BY KARISSA MILLER

Theatre Statesville will present the musical “Into the Woods, Jr.” with performances starting Friday in the American Renaissance School Black Box Theatre performance space.

Performances will run throughout the month.

“Into the Woods is a magical story. It’s about all these well-known fairy tales that combine together to tell a whole new story centered around the characters The Baker and his wife,” Director Chad Schuermeyer explained.

Beloved fairytale characters include Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack (from “Jack and the Beanstalk”), who play their parts with a spin, while they sing and dance as well.

The Baker and his wife want to have a baby, but can’t because they have been cursed by a witch. The witch agrees to lift the curse if they can bring her four items from the woods.

Schuermeyer said that one fun aspect of the show is the different types of storytelling used in the musical. For example, shadow puppetry is used in one scene to help tell the story of Little Red.

The director is thrilled with the cast.

“Every single cast member is amazing. They are all so talented, and I had to cast as many as I could,” he said.

The 30-member cast is made up of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who auditioned in September and had a dress rehearsal Thursday night.

THE CAST

Scout Stevenson, 11, plays Jack. The audience will be spellbound by this young actor’s talent and fall in love with her best friend Milky White, the cow.

“He’s very adventurous and he is mad at his mom because she says, ‘No one keeps a cow as a friend.’ That’s his only friend,” Scout said.

She has been in two other plays, including “Annie.” She likes to sing and dance, but said “it feels great when I can make people laugh.”

Emmy French, 16, plays Little Red. She brings her character to life with lively singing and dancing with the wolf.

“Little Red is kind of bratty and a loud girl, but at the end she grows up and learns things,” Emmy explained.

Ali Wooten, 16, who plays Cinderella, wishes to attend the King’s festival. She trades in her worn out clothes for a sparkly ball gown and slippers. Cinderella’s story has a twist and she has frequent encounters with The Baker’s wife.

“My favorite scenes are with The Baker’s wife, but there are so many great moments. This whole cast is really amazing,” Wooten said.

Dominic Ellis, 17, plays The Baker, and Baker’s wife is played by Amelia Bailey, 15. As their journey unfolds, the couple that takes the audience through their ups and downs of their marriage.

Amelia explained that she drew inspiration from her mom.

“I’ve always been typecast. I’ve played Lumiere in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and Will in ‘Oklahoma,’ where I’ve always been a silly character that has to be serious in certain scenes,” Dominic said.

Theatre Statesville President Caity Gordon said that the cast members are brilliant and the ARS Black Box Theater makes the show a unique experience. She hopes that the community will come out to watch “Into the Woods, Jr.” in this new venue.

Stage manager Terry Evans explained that the performance space brings the audience closer to the stage and characters will enter their scenes from different directions in the room.

The ARS Black Box Theatre is located at 222 E. Broad Street in Statesville. Enter through the lower level.

SHOW TIMES
• November 8-9: 7:30 p.m.
• November 10: 2:30 p.m.
• November 15-16: 7:30 p.m.
• November 17: 2:30 p.m.
• November 21, 22, 23: 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS
Visit https://theatrestatesville.com/shows/into-the-woods-jr/ to purchase tickets.

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