Weston Friendly Society presents Sondheim's Into the Woods April 5-12

A witch. A couple of princesses. A giant. A cow. These are all characters in the Stephen Sondheim classic Into the Woods, which the Weston Friendly Society is staging at the Weston Town Hall April 5-12. What they want out of their trip to the woods isn’t all that different from what audience members might want, director Anthony Masciangioli says.

“Everything these fairy tale characters want could be something that any one of us would want—a child, money, love, to be seen. We then see that there are consequences for attaining their wishes and they need to learn how to build a community from those consequences and even question the choices they made along the way,” Masciangioli said.

The plot is centered around a baker and his wife and their wish for a child and imagines what might happen if Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and others crossed paths with one another in the woods. The 1988 Tony Award winner for Best Original Score and Best Book, Into the Woods has twice been revived on Broadway and turned into a 2014 film starring Meryl Streep. With a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, it features such songs as “Agony,” “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen.”

Formed in 1885, the Weston Friendly Society is the second oldest theatre group in the United States. The cast and crew hails from all over Massachusetts: Kenly Murray of Sudbury plays Little Red Riding Hood, Marcia Irwin of Wayland is Cinderella’s Stepmother; Becca Mayersohn of Natick plays Cinderella’s Mother, the Giant and Snow White; Rachel Sheldon of Natick plays the Steward; Jenni Wiech-Delaney of Framingham is Granny and the Giant, Alex Mitchell of Wellesley plays Jack; Charlotte Delaney of Westborough is The Baker’s Wife, Brian Higgins of Northborough is the Narrator and Mysterious Man; Laura Austin of Worcester is Cinderella; Scott Berozi of Worcester has the dual role of Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf; Marcelle Durrenberger of Watertown is The Witch; Jill Craig of Watertown plays one of the stepsisters, Florinda; Allie Villa of Watertown plays the other stepsister, Lucinda; Amanda Atkinson of Arlington is Jack’s Mother; Roberto Nunes of Somerville is Rapunzel’s Prince; Maddie Sabin of Roslindale is Milky White; Robert Orzalli of Boston is The Baker; Emma Quinlan of Brighton is Rapunzel; Cara Siobhan of Quincy is Sleeping Beauty and Rick Grenier of Stoughton is Cinderella’s Father.

Holly Sullivan of Waltham (music director), Bridget Sullivan of Wellesley (choreographer and set designer) and Moriah Gio of Waltham (stage manager) join Masciangioli (who lives in Leominster) on the production team.

Into the Woods will be performed at the Weston Town Hall on April 5, 6, 11 and 12. There are 7:30 p.m. performances on April 5, 11 and 12 and 2 p.m. matinees on April 6 and 13. Tickets are on sale at www.westonfriendly.org. Reserved seats are available for $28 for adults and $25 for seniors and students. For more information, email westonfriendlysociety@gmail.com.