fe)

A night in the woods

Young director
scores again

with musical

ONCE UPON a time... Magical
words that echo through the
ages as successive generations
of parents pass on folklore tra-
ditions in the guise of bedtime

stories, : , : ; ‘ : h 4 nee JEWELRY

By Martin Millerchip Be for your

Contributing Welter : TNs : WINDOW

Into The Woods, a Stephen
Sondheim/James. Lapine musical
currently playing * Centennial
Theatre, weaves several traditional
fairy stories (Little Red Riding Hood,
Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk,
Cinderella, The Baker's Wife) into
hilarious confusion.

What binds these particular sto- i
ties together for James Lapine (of Verticals and
Sunday In The Park With George ee Pleated

. fame) is the geographical location of | : : ’ : a
“the woods.”
‘ Why ‘shouldn't Cinderella and
Rapunzel live in the sarme wood and
their respective princes meet while
searching for their fabled loves? And

what if Little Red Riding Hood and = |% : Appointed dealer for Silent Gliss = — qe
Jack were friends? . d Motorized Systems silemni¢ My

RESTADRANTSTAVERNA,
Present this ad to receive ONE FREE MEAL when

another MEAL of EQUAL or GREATER VALUE is PURCHASED §
Expires March 4/96

[1560 MARINE DR, WVAN.__ 926-4226

Offer ends Feb, 29/96

Lapine’s concept is not’ so fanci-

ful when you consider that many. of

the ‘stories date. from a time when

“the. wildewood”:. covered most of

central and northern Europe. :

’ Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's col- ~ ; : ;
lected tales,‘the early 19th century MAGIC BEANS and golden eggs don't impress Jack's mum in the

Grimm's Fairy Tales, were formed witty and innovative Stepien Sondheim/James Lapine musical Into
from the oral tradition as cautionary The Hoods. Susan Anderson (left) and Petes Jorgensen are featured

tales. warning of the dangers of stray- In the production #¢ North Van's Ceriennial Theatre until Feb. 10.

ing from the beaten track.

“: Ina world where few challenged
the unknown, the .consequences’ of
exploration’ might range from wolves
to robbers to rapists. But on the other
hand fame and fortune might lie just
beyond the next vale.

«.“The woods is the place we goto .
‘Find ourselves, explore and, maybe. .
come back as ‘something else,” says
Uncle ‘Randy * Productions’: director”

‘Richard Berg.
Berg is enthusiastic about what
. ‘the . Tony ‘Award-winning musical
Into The Woods offers its audience as
opposed to the sanitized sweetness of
Disney-version fairy stories.
“The characters are not the same
after their journey and that is ulti-
mately: what. makes the journey

worth taking,” says Berg, who creat-.

ed Uncle Randy Productions more
“than a year ago with several other

"young. actors, designers and techni-

cians who wanted to take their the-
atrical talents to the next level.

Berg, ‘a, graduate of . Carson
Graham, with the support of benefac-

‘tor Randall Brown put together. a

very successful production of Jesus
Christ Superstar.

Berg says Uncle Randy
Productions offers a training ground
for young performers at the top of the
community® level who are ready to
step into professional status.

“At 22 there are not many places
in the city where I could get to direct
a major musical in a 700-seat the-
atre,” says Berg.

However Berg wants his compa- —

ny to work for the audience too.
“My biggest goal after Jesus

“Christ Superstar was to do a worth-

while artistic venture that they might

" not see elsewhere.”

Sondheim fans (is anyone not)
will doubtless agree that Berg has

succeeded with into The Woods.

Into The Woods runs te Feb. 10.at
Centennial Theatre. Call 984-4484,

Valid at all.-:
Vancouver and

Lower Mainland:
Burger King locations.

LOUNGE

Come down and relax after a hard
_ day's work with FREE hors d'oeuvres
from 4pm to 6pm daily
&

Live Entertainment Nightly SF
Spm to 9pm a

Pee 2 ea

Sa POL Peat BS, cae RAR ANY a ree v

_Ge your b urger’s \ worth: