HEREABOUTS pamela dillon
What do you get when you mix an Aesop’s Fable with several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, scramble vigorously, and spill out the results? You get the wacky story “Into the Woods” by James Lapine. When music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim are added to the recipe, a successful Broadway musical is served up. Playhouse South brings this Theater Under the Stars production to Springboro starting this weekend at the amphitheater in North Park.
The baker and his wife are desperate for a child. In order to end the curse of childlessness brought on by the evil witch, they must concoct a potion. Characters from “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Cinderella,” “Red Riding Hood” and “Rapunzel” all possess the ingredients they need. The potion is made and the curse is lifted, but all do not live “happily ever after.”
“It’s not your typical fairy tale. The characters in this are more like real people with real-life problems. So as Cinderella, I get to show more emotion,” said Mackensie Vonderbrink, 20, of Miami Twp. “I get to sing a lot of songs in the production, but my big solo is ‘Steps of the Palace.’ ”
Vonderbrink, an 2009 Miamisburg graduate, had her first stage role as a 16-year-old sophomore in the same production. But in that “Into the Woods” run at Miamisburg High School, she played Cinderella’s stepsister, Florinda. The next year as a junior, she won her first lead role at MHS as Kate in “Kiss Me Kate.” Besides working as part of the chorus in “Back to the Eighties,” her first role in a Playhouse South production was Alexie Darling in “Rent.” Vonderbrink is now studying to be an English teacher at Sinclair Community College.
The other main characters are played by: Bobby Mitchum as the Baker; Lorri Topping as the Baker’s wife; Jeff Sams as Cinderella’s prince and the wolf; Chelsea Walterz as Rapunzel; Kate Smith as the Witch; Monique Hobbs as Jack’s mother; Andie Jones as the Giant; Mike Embree as Jack; and Jamal Cann as the mysterious man/narrator. The musical is directed by Becki Norgaard.
These six performances are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12-14 and 19-21. Performances are free and open to the public; donations are accepted. For more information, call (888) 262-3792, or visit www.playhousesouth.org.
Contact this columnist at (937) 748-3487 or PamDillon@woh.rr.com.