Into the Woods!

Last night I went to see my friend Jeannette perform in a community theater play, "Into the Woods." I'd never seen her act before, but I knew she was a fantastic singer, so I was really looking forward to this.

Watching the play made me long for the days in high school when I was in the Drama Club and acted in school productions. I have been Juliet, Dracula's bride, and a pregnant woman coping with AIDS, just to name a few. When my school decided to do musicals my senior year, I dropped out. They were doing "Grease" and I don't sing (outside of the shower). But maybe I'll look into some community theaters in my area to see if they're auditioning. It couldn't hurt!

It's testament to how good last night's play (and Jeannette) were that the boyf had to be all but dragged to go see it, and he wound up having a huge grin on his face the entire time. If you've never heard of "Into the Woods," it's a musical that reinvents beloved fairy tales such as "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Rapunzel," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," and more.

But perhaps "reinvents" is too soft a word.

Jeannette had a big role -- she played the Baker's wife who can't conceive a child due to a curse placed on her husband's family by (who else?) a fearsome witch. In order to remove the curse, they need to procure the following four items before the clock strikes midnight on the third day: a red silken cape, a golden slipper, a lock of hair yellow as corn, and a cow white as milk.

While everyone in the cast had decent pipes, each time Jeannette took the stage, she blew them out of the water. As of yet, Jeannette hasn't been discovered by Broadway, just Boca Raton. We're trying to find out how she can get an audition for Broadway, but apparently it's as hard to find as the Holy Grail. I have hope that some day she'll get lucky and a casting scout will be in the audience and get to see her perform.

Here is a picture of Jeannette as the Baker's wife standing next to Cinderella (sorry for the blurry quality, it was taken with a mobile phone) as well as a YouTube video of the play's prologue from the Broadway version.




3 comment(s):

Indyeah said...

I didn't know all that about "Into the Woods....!It sounds really charming..:)and you used to act!

Wow!because just going up on stage requires so much of confidence....I have always been camera shy and have sufferd from stage fright and so... I envy you....:)
Your friend looks like she's completely 'into' her character and enjoying herself...:)

and yeah 'it' couldn't hurt!Go for it...:)..

Unknown said...

Oh, but I don't know if I even have that confidence anymore. I was a lot spunkier when I was in high school. Maybe because I am a teacher, I'm OK with speaking in front of an audience, so hopefully I won't suddenly develop stage fright!

Indyeah said...

Please do drop in and pick up something:)
http://ofsongsforthesoul.blogspot.com/2009/01/overwhelmedand-love-and-appreciation.html