WELLMAN

This past weekend, Nov. 3-5, the Mid-Prairie drama department put on their annual musical performance. This school year’s musical was, “Into the Woods”, with music by Stephen Sondheim.

To say putting on this production is no small feat would be an understatement. The cast is almost as lengthy as the three-hour runtime, but never doubt the M-P drama department’s ability to surpass expectations and absolutely kill it.

“Into the Woods” is a based off a book written by James Lapine. In this book, there are fairy-tale characters from Rapunzel to Little Red Riding Hood. All these heroines/ heroes have a wish for something; the Baker and his wife, a child; Cinderella, to go to the ball; and Jack, for his cow to produce milk. For these wishes to be granted, the Baker and his wife must fetch ingredients for a spell for a witch.

When the lights first set the stage, some of the main protagonists begin with the opening song, accompanied by a pit orchestra directed by Collette McClellen. The cast and the pit work flawlessly together with musical cues and creating emotional atmospheres that draw the audience in.

The set for the show is also something to be applauded; it was constructed and designed by Nicholas Duvall, Isabelle Duvalle, and Ruchel Hiller. Every piece and prop of the set is utilized to its fullest and helped take the audience “into the woods”.

And where to begin with the cast for this show. It’s quite clear how hard these students have been working for these past few months. The talent that the M-P drama department keeps putting out is something to be recognized, from River Gehling’s (Cinderella) soft-yet-strong, beautiful voice, Avery Slaubaugh’s (Witch) impressive range of character, to Jimmy Rempel (Baker) and Grace Puttmann’s (Baker’s Wife) candid portrayal of a married couple. There are loads of other notable character performances like Jillian Clark’s Little Red Riding Hood, Logan McClellen’s Jack, Haydon Bailey and Jack Greiner’s Princes; the list goes on.

With a packed crowd each night, surely each audience member walked away thinking about how this was a performance to remember. The work of the students on-stage and off-stage, the pit orchestra, the set builders, and the directors (Christine Meader, Lisa Helmuth, Collette McClellen) deserves a standing ovation.

Now that the musical season is over, the MP drama department will be starting their Group Speech auditions and rehearsals, and the MP Choir will be putting on their 30th Annual Madrigal Dinner. The next time we see the Mid-Prairie drama department back on stage, it is a guaranteed to be memorable performance.