Marquee Youth Stage to put on Sondheim's 'Into the Woods' June 18-20
Marquee Youth's Conservatory will present the Tony Award-winning musical "Into the Woods" on June 18-20 at the renovated Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles.
Directed by Colin Bokowy, with musical direction by Ollie Townsend, "Into the Woods" will feature more than 30 talented performers and pit musicians from the northwest suburbs. The music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim.
The Narrator (portrayed by Reagan Jorgenson) tells the story of a childless baker (Luke Ahlquist) and his wife (Ella Kobylecky) who yearn to have a child but cannot because of a curse by The Witch (Aubrey Risch); Cinderella (Mary Kate Schoessling), who wishes to attend the King's Festival; and Jack (Parker Moran), who wishes his cow would give milk.
The baker and his wife set off on a journey to break the curse, only to realize they're not alone. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of how they set off to get their wish return to haunt them later.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 18-19, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 20. The running time is 2 hours and 45 minutes for the full production, plus a 15-minute intermission between Acts I & II.
For tickets go to app.arts-people.com or MarqueeYouth.org.
Online tickets are $16 or $14 for seniors or children under age 12. Ticket prices will increase when purchased at the door.
The cast also includes: Rosette Pavkov as Jack's mother; Makenna Barrett as Cinderella's stepmother; Ella Weasler and Caitlyn Johnson as Florinda and Lucinda, Cinderella's stepsisters; Maggie Hancock as the Little Red Ridinghood; Holly Stone as Granny and Cinderella's mother; Ryan Forde as Steward; Zach Henning as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince; Maine Triplett as Rapunzel's Prince; Tanya Fedak as Rapunzel; Sam Pershing as Mysterious Man; Charlee Crone as the Giant's Wife and Snow White, as well as Lucinda (June 19 performance); Kelsey La Pointe as Sleeping Beauty; Ella Johnson as the Milky White Puppeteer on June 18 and 20, and Ruby Weasler on June 19.
The music will be performed by conductor Ollie Townsend (also on keyboards); violinists Ryan Hajak and Marilyn Gans; violist Alexa Stephens; cellist Willian Akst; Jeri Rethford on trumpet; Brenna Jun on horns; Kevin Jun, flute/piccolo; Sage Overstreet on B flat and E flat clarinets; and Anthony Scandora, percussion.
Marquee Youth Stage is a 501(c)3 performing arts education organization, established in January 2011 and dedicated to empowering youth for life. Its mission is to broaden the reach and impact of theater so that students of all abilities, ethnicities, skills and economic backgrounds may benefit, thereby increasing the opportunities for theater in order to inspire creativity, support, enrich and empower youth with the skills and knowledge of how the arts can serve and influence the community at large.
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