Faced with both a power outage and a Covid-19 outbreak, Westmont Theatre defied all odds in their production of Into the Woods. The show opened on March 17 and ran for two weeks, with a total of seven performances. Although the audience never would have guessed, the cast and crew rehearsed their final three nights of tech week in candlelight, completely without power.
Technical Director James Harper leads the advanced designers and oversees the 50 technicians who work behind the scenes. As Captain in Running Crew, he also works with the stage manager to supervise everything backstage.
Harper explains how the power outage impacted the lighting design process: “We have 400 light cues in the show. We blindly wrote 300 of them.”
Pictured to the right, Harper and Lighting Designer Noella Thu worked at home during the outage. Without a physical stage or equipment, the two worked in Harper’s bedroom in the days before opening night to program the lights. Impressively, they succeeded!
The technicians and designers of Into the Woods did a marvelous job in all aspects; undoubtedly, they deserve a standing ovation. A creative, yet functional set, precise lighting, a fantastic opening night despite obstacles—every element of the production was exceptional.
Harper captures the charm of the theatre department. “It’s all for the students I work for,” he says, “Being on a well-organized and dedicated team makes everything worth it.”
Who works with both technicians and actors is Stage Manager Mika Shahar. “I think what I’ve enjoyed most about Woods is seeing all of our hard work come to life onstage, especially with everything we’ve been through, like the power outages and our actors plus vocal director getting sick,” Shahar writes.
That’s right, in addition to a troublesome lack of power, multiple actors fell ill after the first weekend of performances. The radiant Kailey Topping, who plays one of the leads, Cinderella, endured a days-long Covid spell. Thankfully, I had the joy of watching her onstage opening night. To say Topping has talent is an immense understatement. Whether she is dazzling the audience with her singing or moving them with her words, she shines.
In Topping’s brief absence, sophomore Shreya Goshal stepped into the golden heels of Cinderella. Goshal primarily performs as Rapunzel; therefore, she received only a couple days to prepare before taking the stage in the new role.
Explains Goshal: “I basically spent every moment that I wasn’t transporting myself from school to home looking through the script, memorizing lines, calling Kailey for blocking—the amazing Cinderella.”
She comments more on the encouragement from her peers, stating, “Literally every single person texted me saying, ‘Hey, how are you feeling? Do you need any help?’ I have just been very overwhelmed, but very grateful for all the people in the theater.”
Clearly, the hurried rehearsal time did not inhibit Goshal’s performance; she acted flawlessly through each scene and song. Both two did a wonderful job.
For those unfamiliar with the complex plot of Into the Woods, the musical centers upon several famous fairy tales—Cinderella, Jack (Logan Mendelson) and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood (Hazel Behl), Rapunzel—interact with one another. Each family in the storyline has their respective hardships, such as Jack, who does not want to sell his cow, or the Baker couple (Zachary Kessler and Sarah Ruebenson), who cannot have children. By the end of Act I, each character overcomes their struggles. That is, for the time being.
“Act II is where the real meat of the show lies,” explains Director Jeff Bengford.
Seconds before intermission, the show appears to have reached a resolution. However, that is when the narrator of the show, Nisitha Kakulapati, exclaims, “To be continued!” Moving forward, the seemingly concluded show unravels into instances of death and infidelity. The Baker loses his wife; Cinderella, the marital loyalty of her prince. The narrator eventually falls victim to the dark themes of the show, when she is sacrificed in the fight against a murderous giant.
Although her role entails breaking the fourth wall, Kakulapati takes this to another level. Every moment you glance toward her, she remains an outside perspective yet entrenched in the scene, reacting to each and every line.
“This is the first role I’ve played where I’ve had the most liberty to decide how to act,” says Kakulapati, “In the original Broadway version, the narrator is an old white guy in his sixties … And suddenly B, our director, comes up to me, and he’s like, ‘Nisitha, you are a storyteller lost in the woods.”
Evidently, her creativity flourishes in her role. She transcends the traditional narrator character.
Another one-of-a-kind character, The Mysterious Man, possesses critical knowledge that other characters lack. Playing the part, Ethan Li hilariously delivers the brief philosophical lines of the character. His eccentricity and energy onstage are incredibly entertaining.
Furthermore, if you’ve watched a Westmont Theatre production in the last few years, you’ve watched Raven Carthon in action. In Into the Woods, she plays the Witch—Rapunzel’s mother. Not only does Carthon mesmerize the audience with her voice, but also she enlivens each scene with her powerful acting.
To give justice to each of the brilliant actors’ performances is an impossible task. Every actor offers an imperative element to the show, like the two manly princes, Kaleb Ma and Shiloh Martinez, or the tweeting pair of birds, Flora Marchand Walls and Anna Genna.
When asked what they enjoyed the most, Genna expresses appreciation for the community, writing, “Our techs put so much into it.” They also explain the camaraderie of the department: “There are a lot of inside jokes.”
Last, but not least, Into the Woods features live music, courtesy of Conductor Bill Burkhead, Flutist Gwendolyn Schneider, Violinist Keiko Inouye, and Clarinetist Bianca Schultz.
Schultz has played Clarinet for a Westmont musical twice now. “Putting on a production is such a collaborative effort, and it’s fun to be part of the ‘magic’ that brings the story to life,” she exclaims.
The live pit added an immeasurable amount of professionalism to the production. Schultz joyfully admits, “Now the songs from the show are stuck in my head!”
I can absolutely relate. Watching Into the Woods brought myself and others much joy, and I’ll still find myself humming the Witch’s “Last Midnight,” or Jack’s “Giants in the Sky.” As always, Westmont Theatre exceeds the standards of high school-level theatre.