“Into the Woods” at the Academy Theatre, Meadville A Press Release

A twisting tree trunk winds out of the Academy Theatre stage, swallowing a mossy tower. Mushrooms erupt from the walls. Vines choke the lights. A forest buries the stage as volunteers prepare to welcome audiences Into the Woods, opening at the Academy Theatre this Friday, February 7 and running through February 23, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:00pm, and a special Saturday matinee at 2:00pm on February 15.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s story throws a collection of familiar fairytale characters, like Cinderella and Little Red Ridinghood, together in a new situation that explores the stories we tell about life. The characters, brought to life by a small but especially powerful ensemble of players both familiar and new to the Academy stage, must navigate a dark forest. The titular woods were imagined for the stage by scenic designer Eric Zindorf in his most immersive scenic design yet. 

“All of this is done by volunteers,” Zindorf explained, pointing out delicate moss creeping through grooves in the bark of a tree. “We want audiences to feel like they’re transported into the woods.”

Among the volunteers is local artist Joe Grabinski. Grabinski cares for trees as an arborist, but during the winter off-season, he combined his passions to build the set for Into the Woods. 

“Trees are made of layers, carbon, and time. The old tree that sits at the foot of Rapunzel’s tower is no different,” Grabinski says. The trunk propping up the tower is an eight foot column of foam. To create the organic shapes of the gnarled branches, he fed wire through strips of foam to bend and twist the model. Strips of paper-mâché barely an inch thick wind around the foam structure to wrap the tree in a realistic bark texture.

“He must have spent twenty hours on [the tree sculpture centerpiece],” remarked set volunteer Peter Castelli, before the branches had even been attached to the trunk.

Grabinski was “immediately jiving with the maximalist and exaggerated high-fantasy elements of [Zindorf’s] blueprint.” He calls the woods “a conjuring of colors, textures, sounds, and memories.” 

Among the memories are those of director Shawn Clerkin. Clerkin, who helmed the Academy’s popular Sound of Music in 2022 and last season’s Anastasia, points to a storybook adaptation of Into the Woods as a primary source of inspiration for costume, makeup, and lighting. Lighting designer Dan Slozat echoes the detail and depth of Hudson Talbott’s illustrated scenes with dappled sunlight and creeping shadows. In lieu of the traditional thematic pre-show playlist, birdsong welcomes audiences to the woods. Light on the curtain appears to filter through leaves gently blowing in a breeze. Grabinski explains that the set design is meant to invoke the audience’s experience in the woods – both literal and as the metaphor Sondheim and Lapine use for life.

In Into the Woods, audiences can expect the brilliant performances for which the Academy is known to explore the dim paths that continue after “happily ever after.” The story follows a Baker (Daniel Megaffin) and his wife (Ashley Mattocks-Rose), who wish to have a child; Cinderella (Adria Urbanowicz), who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack (Liam Luther), who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch’s (Julia Kemp) curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results. The remainder of the company includes the Narrator (Austin Kulyk), Jack’s Mother (Leah Hillgrove), Cinderella’s Stepmother (Lauren Whitney), Stepsisters (Ella Worley and Chloe Shade), Cinderella’s Father (Darrel Whitney), Little Red Ridinghood (Alyssa Whalen), Rapunzel (Emilie Weaver), Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf (Séamus Clerkin), Rapunzel’s Prince (Robbie Brown), Steward (Garrett Bouslough), and Cinderella’s Mother, Granny, and the Giant (Lacey Keck).

INTO THE WOODS opens February 7 and runs through February 23, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:00pm, and a special Saturday matinee at 2:00pm on February 15. Tickets available at the box office at 275 Chestnut Street, Meadville, PA, over the phone at 814-337-8000, and online at www.theacademytheatre.org. Save $2 when you get your tickets in advance. This production is considered PG-13.