Stage Set For Salem High's Winter Musical 'Into The Woods'

SALEM, MA – Nearly two years to the week after the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis shut off the stage lights for productions across the state and the country, the spotlight will shine once again at Salem High School with the presentation of the winter student musical "Into the Woods."

About 30 students will be involved in the production that includes the music of Stephen Sondheim and is the culmination of efforts from those students who kept the performing arts in their hearts throughout the coronavirus shutdowns, a recorded video production last winter and the late postponement of this winter’s show in January amid the omicron surge.

Their persistence, dedication and talents will be on display for three shows this week with the first Friday night at 7 and the final two on Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.

"I think everyone is looking forward to coming back to the theater in person," Drama Club Director Billie Hassebrock told Patch this week. "Theater is not meant to be experienced on the screen. We have screen mediums with movies and television. Theater is meant to be experienced in person.

"I'm glad everyone found ways to keep it alive. But I think everyone is happy to come back to the live component."

The planning for the triumphant return began in October as the students and adult staff rekindled their theatrical interactions and weaved through the maze of lingering pandemic mitigation measures. Hassebrock said the drama club brought back some returning members and also drew new ones looking for a sense of community after spending so much of the previous 18 months on their own.

“We were able to make a home for people who had never seen themselves in theater before,” she said. “They had only seen themselves on Instagram and in Tik Tok videos. They missed two years. Two formative years in high school. To teach them about the theater experience was great.”

Hassebrock said the process leading up to this weekend’s presentation was all about "resiliency and flexibility" rather than adhering to the strict timeframes typically involved with large theater productions. That included the understanding that not all students were in the same place socially amid ongoing virus and that there would be pauses and adjustments needed when anyone got sick or needed to take time to quarantine.

"They all took care of each other," Hassebrock said. "When one person had a concern, they all rallied around that person and made them feel safe."

Despite the challenges, Hassebrock said spirits remained high. Though they were put to the test just two weeks before the performance was to take place in January when all the preparations were forced into yet another pause.

"That process wasn't necessarily fun but it was necessary," said Hassebrock, adding that about 20 of the students and staff dealt with COVID-19 infections in late December and early January. "We made a promise to the kids at that time that this was not being canceled. We were able to keep 100 percent of student and staff retention.

"Resiliency and flexibility were the two names of the game."

The musical was rescheduled in early February in the hopes that about six weeks later conditions would allow the show to finally go on. On Monday, the Salem School Committee passed an exception to the district indoor mask mandate that will allow actors to remove them if they wish while they are actively performing on stage this weekend.

Hassebrock said the musical's themes of facing the unknown, losing people, making sacrifices and pursuing what you want through adversity are timely given all the students and the school community has been through over the past two years.

"I'm just impressed with the students and the parents and the staff and how dedicated everyone has been to make this happen," Hassebrock said. "It is a testament to the power of the arts and the resiliency of the arts community."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)