The musical “Into the Woods” celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, it intertwines the plots and characters of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. NMSU Theatre’s production of “Into the Woods” opens Friday, with a preview performance Thursday evening at 5:30, and will run through May 3rd at the NMSU Center for the Arts. Scott Brocato recently spoke with stage director Lisa Hermanson and actress Katie Mayers, who plays the Baker’s wife, about the production.
Scott Brocato:
Lisa Hermanson, let's start with you. For those who are not familiar with it, talk about “Into the Woods.” There's a lot going on throughout this musical...
Lisa Hermanson:
Yeah, there definitely is. So there's a compilation of fairy tales in this story, many of which audiences may be familiar with, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, and some stories that audiences may not remember as well, such as The Baker and Baker's Wife and their journey to find a child.
The legendary composer in musical theater, Stephen Sondheim--this is arguably his most famous work of musical theater. And he's the one who really masterfully combined all these fairy tales into a story of looking for wishes, looking for fulfilling our hopes and dreams, what happens when we fulfill them, and then what happens after, which is something that fairy tales famously don't get into. They finish with “happy ever after” and you're kind of “That's the end of the story” when we're children. And then you grow up into adulthood and you realize that there is more afterwards. And so Stephen Sondheim really explores that in the second half of the story.
Scott Brocato:
It's celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. To what do you attribute its longevity?
Lisa Hermanson:
Oh, my students know I could talk about this for hours!
So Stephen Sondheim is a master, was a master at the works that he does. Not only is he skillfully combining all of these fairy tales and stories and weaving these characters into relatable human beings with very witty dialogue, he writes music so well that the music feels like it's another part of the story. And he's using the music in order to emphasize the characters and the journey they're on and really invite the audience into the space all the way throughout.
His musical compositions and the way that he styles his shows is something that no theatrical composer had done or has done since his works. That, beyond the initial success that the show had on Broadway with many amazing legendary stars like Bernadette Peters, contributes to the repetition of the show, which helps build its fame. And it's so well-written, not just in terms of the music, but in terms of the script, what the characters are going through, and what it leaves the audience with in the final moments.
Scott Brocato:
What can audiences expect from NMSU's production of Into the Woods?
Lisa Hermanson:
Yeah, so NMSU's production of The Woods, when I first was creating my director's vision, the thought that I had was, I really want this to be a magical experience. And my amazing collaborative team of designers and cast and crew and students are working so hard to make that happen. Audiences are going to be delighted by the talent that our team has to showcase. They're going to be thrilled by the costumes, the intricacy of the set, and also how many fun surprises that we have woven into this show in ways that are...just magical, to be completely honest with you.
Scott Brocato:
And you're stage director of this, correct? Is that the same as choreographer in this case?
Lisa Hermanson:
It is not, no. In many Broadway productions, the stage director is the choreographer, which is helpful because one of the jobs of the stage director is telling the actors where to stand and how to move there. So having choreography experience can be quite helpful in communicating the physicality to the actors. I have music director background, so for work like Stephen Sondheim, that music experience feeds into my understanding of the script when I am framing and shaping the show with where people go because I can understand how it should match up musically. But I have two separate choreographers: Casey Bauer is my choreographer and Mikey Tonko is my assistant choreographer who have been instrumental in helping shape this.
Scott Brocato:
Why two (choreographers)?
Lisa Hermanson:
Why two? Because I love to give experience to people, and also for the practical reason of they both have very busy schedules and we could, because of their busy schedules, we were able to conquer more territory by having the two of them there at different times.
Scott Brocato:
And what has been some of the challenges for you with this production?
Lisa Hermanson:
With this production, the largest challenge has been the scale of it. There's so much to do. There's so many songs. There's so many...because of all those intricacies, I feel a real sense of urgency and importance that I get it right. And so spending the time and taking the time to combine all of those details has meant a different approach to how I handle rehearsals and how we're starting to combine everything.
There's a lot of work going on to make this enormous set, these enormous costumes. We have a live orchestra that's coming in to play the show. All in all, we have about 64 people involved in the show from cast, crew, designers, and musicians. And that's a lot of moving parts to juggle. So that's been the biggest part for me as a director is functioning as the eyes of how all these pieces are going together and balancing when I'm seeing all these pieces as like the trees of the forest and when I need to step back and see the overarching view of the forest.
Scott Brocato:
Well, let's talk to one of those “moving parts” right now. Actor Katie Mayers, you play the baker's wife.
Katie Mayers:
Yeah, the baker and the baker's wife, from a base level, are just hoping to have a child and they realize that there's more along with that. There's a witch who put a curse on the baker and his family that made them not be able to have children. So they have to go on kind of like a wild goose chase to get all these things for the witch to then hopefully have a child. And deeper than that, they're both also just trying to keep their relationship alive and their love for each other alive and see what is needed to do that. And will a child help with that? Or is there something else deeper that needs to happen?
Scott Brocato:
And is this your first production with NMSU?
Katie Mayers:
This is my third time acting with NMSU. My first production was “Addams Family” with Lisa. This is also not my first time doing “Into the Woods,” this is my second time. So it's very cool to come at it with a different perspective and to work on such a grand production.
Scott Brocato:
Since this is your second time, what do you enjoy about it? What do you find unique about “Into the Woods?”
Katie Mayers:
I find the intricacies of it so unique and the writing is so well done, as Lisa talked about. It's just really masterful work and you can get so deep into it. It's like a rabbit hole that you can go down forever on different intricacies that Sondheim put into different parts of the story and all the connections of the characters. And at its root, I just think it's such a heartfelt story for every single character. I think it's a story of growth. and getting to see that done and getting to be a part of it is something really special.
Scott Brocato:
And finally--and we'll start with you, Katie--what do you want audiences to take away from this production?
Katie Mayers:
I want them to take away that...well, I want them to come and I want them to laugh and cry and feel all the emotions, but I think in a deeper sense, it's just to show that maybe what you want isn't what you think it is. What you're wishing for might not be what you actually need. Your wishes are different than what you actually need.
Scott Brocato:
Stage Director Lisa Hermanson, what do you want audiences to take away from “Into the Woods?”
Lisa Hermanson:
Yeah, I'm agreeing with Katie in that I'm really excited for audiences to come have a good time, and laugh and cry and feel and give themselves freedom to feel emotions that we feel in our everyday lives, but that theater sort of elevates. So I'm excited for audiences to have a bit of an escape through watching the show.
I'm also really excited for them to get to experience the joy of collaboration and building this beautiful world that everyone, all 64 plus people, have worked so hard to make. With every production I do, I hope the audiences come away with like, “oh, I didn't know they could do that. I didn't know NMSU could do that. I didn't know the students could do that. I didn't know theater could do that.” And I'm really, really excited to see the conversations and the growth that happens for everyone who comes to see the show, regardless of what they specifically came for in the first place.
Tickets can be purchased at theatre.nmsu.edu
