber Van Maren) prepares to travel into the woods to see her sick Granny (Oceana Powers).

At their home, the Baker and his Wife are visited by the Witch (Emmy Armstrong) next door. She reveals that the Baker's father is the reason the couple's wish will never come true. She explains that, in the past, for his pregnant mother, the Baker's father stole magical beans from the Witch's garden. To punish them, the Witch placed a curse on the family, guaranteeing none would ever bear children again, including the Baker and his Wife. Once born, the Witch took the Baker's sister Rapunzel (Summer Kessler) and hid her in a tower far, far away. In order to break the spell and get his wish, the Witch tells the Baker he has three days to bring her four items: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold.

At the grave of Cinderella's Mother (Summer Kessler), Cinderella shares her wish and is granted a beautiful dress and slippers to wear to the ball. While walking through the woods to market, Jack encounters a Mysterious Man (River Harris) who says his cow is worth only a sack of beans. Little Red Ridinghood meets a Wolf (Rhyan Baines) who targets her and her grandmother for his next meal.

We hear the voice of the Baker's lost sister, Rapunzel, singing in the distance throughout. All the while, Rapunzel's Prince (Jaden Roberts) and Cinderella's Prince (Jimmy Walker) exchange tales of woe, each insisting his romantic problem is more serious than his brother's.

“Into the Woods is an iconic show, and Dylan Panter’s production for BHCT seven years ago still holds a special place in our history. This current production was shortened by Sondheim to make it more accessible to younger actors,” said Van Maren “We have an array of experienced actors you will recognize and new actors, many already talented singers, growing by the day with the incredible script and music.”