Bishop O'Connell HS Performance Receives Cappies Review

From The Cappies: A prince pursuing a beautiful princess. Golden hair falling from a tower. A bean stalk that reaches to the clouds. Bishop O'Connell High School's Into the Woods turns a stage into a fairy tale, but be careful what you wish for because not everyone can live happily ever after.

The lovable story of Into the Woods was born from the combination of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales. The musical premiered in 1986 with a book by James Lapine and songs by Stephen Sondheim, opening on Broadway the following year. Experiencing immense success, the musical has seen movie adaptions as well as Broadway revival tours. The musical follows the story of The Baker and The Baker's Wife, a couple who can't fulfill their wish for a child because of a curse. They go on a journey to find unusual items for a witch in order to lift the curse. As dreams unwind and wishes are fulfilled, the story delves further than it's magical exterior into a thought provoking story.

Playing The Baker was Daniel Herrarias, who took on a fantastic energy in order to suit his character's journey, demonstrating emotional depth and impressing with his enjoyable vocals. The Baker's Wife, played by Elise Welsh, completed the leading duo well, with expressive facials, a pleasant voice, and composed acting creating a compelling character. The couple possessed a lovable and realistic chemistry, especially noticeable in their energized rendition of It Takes Two. Their enthralling antagonist, The Witch, was played by Jessica Gliot. Gliot demonstrated a wide emotional range, creating a dynamic and engaging character. On their quest, the Baker and his wife run into a gaggle of well known fairy tale characters. Upon meeting Little Red Riding Hood, played by Campbell Hodges, a fun element was added to the production through Hodges' consistent energy and entertaining character choices.

What is Little Red Riding Hood without a Big Bad Wolf? Anthony Socarras, playing the wolf, was energetic and fun, eliciting bouts of laughter during his scenes. Victoria Gordon, playing Granny, completed Little Red Riding Hood's segment with her lively expression immediately drawing attention. As more fairy tale stories unwinded, Rapunzel played by Besa Bucaj came into play. Bucaj's lovely voice carried down from her tall tower as she embodied a lovely princess, then later in the performance brought forth another side through her hilarious transformation. The enticing story was made complete by Mysterious Man, played by Jeffrey Hales. As he wandered through the woods scaring passers and sometimes providing help, Hales' comedic timing and consistent character was sure to impress.

Bringing a storybook onto stage and magic into the production were impressive technical elements, enhancing the traditional fairy tale aspects of the performance. A variety of impressive costumes adorned the stage, including a sweeping 14 layer ball gown adorning Cinderella and a detailed dress for Little Red Riding Hood. Creative and well constructed set pieces opened the story in a small town, with the pieces then moving to reveal the mysterious woods. Lighting helped to focus in on different moods based on the use of different colors, and detailed props made scenes clear and were consistently realistic.

Bishop O'Connell High School's unforgettable performance of Into the Woods brings a fairy tale to life. As each character pursues their own happy ending, an adventure unfolds as the refreshing musical explores the consequences of a wish.

Cappies review by Katherine Kelly of McLean High School

Image via Pixabay