Fairy tales can come true Sondheim musical ‘Into the Woods’ challenging for actors in Grand production

Sofia Patience Wilder’s daughter was born in 1987, the same year Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” came out. Wilder, who studied theater in college and has worked in several national companies, played the music over and over and over again. She sang it to her daughter. She sang it to herself. She sang it in the car. She sang and sang and sang.

Not long ago, she apologized to her daughter, now 17, for singing so much. Her daughter accepted the apology but excused her for “Into the Woods.” The musical, a quirky version of well-known fairy tales, had worked its magic on daughter too.

Sondheim does that and more to musical lovers. When Wilder found out that The Grand Players were presenting “Into the Woods” – which opens Friday and runs through Oct. 31 at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth – as its fall musical this year, she called director Ken Stack. She had to be in it.

“Everybody definitely wanted to be in this show,” said director Ken Stack. “Quite a few actors called me before auditions. They said: ‘Oh, I love Sondheim. I love “Into the Woods.” I love the music. I love the story.’ It’s the difference between hamburger and filet mignon.”

Turns out, Wilder was cast as the mother of Jack (of beanstalk fame). She is one of several actors who have made the trip from the Bangor area to attend rehearsals. The long drive didn’t deter her and the others, however. This was about music, story and personal best.

“It’s the element of challenge,” said Missy Babineau, who works at Bangor Savings Bank and is president of Bangor Community Theatre. She plays Cinderella’s mother in the show. “The music has a fair amount of difficulty compared to a musical like ‘Oklahoma!’. Unless you are doing some music on the side, you don’t get this type of challenge. I got hooked on ‘Into the Woods’ five or six years ago. It’s one of the CDs that stays in the car. There are moments when I am laughing hysterically and moments when I am in tears. I love that reaction.”

For some, “Into the Woods,” which had a Broadway revival in 2002, is more than just musically challenging. The story has familiar characters – Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother and the wolf, as well as Cinderella and Rapunzel, and a handsome prince for each – but they find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances: life beyond happily ever after. Yes, Sondheim asks what happens when wishes really do come true. But he also probes deeper. What happens when the Giant comes after Jack, who has stolen the goose that lays the golden eggs? What happens when princesses and princes grow bored with one another? What happens when a parent abandons a child, or dies?

In “Into the Woods,” Sondheim, one of the masters of the American musical, picks up where childhood fairy tales end. Stack stopped short of calling it adult or mature theater. He prefers to call it “intelligent” theater.

“It’s about what happens in the fairy tales when the bill comes due,” said Stack. “In fairy tales, you can do what you want. In real life, there are consequences. So you have slightly deeper material to work with. It takes more research to figure our what Sondheim is saying and how we want to say it. You’re dealing with greater quantitative substance with Sondheim. It’s beautiful but very difficult.”

That’s what attracted Heather Astbury, who works in a gift shop in Ellsworth and has been cast in many lead roles since she began acting more that a dozen years ago. For this show, she plays the witch, a role immortalized by Bernadette Peters in the original Broadway production.

“When I heard the Grand was doing ‘Into the Woods,’ I thought: I’ve got to go to my boss and tell her I’m going to be in a show,” said Astbury, 28. “I knew I had to do it. I was skeptical because it’s such a difficult show. But did I want to do it? Are you kidding? Bernadette Peters. That’s all I have to say.”

Having played lead roles in “Gypsy,” “L’il Abner,” “The Wizard of OZ” and “Brigadoon,” Astbury has been hoping for more dramatic roles.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein write the most beautiful music, hands down,” said Astbury. “Cole Porter: the most remarkable words. But I’ve been doing this since I was 14, and I get bored. That’s all beautiful music. And they sell out. But give your actors something to bite into vocally as well as in the acting. Families like to come to ‘Sound of Music,’ but among your peers, when they hear you’re in Sondheim, there’s an element of respect. It’s the complete opposite of ‘Sound of Music.’ ”

The music is one thing. Sondheim’s lyrics are another, said several of the cast members.

“Sondheim’s ability to play with language is so intellectually interesting,” said Wilder. “A lot of people don’t like that but I love it. He knows so much about how people operate in the world. And we can learn so much from him. For me, the show is a metaphor for the human condition. I’ve been through the woods so many times. This musical is so wise. It’s about longing, community, relationships and making choice and being responsible for those choices.”

And it’s also about growth – and not just of a beanstalk.

“When you work on a Sondheim musical it gives you a chance to grow as a performer and a person,” said Stack. “That’s what brings people out for this. It’s the chance to grow, and you know that going in. What we really hope is that the audience has a similar experience. The purpose of all art is to give you the chance to grow. But Sondheim does it so well. He gives you the opportunity to look at yourself more intelligently through the eyes of these characters.”

The Grand Players will present “Into the Woods” 7 p.m. Oct. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30, and 2 p.m. Oct. 17, 24 and 31 at the Grand Auditorium on Main Street in Ellsworth. For tickets, call 1-866-363-9500. For more information about the show, go to www.grandonline.org. Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.

Through the Woods

What: ?Into the Woods?

When: 7 p.m. Oct. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30, and 2 p.m. Oct. 17, 24 and 31

Where: The Grand Auditorium, Ellsworth

How much: $18, adults (adult member $17); seniors, $16 and children, $10

Contact: 1-866-363-9500 and www.grandonline.org