The musical theatre company’s chosen the fairy tale mash-up, with music and lyrics from American composer Stephen Sondheim, for their 50th anniversary show, to be staged next May.
The musical intertwines the plots from several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella.
Tied together by a story involving a baker and his wife’s quest to begin a family and their interaction with a witch, who’s placed a curse on them, and other storybook characters, Into the Woods fundamentally explores the old saying, be careful what you wish for.
Showbiz president Emma Pullar says after a few popular movie-style shows in recent years, and then this year’s "absolutely absurd and hilarious" Spamalot, the committee was keen to go down a different path.
The musical’s vocally challenging, and for the first time in a while, "quite female heavy", she says.
"There are six lead roles and four are females, and there are lots of supporting roles and featured roles ... they’re a great, quirky, fun mix of characters for people to get their teeth into, which is going to be fun not only for the cast, but also for all the crew pulling it together, and the creative team."
Auditions will be held early next year, once a director and production manager, both paid roles, have been found — anyone interested can find more info on Showbiz Queenstown’s Facebook page.
Additionally, Pullar says the committee’s hoping to stage a second variety-style show later next year, bringing together some highlights from shows they’ve previously done, "and perhaps a couple of teasers for ones we’d like to do in future", to mark their golden jubilee.
