On April 20, 21, 22 and 23 in the Middleton High School (MHS) Performing Arts Center, the MHS Theatre program captured their audience with this year’s spring musical, “Into The Woods.”

“Into the Woods” is a musical  with a story by James Lapin and music and lyrics by Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim. Lapin and Sondheim bring together everyone’s favorite fairytale characters to create an even bigger story. 

In the show, the audience follows the story of the Baker and his wife who yearn for a child; Cinderella, who desires to go to the King’s Festival; and Jack, who hopes for his cow to give milk. When the Baker and his wife find out that they cannot have a child because of a curse cast by the Witch next door, they set off on a journey to lift the curse. But when everyone in the story’s wishes come true, the consequences of their actions come back to haunt them later on. 

MHS senior Isa Garay played the Baker’s Wife. “[‘Into the Woods’ is] an accessible way to look into deeper messages by doing so through fairy tales,” Garay said. 

The cast and crew put a lot of their time and effort into the show. Behind the scenes during the week of the performance, everyone was focused in and applied themselves to create an amazing performance. The crew prepared what needed to be set up for the show to work, and the cast prepared to get into character. When getting into character, many actors liked to make it their own.

“It’s nice to make your own choices based on the script,” said sophomore Owen Sehgal, who played Jack.

Backstage was a supportive environment where everyone worked together as a team. 

Matthew Jordan, a senior who played The Baker, expressed a touching sentiment about the cast and crew community. 

“The people who have grown up with me here are like brothers and sisters,” said Jordan. “I have had people who were like my mentors to me, and now, as a senior, I feel like an older brother and a mentor to the kids in Theatre.” 

During the show, cast and crew members made sure everything went as smoothly as possible.

“I want the audience to experience something magical when they see this show,” said junior Keira Marckel, the costumes designer.

MHS Theatre executed this exhilarating story flawlessly, conveying intentional themes and messages  through a wonderful production that came off as very professional to its audience. The  set was very impressive and well put-together, and the voices of the cast when they sang were angelic and captured the audience. The pit orchestra did a fabulous job as well. The student musicians matched their performance perfectly with the cast and sounded flawless. 

 The costumes were superb and added another element to the show entirely. They brought the show together and you could tell how much care was put into each costume.

“The costumes crew really popped off,” exclaimed Alex Arinkin, a senior playing Cinderella’s Prince, and they truly did.

While watching the show, I was moved by its deeper meaning and how it was perfectly conveyed on the stage. I could see every emotion the actors wanted to portray, and I heard it in their voices as well. The songs they sang were not just songs, but messages that went deeper into the character singing them. “Into the Woods” also related to its audience through its well-executed underlying themes. 

People involved in the theater program encouraged MHS students to join and be part of the beauty of theater.

“Students can shine and learn here,” said Katrina Brunner, the director of the show and the MHS Theatre program.

Middleton Theatre’s “Into The Woods” was astonishing. The cast did an outstanding job in performing the show, and they were able to move the audience and always keep them at the edge of their seats. The crew brought this show together very impressively and made it absolutely perfect. This was truly a masterpiece, and everyone is so excited for what Middleton Theatre is going to bring in the future.