Ending the year with the famous musical, Into the Woods, the Drama Production presented their final show on April 14.

Following the rendition of Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the drama crew decided to take on another style and put together the musical, Into the Woods.

This famous musical was recently recreated by Disney in 2014. The musical is based on the lives of fairytale characters such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack, as well as a baker, his wife, and a witch.

This year, the drama department was introduced to a new teacher, Mr. Nelson. He explains the importance of this musical and how people should not be discouraged by this type of production.

“This musical takes common characters that everybody knows but it tells the original story which is much darker than what Disney told us and what we learn from it is the same thing we learn from life; there doesn’t come this point where you do this thing and now everything is perfect. Life is always struggle,” Nelson stated. “When I was younger didn’t understand why people sang and if you just get over that and accept the fact that they are, you’ll find that it’s a beautiful art form.”

Playing the Prince and wolf, Daniel Esquivel, explains how he was able to play this character and the challenges that followed the journey to perform this musical.

“It was difficult trying to learn the music, the lines, and the choreography all at once. It’s stressful thinking that I might mess up live,” Esquivel stated. “I loved playing the wolf because of his ghoulish and creepy way; however, I also enjoyed playing the Prince but he’s known for being a womanizer and trying to get that feel is really difficult.”

The Drama Production opened their doors this year to all students and allowed them to be a part of the show.

Jazz choir members took the opportunity and decided to use their music skills and play a role in this musical. Jazz choir Soprano member, Denise Alvarado, describes how the teamwork between these two groups has been beneficial and how it feels to be a part of both.

“I’ve noticed since taking drama that when I sing at a performance for jazz or a solo, I sort of transform into a character. Jazz choir helped a lot throughout this process,” Alvarado said. “My favorite part of it all is the friendships I’ve made in both groups. I think it’s amazing how so many different types of people can be bonded through music.”
Although Into the Woods was one of the biggest challenges for the drama students, it proved to be a very successful production after having to add one more show in addition to their other 5 shows. Senior drama students have now closed this chapter but the future drama students are ready to continue growing and display their acting skills.