FROM CINDERELLA AND Little Red Riding Hood to Jack and the Beanstalk and the Prince, the Who’s Who of the Fairy Tale World came to life onstage for a junior production of a Broadway favorite.
DIRECTOR LAURIE CANTRELL OFFERS WORDS OF INSPIRATION TO THE CAST. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
St. Joseph Catholic School (Placentia) presented “Into the Woods Jr.” for two nights only on May 8 and 9 at Servite High School’s theater. The show was adapted from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning musical for younger actors and vocalists.
“It was a joy to stand on the side of the stage and be there with the kids and see the excitement in their eyes before they went on the stage, especially with our first time in front of an audience,” said the school’s principal Amanda Hawley, who produced the Placentia school’s show. “To see them light up and take the show to the next level is incredible.”
“Into the Woods Jr.” follows the stories of Little Red Riding Hood (Brooklyn Tyler) visiting her Granny (Arianna Hurtado); Jack’s mother (Kinsie Nieva) forcing her son (TJ Cantrell) to sell his beloved cow; a baker (Dylan Gallegos) and his wife (Kaile Graham) in their desperate search to find four objects needed for the witch (Baelli Viele) to break the curse; and Cinderella’s (Kristine Ungab) trip to the ball of the Prince (Enzo Costello).
CAST MEMBERS PERFORM IN A SCENE FROM “INTO THE WOODS JR.”
The musical has challenging vocals, along with its numerous characters and technical complications, but after nine years of building up the performing arts program, this was finally the year, said the school’s assistant principal Laurie Cantrell, who directed the show. Cantrell has also served as the performing arts director at Rosary Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in musical theater and a master’s degree in music.
“I knew if there was one year to do it, it would be this year,” Cantrell said.
She added that after the first show, she was “so beyond proud. I can’t even explain it. Tears in my eyes. Very, very proud of them.”
RAPUNZEL’S ICONIC TOWER MOMENT ADDS A MAGICAL TOUCH TO THE PERFORMANCE.
The school opened auditions to first through eighth grade this past winter, and all 67 students who tried out were cast. Students in first through third grade performed in the junior ensemble for two dance numbers, including some students who learned a special routine from Hawley, a tap dancer.
Brooklyn Tyler, 13, who played Little Red Riding Hood, auditioned for the role, specifically because she is an energetic person and so is her character. Throughout the show, the seventh grader is never still — skipping around and singing at the same time.
“It’s very fun,” Tyler said. “You get to work with a lot of people that you get to see at school, and you get to act and sing and do what you really love. I love showing people what I’m capable of and what I love doing.”
For sixth-grader Kaile Graham, who played the baker’s wife, this was her dream show and her dream role.
“The first time I watched this show I was 8. I memorized the whole thing,” said Graham, 12.
Fellow sixth-grader TJ Cantrell, 12, who played Jack, said he felt a little scared, but nevertheless was very excited before the first performance. And afterward, he was proud of himself.
Eighth-grader Kristine Ungab, who played Cinderella, reflected how completing “Into the Woods Jr.” was tinged with the heartache of goodbye.
“I’m going to be extremely sad, but also proud of myself, because this is going to be my very last play at this school because I’m going to high school,” the 14-year-old said. “But I’m going to be proud of myself because this is the first time I’ve gotten an extremely huge role and I’m going to be very proud I was able to do it.”