By: Aryana Mehran '26
The opening night of ND’s spring musical “Into the Woods” showcased the immense talent and creativity of our students and staff here at ND. I was in awe of the staging, lighting, and props as well, as the dedicated work which went into it all. This show was truly the epitome of teamwork and effort as demonstrated by the entire cast and crew.
Into the Woods follows the story of a baker and his wife as they realize that they would be unable to have a child due to a curse placed upon their family by a witch. In order to reverse the spell, they were required to collect four items as specifically requested by the witch. In the journey to discover the owners of each item and obtaining them one by one, the baker and his wife encountered various iconic fairytale characters in the woods. Each character, of course, had their own story and mission to accomplish while also in the woods.
After Act I, it had seemed that all was going well as Cinderella and Rapunzel both were living happily with their princes, the witch’s curse was broken and Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were safely rescued from the wolf. Unfortunately, the magic beans that Jack’s mother had hastily thrown away resulted in an angry giant emerging to seek revenge on the kingdom for the death of her husband.
Personally, I enjoyed the songs, “Hello, Little Girl,” where Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf, as well as “Giants in the Sky” after Jack had first climbed the beanstalk. These songs gave insight into each character as the audience was introduced to them in a more direct manner. It was clear that Little Red Riding Hood had a lot to learn about the dangers of talking to strangers and that Jack was naive towards the risks involved with interacting with the giants, which relates back to their original fairytales.
Overall, this musical was the perfect blend of comedic humor, shocking twists, and a very happy ending despite a couple of unfortunate deaths. Their character development was present towards the end of the show as they expressed their takeaways of the tragic and unexpected events that occurred throughout the musical. The amount of hard work put into this production by everyone involved was most definitely evident through the intriguing set designs, the cast’s dedication to their roles, and the incredible production. I am looking forward to seeing what ND’s theater program will enchant us with next.
Photos Courtesy of Aryana Mehran '26
Edited By: Catherine Polatidis '26 and Ms. Brilliant
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