With the conclusion of Manville High School’s 2023 production of, Into The Woods, we wrap up a successful production. This play was full of twists, turns, and laughs. The story followed a baker and his wife’s pursuit of a child due to a curse put on them by a witch. They are sent into the woods to recover 4 objects to break the witch’s curse and furthermore, their own. Through this journey, they meet other characters like Cinderella, Jack, and Little Red, who are all in the woods for their own wish. Yet when it seems their happy ending has come, a giant begins a rampage after Jack killed her husband. They all work together to slay the giant and relax in their now true happiness ever after.

It left the audience full of suspense and at the edge of their seats while instilling powerful emotions. The mix of great stage effects and a live orchestra with beautiful vocals made this one of the best performances. With 4 shows from Thursday to Saturday of April 20-April 22, our cast worked hard to portray and embody the feelings and character. This left the cast both tired and proud of their hard work. 

Thanks to parent volunteers and students, the stage was able to have amazing props and set design; things such as the storybook backgrounds for opening 1 and 2, as well as the working “castle” steps with a back escape ladder, both built and painted by hand. Some of the cast really loved the rotating tower that turned into a tree. The stage crew had also made an amazing beanstalk that rose up as if it were growing for the song, “Giants in the Sky.” Many props were brought in and even made for the play. All ranging from real bread to a whole prop cow, corn, and even individual beans.

Something worth noting is how we had not one, but 4 middle schoolers come up to the high school to be a part of the play. 2 girls, Febee Herskovitz and Julia Strauss played little red, not only delivering amazing lines, but beautiful vocals. The same can be said about the 2 boys, Aiden Johnson and Jaret Quesada, who played Jack. One can only imagine how they’ll grow going into high school and hopefully continue their high school theatre career. This leads us to our other leads. Two familiar faces graced us as the lead couple of the play, Juliana Bucciero and Kyle Sibaja as the baker and baker’s wife.

Much like every good story has an ending, so did the production of Into the Woods with a wonderful turnout. Near full houses for all 4 performances yielded a massive ticket sale. With the final curtain call, the 2023 Manville High School Into the Woods cast says goodbye until next year.

Congratulations and thanks to all of our music and drama department staff, Orchestra,  Parent volunteers, wonderful leads, and ensemble for putting on an amazing show.