Asheville Arts Center, Into The Woods 2/18 & 2/19 2008

The Asheville Arts Center Presents Into the WoodsFeb 18th and 19th at the Diana Wortham Theatre

Into the Woods Feb 18th and 19th Diana Wortham Theatre http://www.dwtheatre.com/ (828) 257-4530. 7pm Curtain Call Cost: $25 adult $19 student. Tickets go on sale the week of Jan 12thwww.ashevilleartscenter.comwww.myspace.com/ashevilleartscenterThe Asheville Arts Center proudly announces its upcoming production, INTO THE WOODS, at the Diana Wortham Theatre on February 18th and 19th, 2009.

Curtain call will be at 7pm. Tickets cost $25 adult/ $19 student and are available beginning January 12th and can be purchased at the Arts Center or Diana Wortham Box office For more information please call the Asheville Arts Center at 828-253-4000. Directed by Melissa Ricketts, this production will feature several of the Asheville Arts Center instructors and Asheville community members. Monies raised at this performance will be placed towards the Asheville Arts Center’s Scholarship program for those in need to attend classes at the center.

Abandoning the traditional fairy tale story lines, INTO THE WOODS was written juxtapose self interested wishing verses truthful morality. The characters reveal many scenarios of growing up: family relationships, community responsibility, and morality. It all starts when the Baker and the Baker’s Wife (played by Paul Gerber and Heather Taft) express the wish to begin a family and realized that the Witch who lives next doors has put a curse on them for childlessness. In order to reverse the curse, they embark on a quest into the woods to find the special objects required to break the spell, from other characters in various Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales such as Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk).Their quest weaves them into a world of interconnectedness by swindling, lying to and stealing from one another. What is right and wrong flip flops in each characters vision until contentedness with the arising situations falls into place and their wishes are granted…that is until they are once again disturbed by their own wanting and desire for something more. As their worlds crash down and cave in on them they are filled with confusion and chaos and are led to journey again into the woods. As the tale keeps bringing them brings them together, they realize their interconnectedness and begin to blame one another for their losses in the situation that incurs. The ghosts of their past begin to haunt them with moral pronouncements ending the play with the words, “You just can’t act. You have to listen. You can’t just act. You have to think.”The common theme throughout is the relationship between parents and their children and how this affects the community as a whole. Indeed, the most morally ambivalent and honest character portrayed is the old scowling hag of the Witch, played by Danelle Cauley.

Also starring in the Asheville Arts Center’s INTO THE WOODS will be Rachelle Roberts (previously Belle is Asheville Community Theatre's "Beauty and the Beast") as Cinderella, Jamie Meater as Jack, and Ruth Butler is cast as Jack's Mother.As is the tradition with this performance, one can expect to see a few parts played by the same actors. Paul Traini will perform the dual roles of the non-committal Mysterious Man and the Narrator; Amy McDonald plays the double role of the matriarchal Cinderella’s mother and Granny; and the uncontrollable appetites of Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf will be portrayed by Kurt Campbell. The musical INTO THE WOODS debuted in 1986 in San Diego and then moved onto Broadway the following year with much success to follow. The music and lyrics were arranged by Stephen Sondheim, winner of many awards including the Tony’s, Grammies, an Academy award and a Pulitzer Prize. Sondheim is known by some as the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre, he also created scores for A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and SWEENY TODD. The INTO THE WOODS storyline was story was written by award winning writer, James Lapine. INTO THE WOODS is based on a book called the USES OF ENCHANTMENT, written in 1976 by Bruno Bettelheim. About the Asheville Arts Center: Located on Merrimon Ave and in South Asheville, The Asheville Arts Center is a school based on unlimited opportunities for students to explore their interests in music, dance and drama. AAC fosters a love and appreciation for the arts through student-teacher relationships and offer high-quality instruction and educational experiences. Classes offered include: Adult Classes, Dance, Drama, Kindermusik, Morning Exercise, Music Classes, Music Lessons, Irish Dancing, and more. For more information visit http://www.ashevilleartscenter.com/ and www.myspace.com/ashevilleartscenter.