By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban
Côte St. Lucers and other members of the Montreal community can look forward to enchantment and energy when the four-time Montreal English Theatre Award winning Côte Saint-Luc Dramatic Society presents its own production of Into the Woods from May 16 to June 2 at the Harold Greenspon Auditorium, located at the Bernard Lang Civic Centre, 5801 Cavendish Blvd.
The musical, says the CSLDS, is a “brilliant interwoven tapestry of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel hilariously, heartachingly, and skillfully brought to life onstage.”This musical offers a nuanced approach to these classic tales that will surprise, delight, and thrill audience members from 10 to 110 years old.”
The CSLDS production will feature 28 community and professional performers and a professional creative team “made up of some of the very best and brightest designers and musicians from Montreal, helmed by CSLDS Artistic Director Anisa Cameron and Musical Director Nick Burgess.” The play is produced by Mayor Mitchell Brownstein and councillors Andee Shuster and Mitch Kujavsky.
The presentation “will be limited to an intimate and immersive 120 seats per show where the audience will feel like they are inside the stories.”
Asked about this form of presentation, Cameron, who is directing the play, told The Suburban that “the show will be done in ¾ round with the stage extending into the middle of the room.
“Our incredible cast will be running all around and through the audience, but will not necessarily be directly interacting with them — breaking the fourth wall. The audience will be ‘in the woods’ and will be experiencing the movement of the show all around them. The experience will be fast-paced and energized!”
Cameron also says she has long loved the musical.
“I grew up watching the PBS recording of the original Broadway Cast of Into the Woods. This show was foundational for me as a theatre practitioner, but also as a guide for growing up in the real world. I had never considered what happened after the ‘happily ever afters’ in my favourite stories from childhood, but Into the Woods explores that question and answers it with all the beauty, mystery, heartbreak and joy a real life ever-after holds for each of us as humans in this world.”
Brownstein, who will play The Narrator in Into the Woods, says the cast for the production is stellar.
“We are so lucky that so many of the most talented artists, musicians and designers working in Montreal today choose to continue to work with us year after year. It’s a testament to the calibre of the productions of the CSLDS, of which I am very proud.”
Councillor Andee Shuster, chair of the CSLDS and a cast member, said Into the Woods is a “timeless musical that takes audiences through an array of emotions and humanizes these beloved fairytale characters, reminding us that nobody’s perfect. Apart from its catchy tunes, Into the Woods teaches the lesson that its okay to rely on the community around you instead of trying to be a hero on your own.”
Tickets are on sale through CSLDramaticSociety.com. Ticketing can also be accessed at the Côte Saint-Luc Aquatic and Community Centre (5794 Parkhaven Ave.) and the Eleanor London Public Library (5851 Cavendish Blvd.) The play is recommended to those nine years old and older. n