INTO THE WOODS And More Announced for Virginia Theatre Festival 2025 Season

The Virginia Theatre Festival's 2025 season will open on Friday, June 27 with Stephen Sondheim's classic musical Into the Woods.

VTF's 51st summer season runs through July 27 and will also feature The Heart Sellers, a heartwarming, and powerful new comedy by Lloyd Suh about the immigrant experience in 1970's America, and Get Happy! – A Celebration of the World's Greatest Entertainer with Jenna Pastuszek, a one-woman show featuring the songs of American icon Judy Garland. 

The Virginia Theatre Festival is a program of the University of Virginia, with support from the Office of the Provost, Vice Provost for the Arts, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Drama, and the Caplin Foundation. 

VTF begins its 51st season by taking audiences on a journey into the woods as beloved fairy tale characters Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and many more spill from the pages of the storybook on to the stage in Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece, Into the Woods. An unforgettable score and enchanting story expose the complicated consequences of happily ever after. The production will be directed and choreographed by UVA alum and VTF veteran Matthew Steffens, whose credits include the acclaimed 2023 VTF production of Cabaret and who served as assistant choreographer on the most recent Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Into the Woods.

“Into the Woods is about expanding the boundaries of our imagination as we watch these familiar fairy tale characters spill from the storybook to the stage and take us on their surprising journeys – all to the remarkable sounds and songs of one of  Broadway's greatest composers,” said VTF artistic director Jenny Wales. She added that she is particularly excited to work once again with director, longtime collaborator, and fellow UVA Drama Department grad Matthew Steffens. Steffens and Wales have their own shared history of collaboration on the musical, as they were castmates in the UVA Drama Department production in 1998.

Into the Woods, directed and choreographed by Matthew Steffens, will run from June 27-July 6 in the Culbreth Theatre. Into the Woods is presented by ArkWise Wealth: An Ameriprise Private Wealth Advisory Practice and Woodard Properties and supported by Virginia Cenedella. 

Pulitzer Prize finalist Lloyd Suh's sweet, funny, and deeply moving play The Heart Sellers highlights the experiences of two 20-something immigrant women, one from the Philippines and one from South Korea, who meet, by chance, in a grocery store on Thanksgiving night. Set in 1973, eight years after the passing of the Hart-Celler act which abolished immigration quotas in America, the play finds Luna and Jane bonding over their common longing for the homes they have left behind and the excitement of what lies ahead in a new land. Filled with heart and humor, the pair share their hopes, fears, laughs, dreams, and a bottle or two of wine over the course of an evening that illuminates their experience as immigrants and asks, “Would you give up your heart to make a new home?”

The Heart Sellers, directed by Desdemona Chiang, will run from July 11-20 in the Helms Theatre.

“The Heart Sellers is a beautiful exploration of the power of friendship and laughter,” Wales said. “It is a wonderfully human look at the cost of moving to a different country, and how creating a sense of community is important to the process of creating a new life.” While set squarely in the 1970s, Wales adds that the play is a perfect example of the ways we can use art as an important vehicle for conversation today. “The Heart Sellers is a wonderful opportunity to look  at the history of immigration in America, past, present, and future. We are  fortunate at the University of Virginia to be surrounded by  leading experts and scholars who can illuminate these issues, and we look forward to working with our colleagues to create opportunities for these conversations around The Heart Sellers.”

The 2025 VTF season will close on a high note with Get Happy! – A Celebration of the World's Greatest Entertainer with Jenna Pastuszek. Get Happy! is a dynamic and electric evening of some of the greatest hits and little-known gems from American icon Judy Garland, performed by acclaimed cabaret performer and UVA alumnus Jenna Pastuszek. Eschewing imitation for celebration, Pastuszek weaves her own story amongst the carefully curated tunes, melding her own formidable talents with the unbeatable allure of timeless standards to take audiences over the rainbow and then some.

“The title of this evening really says it all.” Wales said. “Get Happy! is a sort of exclamation point of sorts, delivered so beautifully by the University of Virginia's own incredibly talented Jenna Pastuszek.” 

Get Happy! – A Celebration of the World's Greatest Entertainer with Jenna Pastuszek will run from July 24-27 in the Ruth Caplin Theatre.

VTF donors provide essential support to the organization, while enjoying exclusive benefits like gaining access to purchase tickets in advance of public sales, invitations to special events, behind-the-scenes access, and more. For more information on ways to support the upcoming season, visit virginiatheatrefestival.org/support.

Tickets for the 2025 season will go on sale on April 22. 

VTF offers seasonal employment opportunities for theatre artists, technicians, and administrators. Local auditions for Into the Woods will be held February 28-March 2. More information on job openings and auditions can be found at virginiatheatrefestival.org/jobs. 

Into the Woods music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, and book is by James Lapine. The show was originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine, and orchestrations are by Jonathan Tunick. Into the Woods is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.

The Heart Sellers was commissioned by Milwaukee Repertory Theater as part of the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program Mark Clements, Artistic Director Chad Bauman, Executive Director and received its first public performance on February 7, 2023. The Heart Sellers is presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.trwplays.com.

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