Congratulations to the lower division on the wonderful performance of the musical Into the Woods they gave this week. 6th grade did a superb job in both memorizing their lines and giving strong, dramatic performances. The Stephen Sondheim songs that students performed were very tricky and demanding, but the students embraced the challenge and worked very hard to make the songs work. The show opener, performed by a group of 6th grade students and the entire 5th grade class, consisted of 3 independent vocal parts that eventually overlap. Students had to be extremely accurate when counting their entrances and confident when singing opposing lines, but they really focused and sang their parts with authority.
The production also consisted of many elaborate props including a rising beanstalk, double-sided cow, and runaway hen (on rollers). The sounds included the growing beanstalk (which consisted of multiple recordings of paper being crumbled combined with the sound of an earthquake), a mix of crowd noise and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ to create the ballroom ambience, harp glissandos combined with the sound of a moistened glass being played to suggest the singing harp, and a recording from a polo match for the distant rumblings of horse hooves. The lighting in the show was meant to reflect the time of day, including scenes taking place in the middle of the night and the morning. Tech crew was very effective in helping to create these illusions. Great work by all, and thank you to everyone involved! You should be proud!
