WAMS' 'Into the Woods' - My Review

The Waterbury Arts Magnet School Theatre Department chose the scarily difficult Into the Woods as their senior showcase. That means that the performers are chosen from students in their final year at the school that has their own entrance into Waterbury's Palace Theater. It essentially is their last hurrah before they cross that very same stage to receive their diploma.

WAMS principal Leo Lavallee served as the show's producer. He notes that the musical "intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairytales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests." The first act ends with the usual happy ending, while the second act is far darker. Area schools sent students to a performance of just the first act on the morning of opening night and the evening performance featured the entire show. I had a complimentary ticket to see the full production on opening night and I was blown away by the quality of this high school student production.

Drama teacher Nina A. Smith directed the large cast of incredibly talented students, while Marianna Dadamo Vagnini served as their musical director and the conductor of the excellent orchestra. Every member of the cast performed beautifully and the leads were simply outstanding.

Visually this show was stunning. The set fit the large stage and was beautifully and eerily lit by the students. Faculty member Michelle Leblanc was the scenic artist. The beautifully made costumes that were designed by WAMS Costume Shop's  Mary Ruby added to spectacle. The design and construction of the Witch's costume was done Amy Pierce. The huge technical crew included only five underclass members and they clearly did a fine job with their various duties.

Of course the magic really begins when the members of the class of 2014 take to the stage and "magic" is the only appropriate adjective. The maturity of the students was obvious as they acted out and sang through the two acts of scenes that filled three pages in the program. There was not one weak voice in the cast and the vast majority of them were pitch perfect and powerful. Ms. Vagnini carefully conducted them and the mix of professional and four student musicians in the pit.

In the crucial role of the Witch was the wickedly talented Emily Pierce, just back from performing in the NAfME All National 2013 Conference. She displayed her wonderful singing voice in these challenging Sondheim pieces and performed the role with an acting talent beyond her years. She truly commanded the stage. Santina Gianni-LaPlante did a very good job as her whiney daughter Rapunzel.

The Baker and his wife are also important characters in the piece and both were played by wonderful singers and actors. Zach Carter was his amazing self as the Baker and Jillian Bradshaw was perfect as the Baker's Wife. Alexa Campagna took on the challenging role of Cinderella and ran with it; her's was another excellent singing voice.

Adam Colagrossi chewed up the stage (in a good way) as the big and bad Wolf. Rebecca Dupre and Emily Hazelton were appropriately nasty as Cinderella's sisters, while Kate Mulhall played her evil stepmother. Her mother embodied in a tree was played by Michelle Briney.

The pair of princes were both excellent actors and singers. Andy Tapia gave a shining performance as Cinderella's and Chad Taylor matched him as Rapunzel's. Their "Agony" was a highlight in an evening full of highlights.

I loved the petulant childlike quality that Danielle Orlando brought to the role of Little Red Riding Hood. I couldn't wait to see what this talented actress was going to do next. Molly Gamache was commanding as the mother of Jack (in the Beanstalk) and acted mature enough to convincingly be the mother of Bailey Cummings as Jack. He was an excellent Jack who hauled his heavy wooden Milky White cow around the stage. Sarah Shatas moved the story along as the narrator who "read" from an oversized book of fairy tales.

The talented male and female dancers in the senior class were used beautifully in this production as fairy godmothers, birds, and dancers at the oft-mentioned festival. Their beautiful dancing added an ethereal quality to the production that I have never seen in Into the Woods.

When the entire cast sang together, as in the opening scenes that features the title song, I got chills. This was mostly due to the beauty of the melodies, but also was because I appreciated the beauty of the staging. This cast worked very hard for a relatively short time to get this show on the magnificent Palace stage.

Heartfelt congratulations to all the seniors involved in this outstanding production and the dedicated adults who have worked with them. I have no say whatsoever in any of the high school theater awards, but I have had the pleasure of attending some of the highest ranking productions in the past. I can say with certainty that this year WAMS has set the bar very high with this magnificent production.

Performance info is here.

Special performance for veterans info is here.