| Into the Woods
Had the opportunity to see Into the Woods tonight with my wife and D. What an absolute delight. A wondrous journey combining the comedy and humor of Fractured Fairy Tales with existential musings about yearnings in life, dreams that turn out differently than expected and finding contentment when all seems to be falling apart.
The show was held in the Meriam Theatre, UArts very own 1800 seat proscenium theater, that is the equal of the old majestic theaters found on Broadway. The cast, production and stage crews and musicians were all UArts students. The show was directed by Charles Gilbert, head of the MT program, with Owen Robbins, the MT program Musical Director, serving as Music Director for the show and Nancy Kantra, Head of Dance and Movement, serving as choreographer. Simply put, it was just a fabulous professional quality production. It's often been said that if you want to really see what a school is all about, go see one of its shows. Tonight's show exemplified all that UArts has to offer, the talent of the students, the level of the training received and the professionalism imbued through the educational values that are infused in the MT program. What was particularly revealing was that many if not most of the roles were played by graduating seniors (there were some juniors and a few sophomores) and it was inspirational to see just how prepared they are to move on to outside performing endeavors.
I would be remiss not to mention this MT Board's very own sheerviolette who performed triple duty as Cinderella's Mother, the Granny and the voice of the Giant's Wife. You were great with acting that was convincing and true and a wonderful voice. Best wishes to you as you graduate in another month and move off in exciting directions. |