Journey Into The Woods With NHS Theatre

Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and his beanstalk, a witch and other fairy tale characters will mingle at Narragansett High School, starting at 7:30 p.m. tonight and continuing during the weekend.

The high school's spring theatrical production is Into The Woods, which merges several classic fairy tale characters into one interlocking narrative. Five students of varying grades are cast as the leads, including junior Hailey Kisseberth as the witch and freshman Leah Benz as Little Red Riding Hood.

For Kisseberth, she has only recently taken advantage of the acting opportunities provided by the high school. She moved from Block Island to Narragansett, which provided more options for her.

“This is my fourth production,” she said. “I always wanted to act, but I lived on Block Island for a while.”

Like any proper actress, she joked that she is worried about being typecast. She is the witch in Into The Woods, and in the past, she , in addition to two other roles where she played old or creepy women.

“At first, I was very bummed out to get the [part of the[ witch,” she said. “I was like, 'I wish I could just be a beautiful princess for once!'”

However, Kisseberth said that as she studied the role and got into character, she gained an appreciation for the witch.

She described the witch as a character that helps facilitate the story, and added, “I love all her songs … I'm excited to sing in front of the student body.”

Kisseberth said she has definitely caught the acting bug, and she hopes to appear in more productions in the future.

“I love theatre,” she said. “The only sad thing is seeing the seniors go.”

Benz, a freshman, said this is by far the most significant part so far. However, the 15-year-old resident of the north end has been appearing on stage since she was 9, and helped to direct and produce earlier this year.

Asked if she prefers to be on stage or observing it, Benz said her heart was definitely more into acting.

“I definitely like acting more, it's more exciting than sitting in the audience and taking notes,” she said, laughing a little. She added that she appreciated the faith that director Jimmy Calitri had in the cast, noting that he went with a full production of Into The Woods, as opposed to a truncated version.

Benz described Into The Woods as providing a little bit of everything for the audience.

“It's a story about all the classic fairy tales, but they're intertwined and connected,” she said. “There is a lot of humor, but also connecting emotional themes.”

When asked for her own pitch for Into The Woods, Kisseberth also stressed the variety in the tone, and in the content.

“It's an awesome show, and just looking at the set, it's so legit,” she said. “I was so impressed by the musical abilities of our cast. It's so much entertainment, between the music, the singing, the acting, the dancing.”

Into The Woods starts tonight at 7:30 p.m., with additional showings on Friday and Saturday night, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door.

*****

Directed by Jimmy Calitri
Musical Direction by Lila Kane
Choreography by Chelsea Cook
Assistant Directed by Jesse DuFault and Paige Frankovich
Stage Managed by Olivia Scalora

The Cast:
The Witch: Hailey Kisseberth
The Baker: Ryan Field
Cinderella: Sophia Scalora
Rapunzel: Laine Wagner
Narrator/ Mysterious Man: Dan LaBove
Jack: Mark Manocchia
Little Red: Leah Benz
The Baker’s Wife: Devin Vietri
Cinderella’s Prince: Mick Bialek
Rapunzel’s Prince/ Wolf: Vinny Ballirano
Jack’s Mother: Mackenzie Page
Steward/ Cinderella’s Mother/ Sleeping Beauty: Rachel Silvia
Cinderella’s Step Mother: Rachel Fanning
Lucinda: Lauren Wade
Florinda: Kelsey Galipeau
Cinderella’s Father/ The Giant/ Granny/ Snow White: Delaney San Martino
Milky White: Johnny Mannochia and Jack Recetta

Cast bill courtesy of Christine Hultquist.