Theater magic is being made at The Muny Theater in St. Louis as Tony Award Winner, Heather Headley (Aida), and Drama Desk Award Winner, Ken Page (Guys and Dolls), star in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into The Woods.
This production is not only a beautiful telling of this story, but it allows for something that the recent film version did not — the inclusion of people of color in the cast. Too often in tales of the future, presumed antiquity, and even the realm of fantasy, artists of color are seldom seen. Sadly, this has been a long-standing tradition on stage and screen with a resolution only really beginning within the past decade.
Ken Page employs the humor and charisma that audiences enjoyed in Ain’t Misbehavin’ in his portrayal of “The Narrator,” and Heather Headley’s powerful and beautifully crisp voice wraps around Sondheim’s delicious music as “The Witch.” The incredible ensemble fully inhabits a multi-dimensional set designed by Michael Schweikardt and bold, outstanding costumes by Andrea Lauer.
The outdoor Muny Theater in St. Louis has almost 11,000 seats, with 1500 of them offered free of charge for this production. Therefore, in every performance, audiences from all walks of life will not only be able to see an impactful story about humanity, they will be able to see humans of a different hue tell it — even some that look like them.
Directed by Gary Griffin (The Color Purple), this classic musical fable about wishes, choices, and consequences will run at The Muny in St. Louis’ Forest Park until July 27. For tickets and more information, visit www.muny.org.
Happily, The Muny has provided an extensive trailer for those of us who will miss this extraordinary production. Check it out below!
