February 22, 2005 Boise State Presents Popular Sondheim Musical "Into The Woods" March 11-13

The forest will come alive with all your favorite fairy tale characters when “Into the Woods” opens at the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts on March 11. The popular Stephen Sondheim musical, presented by the Boise State University Theatre Arts Department, runs through March 13. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, March 13. Tickets are $16 general, $12 for non-Boise State students, Boise State alumni and seniors, and free for Boise State full-time students, faculty and staff through Select-a-Seat.   What starts as a lively and irreverent fantasy becomes a moving lesson about community and the stories we pass on to our children. This timeless musical is a modern classic, blending familiar fairy tales with an original story of a childless baker and his wife who attempt to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child. Act One encompasses all the time-honored fairy tale elements, but in Act Two the characters must deal with what happens after the “Happily Ever After.” As they do so, they come to realize the importance of relying on one another in the face of life’s inevitable challenges.   The show was conceived in 1986 as a summer workshop project, then progressed through various levels of production before opening on Broadway in November 1987. The show closed after 764 performances, but was revived on Broadway in 2002.   Boise State’s production of “Into the Woods” is directed by Theatre Arts department chair Richard Klautsch, with music professors Laura Rushing-Raynes as music director and Christopher Raynes as conductor. Choreography is by Marla Hansen, costumes by Ann Hoste, lighting design by Fred Hansen and Genny Wynn and set design by Wynn. The cast includes Megan Tucker as Cinderella, Erin Haight as the witch, Matt Thayer as Jack, Liz Kunz-Batey as Jack’s mother, Maria Sermonia as Little Red Riding Hood, Robert Shoquist as the baker and Angela Tracy as his wife.   -30-   Contact: Richard Klautsch, Department of Theatre Arts, (208) 426-1500, rklauts@boisestate.edu                                                               Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Relations, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu