by Rachel Hunter
The Gouverneur High School presented the spring musical, “Into The Woods, Jr.” in packed house performances on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25 at the Gouverneur High School Auditorium.
“Into The Woods Jr.” is a new take on Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s groundbreaking, Tony-Award winning musical fairytale about wishes and the choices we make. The musical features all your favorite characters – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (and his beanstalk), and the Witch in a lyrically rich retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm fables. The musical features orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, and used with permission by Music Theatre International in New York City.
The doors opened at 6:40 p.m. each night. Community members arrived over one hour in advance in order to secure their place in line. By the time the doors opened, community members had formed a long line outside the Gouverneur High School auditorium entrance. With packed house performances each night, Gouverneur community members arrived in droves to enjoy the GHS Spring Musical, and show their support of the local students.
Welcoming all those in attendance were the smiling faces of the volunteers at the Box Office. This included Stacy Canell, Denise LeClair, Brandon Griffin, and Lindsey Carvel. Also showing their support throughout the production was Gouverneur Central School District Superintendent of School Jacquelyn Kelly, Gouverneur High School Principal Cory Wood, and members of the Gouverneur Central School District Board of Education, among others. The crowds were also ushered into the GHS Auditorium by the members of the GHS National Honor Society.
The GHS production of “Into The Woods Jr.” was directed by Emily Bason, with assistance from Music Director Kathleen Buell and Paul Buell, and Choreography by Paul Buell and Emily Bason. Director Bason dedicated the GHS Spring Musical to Music Director Kathy Buell. “I am dedicating this to her because I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Kathy for many years, but alongside her as a director for four shows,” Mrs. Bason said. Her passion for music and her love of theatre is just contagious. She challenges, encourages and guides our members into performing at their very best. She helps them achieve a level they never even thought possible. Thank you, Mrs. Buell. Keep playing, keep performing, and keep singing along. Thank you for your years of hard work and dedication to our musical programs.”
As the curtain went up in the GHS Auditorium, the audiences were quickly transported into Brothers Grimm fairytales. The GHS production of “Into The Woods, Jr.” had five scenes with multiple musical numbers that expertly guided the audiences along the storyline and narration by GHS Senior Mariah Manning. With GHS upperclassmen taking the lead roles, the Into The Woods Jr. cast delivered spectacular performances that local audiences will remember for year to come.
The story centered on the desires of five characters – Jack (Hazen Given) who wishes his old cow (Milky-White by Alexis Dake) would deliver milk, Little Red Riding Hood (Jahonna Sloan) who seeks treats for her grandma and herself, Cinderella (Niciara House-Bowman) who desire’s to attend the King’s Ball, and The Baker (Maxwel Lucas) and his wife (Allison Carvel) who long for a child. Like most Sondheim pieces, Into The Woods Jr. relies on the strength of a cast rather than putting the weight on one or two people to carry the show – and the GHS Production was no exception.
Other cast members included: Cinderella’s stepmother (Alexandra McDougall), Cinderella’s Father (Derek Hall), Florinda (Zaphire Hall), Lucinda (Charley Newvine), Cinderella’s Prince (Jack Schroeder), Jack’s Mother (Brook Garret), Witch (Faith Leader), Wolf (Sylvia French), Granny (Akaysha Shippee-Ray), Mysterious Man (Tigran Sahakyan), Rapunzel and Cinderella’s Mom (Jaylynn Dalton), Rapunzel’s Prince (Tiamane Hull), Steward (Abigail Lucas), Cow (Briahna McGill), and Hen (Elizabeth Bason).
GHS Junior Faith Leader (as the Witch) set the tone for excellence early in the musical as she performed the rapid-fire “Witch’s Entrance” rap with ease. Other musical selections included the following: “Giants In The Sky” (featuring GHS Senior Hazen Given as Jack), “Hello, Little Girl” (featuring Sylvia French as the Wolf and GHS Senior Jahonna Sloan as Little Red Riding Hood), “Agony” (featuring Cinderella’s Prince GHS Senior Jack Schroeder and Rapunzel’s Prince Tiamane Hull), “It Takes Two” (featuring GHS Seniors Maxwel Lucas as the baker, and Allison Carvel as the baker’s wife), “I Know Things Now” (GHS Senior Jahonna Sloan as Little Red Riding Hood), “Rapunzel” (featuring Jaylynn Dalton as Rapunzel), “Stay With Me” (featuring Faith Leader as the Witch), “On The Steps of the Palace” (featuring GHS Senior Niciara House-Bowman as Cinderella), among others. The full cast came together for the finale and performed, “Ever After,” and the curtain music, the haunting “Children Will Listen.”
The local audiences gave standing ovations to the GHS cast/crew/directors in recognition of their hard work and dedication in the exceptional production of “Into The Woods Jr.”
Many North Country residents said that they were quickly transported “Into The Woods” thanks to the efforts of the Set Builders (SWT BOCES Building Trades Students, Gianna Manning, Carly Bartholomew, Destiny Blair) and Set Design (Mr. Decker, Levi Durham, SWT BOCES Building Trades Students) volunteers. The costumes were managed by Director Ms. Matthews with assistance from Mya Connor and Mrs. Bason. Hairdressers were Emile Jesmer, Kathy Stamper, Gloria Browe, Candace Cowser, and cosmetology students from Southwest Tech BOCES. Make-up was done by Amanda Cox, Jessica Miller, and Melissa Terpstra.
The GHS production of “Into The Woods, Jr.” was made possible thanks to the efforts of Stage Manager/Property Mistress Destiny Blair, and stage crew including Destiny Blair, Ava Bartholomew, Carly Bartholomew, and Gianna Manning. Lights were handled by Madison Hopper and Shane Muyao. The Sound Engineer was Daniel Whitton with assistance from Kaden Wells and Gavin Davis. Working the slides was Ava Bartholomew. The publicity and programs were handled by the cast and crew of Into The Woods, Jr. as well as Director Emily Bason and Abigail Lucas. Also recognized was local photographer, Gidget Wainwright. The cast party was handled by Lindsey Carvel, Dayna Leader and the parents of the cast and crew.
A special word of appreciation was extended to the parents of the cast and crew, NNY Custom Printing, Shari Law, Emily Mashaw, The Gouverneur Tribune Press, Kinney Drugs, WWNY-TV, The Flower Girls, Tammy Mullin and Michelle Hassett, Evelyn Barton, Kiera Matthews, St. James School, Harold Simmons and the custodial staff, GHS Principal Cory Wood, GCS Supt. Jacquelyn Kelly, the GCS Board of Education and Captain Knight.
The GHS audiences were also informed that the Gouverneur Recreation Department will proudly present Missoula Children’s Theatre’s “Cinderella” on July 24-29 at GHS, open to all youth in grades K-12. Advanced registration is required (opening May 1, 2023), as there is limited availability. For more information, contact Recreation Director Casey Canell, 315-287-0524.
For more information about the Gouverneur Central School District, visit gcsk12.org.