Lovett journeys ‘Into the Woods’

By Chiara Moretti     11/5/24 11:24pm

Lovett Theater returns from an eight-year hiatus with its performance of “Into the Woods” this weekend. There will be three performances in Lovett College commons from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9, each starting at 8 p.m., as well as a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 9. The show is free for all Rice students.

According to executive producer Auggie Schwarz, she wanted to reestablish the tradition of Lovett College performances by choosing to perform “Into the Woods,” a choice she acknowledged was both incredibly ambitious and exciting. 

“I had the utmost [faith] in the Rice Theater community to be able to [perform] and bring [‘Into the Woods’] to Rice,” Schwarz, a Lovett junior, said. 

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“Into the Woods” features a wide variety of characters and stories, including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood. Jeffrey Youngson, who plays the role of the narrator, is excited for the audience to see the “electric” dynamics of the characters onstage, he said. 

“The way [the characters] interact with each other on stage is so funny and so fluid,” Youngson, a Brown College junior, said. 

“Into the Woods” explores the stories and adventures of multiple families, offering a unique twist on the classic fairytale. According to Nadia Thieriot, who plays the role of Cinderella’s mother, there is a “big shift” between the two acts. 

“In Act One it seems like everyone’s gotten what they wanted. They live happily after. But then there is a second act … it’s kind of exploring what happens after the traditional fairytale ends,” Thieriot, a McMurtry College junior, said. “[The show] gets dramatic, and it gets a bit darker, but it still ends a bit hopefully.”

 In addition to playing Cinderella’s mother, Thieriot is also the props designer for “Into the Woods.” Thieriot aimed to incorporate visually appealing props that enhance the story, she said, including white pigeons, “Milky White” the cow and the hen.

“The props leave a little less to the imagination … it’s another part of the visual medium of the show, giving the audience a chance to see the things the characters actually have,” Thieriot said. 

The crew who work behind the scenes play a crucial role in this production, including choreographers, costume designers and even the pit orchestra. According to Youngson, a lot of their work often goes unrecognized.

“There’s a whole lot of work that just doesn’t really get seen … set crew doing all of their pieces, the choreographers, the directing,” Youngson said. “But [the behind-the-scenes crew] does pull the whole show together.”

The show has comedic, dramatic and suspicious components. The audience connects to the show feeling a wide variety of emotions, according to Youngson. The show is action-packed, and has a little bit of everything, he said. 

“There are moments where it is really tender. There are moments where it is really sad. There are moments where there will not be a dry eye in the house, including my own,” Youngson said. 

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