INTO THE WOODS Comes to Indiana University Department of Theatre & Dance This Week

The summer heats up as the Indiana University Department of Theatre & Dance presents the 2023 IU Summer Theatre production of Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine's contemporary classic about timeless storybook characters whose wishes come true, for better or worse. Performances run July 7-29.

In Into the Woods, Lapine and Sondheim take everyone's favorite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant, piece... and a rare modern classic. The Tony Award-winning book and score are both enchanting and touching, and fun for the whole family. One of Sondheim's most popular works, Into the Woods is both musically sophisticated and lush, while remaining a hilarious dark comedy with poignant lessons about making our dreams come true. Come get lost in the wondrous, enchanting, spellbinding, world of Sondheim's Into the Woods and leave humming your favorite songs!

IU Summer Theatre's production of Into the Woods is directed by professor of practice DJ Gray with music direction by Jeremy Gussin. Per Gray, "Into the Woods is a love song to all my personal experience working with the greats who created this piece, James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim. I hear their voices and relive the memories of the coachings I've witnessed, and seeing firsthand their method and nuance in how they create a show inspires my work. I channel this energy and with the brilliance of the actors, have come up with our own version of this masterpiece." Director, choreographer, and performer DJ Gray made her Broadway debut in the record-breaking musical The Producers and served as associate choreographer for Broadway's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Xanadu. She collaborated with James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim on Broadway's Sondheim on Sondheim and Encore's acclaimed production of Merrily We Roll Along starring Lin Manuel Miranda. She directs and choreographs internationally and is the area head for IU's B.F.A. Musical Theatre program.

Joining Gray on the creative team are Maggie Jackson (Scenic Designer), Jeremiah Kearns (Lighting Designer), Eriko Terao (Costume Designer), Lexi Silva (Dramaturg), and Andrew Hopson (Sound Design), with Intimacy Direction by Jenny McKnight. The cast of Into the Woods is led by Emily Davis as the Baker's Wife, Hannah Kulawiak as the Witch and Evan Vaughan as the Baker. Rounding out the cast are Eirene Stavropoulos (Cinderella), Jake Kline (Jack), Mia Stewart (Little Red), Gavin Holman Douglas (The Narrator/Mysterious Man), Amia Korman (Rapunzell), Benjamin Sanderson (The Wolf / Cinderella's Prince), Justin Tidd (Rapunzell's Prince), Elleka Okerstrom-Drew (Jack's Mother), and Laura Rong (Milky White). They're joined by Sarah Cassidy, Lucy Ferguson, Brady McGuire, Alexa Norbeck, Tucker Ransom, Nicole Stawski, and Maria Izzo Walker. The team is led by stage manager Sarah Mansfield, with Madeline Horne (ASM), Sophie Frank (ASM), and Rachel Shearon (TD).

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