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Into The Woods • 1Into The Woods • 1Visit stagecoachers.com for more information.

2 • Stage Coach Players 2016

Funeral DirectorsRichard N. Anderson Barry S. Melton

Tel: (815) 756-1022 2011 South Fourth Streetandersonfuneralhomeltd.com DeKalb, Illinois 60115

Into The Woods • 3

THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS THANK YOU 2016 SPONSORS

AnonymousAugust 11 to 21, 2016

Sponsorship AvailableSeptember 15 to 25, 2016

Rep. Bob PritchardOctober 20 to 30, 2016

First Midwest BankNov. 26 to Dec. 4, 2016

KishHealth SystemMarch 10 to 20, 2016

Jerry & Annette Johns April 28 to May 6, 2016

KishHealth SystemJune 2 to 12, 2016

Stage Coach PlayersJuly 7 to 17, 2016


MUSICAL NUMBERSSetting: Inside a library and the imagination of your mind

ACT I“Act I Prologue”/“Into the Woods” ................. Narrator, Cinderella, Jack,

Baker, Baker’s Wife, Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Jack’s Mother,

Little Red Ridinghood, Witch, Cinderella’s Father

“Cinderella at the Grave” ........................Cinderella, Cinderella’s Mother“Hello, Little Girl” .................................................Wolf, Little Red Ridinghood“I Guess This Is Goodbye” .....................................................................Jack“Maybe They’re Magic” ..........................................................Baker’s Wife“Our Little World”..................................................................Witch, Rapunzel“Baker’s Reprise” ................................................................................. Baker“I Know Things Now” ................................................. Little Red Ridinghood“A Very Nice Prince” ..............................................Cinderella, Baker’s Wife“First Midnight” .............................................................................Company“Giants in the Sky” ..................................................................................Jack“Agony” ..........................................................................Cinderella’s Prince,

Rapunzel’s Prince“A Very Nice Prince (Reprise)” ..............................Cinderella, Baker’s Wife“It Takes Two” .................................................................. Baker’s Wife, Baker“Second Midnight” .................................Witch, Cinderella, Cinderella’s Prince,

Rapunzel’s Prince, Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Grandmother

“Stay with Me” ..................................................................................... Wi tch“On the Steps of the Palace” .....................................................Cinderella“Act I Finale”/“Ever After” ...........................................................Company

ACT II“Act II Prologue” ................................... Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker,

Baker’s Wife, Cinderella’s Prince, Jack’s Mother, Stepmother,

Florinda, Lucinda, Witch, Steward, Little Red Ridinghood

“Agony (Reprise)” ........................... Cinderella’s Prince, Rapunzel’s Prince“Witch’s Lament” ................................................................................ Witch


“Any Moment” ........................................ Cinderella’s Prince, Baker’s Wife“Moments in the Woods” .........................................................Baker’s Wife“Your Fault” ..........................................Jack, Baker, Little Red Ridinghood,

Witch, Cinderella“Last Midnight” .................................................................................... Wi tch“No More” ................................................................Baker, Mysterious Man“No One Is Along” .................................................... Cinderella, Baker, Jack,

Little Red Ridinghood“Children Will Listen”/“Act II Finale” ...........................................Company

CAST OF CHARACTERS(In Order of Appearance)

Narrator/Mysterious Man....................................................... Steve BeckerCinderella........................................................................... Emma CarpenterJack . . ......................................................................................... Isaiah PankeBaker ........................................................................................... Rudy EspirituBaker’s Wife ............................................................................... Nika MortonStepmother ........................................................................ Daerielle CulverFlorinda .................................................................................... Kelly BolanderLucinda ................................................................................. Galen HughesJack’s Mother .......................................................................... Cheri HeinzLittle Red Ridinghood ............................................... Maggie MadziarczykWitch ...........................................................................................Elenia DokosCinderella’s Father ............................................................... John Linderoth Cinderella’s Mother ............................................................... Kim MoormanRapunzel ...............................................................................Heather PauliksWolf/Rapunzel’s Prince ........................................................ Jacob JohnsonGranny/Giant .......................................................................Janette JacobsCinderella’s Prince ............................................................ Scott FleetwoodSteward ................................................................................. Greg AndersonBirds .......................................................................................... Sarah MortonSleeping Beauty ........................................................................... Faith Peila Snow White ........................................................................... Jennifer Engles


PRODUCTION STAFFDirector .......................................................................................Ryan MortonMusic Director ............................................................................ John FekenStage Manager ...................................................................... Sarah MortonProducer.......................................................................................... Jan KuntzChoreographer ...................................................................... Sarah MortonAssistant Choreographer ......................................................... Sage MortonSet Design .............................................................................Matt McClaneSet Construction .................................................Dan Kuntz, Matt McClaneConstruction Assistants .........................Greg Anderson, Bob Brown, Mark

Hunyard, Bill Larson, Parker McClane, Kim Moorman, Ryan Morton, Kevin Pajor, Sara

Pajor, Dave Pearson, Bernie SchunemanMaster Painter.................................................................... Roberta Maxfi eldAssistant Painters ....................................Greg Anderson, Daerielle Culver,

Elenia Dokos, Rudy Espiritu, Scott Fleetwood, Cheri Heinz, Janette Jacobs, Jan Kuntz,

John Linderoth, Nika Morton, Ryan Morton, Lynn O’Toole, Sara Pajor

Costume Design ...................................................................Laurie HunyardAssistant Costumers ............................Pam Bolander, Galen Hughes, Jan

Kuntz, Cindy SingletonMaster of Properties ........................................................Joanne LandshaftProperty Assistants ................. Janette Jacobs, Bill Landshaft, Alyssa RogersLighting Design .............................................................................Todd TolesSound Design/Operator ................................................... Aaron MoormanTechnical Advisors........................................ Mark Hunyard, Bryan Maxfi eldHair & Make-Up Design ......................................................... Kelly BolanderLight Board Operator ...................................................................Jeff HeiderSound Effects Operator ...............................................................Wendy TrittPoster Design ..................................................................... Jenny TownsendPhotography ............................................ Sage Morton, Alexandra SulackAssistant Librarians...................................Jennifer Engles, Bryan Fowler, Luke

Harmon, Joanne Landshaft, Karen Lichtman, Brendan Madziarczyk, Sarah Morton, Faith Piela

SPECIAL THANKSAll Dressed Up Costumes, Maria Dripps-Paulson and Kaneland High School, First Lutheran Church, Craig Gustafson, Indian Creek High

School, Lara Meidell, Nathan Parry, Northern Illinois University School of Law, Sharon Holmes, and the Stage Coach Marketing Committee.


ORCHESTRAPit Conductor ...............................................................................John FekenViolin 1 ...................................................................................Clara TreadwayViolin 2 ..................................................................................... Katja WiemerViola 1 ............................................................................................ Lynn SlaterViola 2 ....................................................................................Lucy Prais-LewisCello ........................................................................................ Ben Rodriguez Bass ........................................................................................ Adam Dorland Flute/Piccolo .............................................................................. Lynn Hansen Clarinet .......................................................................................Ashley MiceliBassoon .............................................................................. Martha RobinsonTrumpet ................................................................................... Chris MonteiroFrench Horn 1 ....................................................................... Mark RobinsonFrench Horn 2 ............................................................................Andrew Selig Piano ........................................................................................ Kari MaratosSynthesizer ........................................................................ Kathryn ClaahsenPercussion .......................................................................... Daniel Eastwood

“Best to take the moment presentas a present for the moment”

— Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods


INTO THE WOODS GREEN ROOMGreg Anderson (Stew-ard) - This marks Greg’s 26th season with SCP. Last seen in Spama-lot as Sir Robin “The Not-so-Brave,” Greg

is a former Stage Coach President, Board Member and SCOTY winner.

Steven Becker (Nar-rator/Mysterious Man) - This is Steven’s fi rst production with Stage Coach, but he’s no stranger to Sondheim

musicals having performed as Swee-ney Todd in Sweeney Todd, both Zangara and Booth in Assassins, Ben Stone in Follies, Pseudolus in A Fun-ny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Harry in Company. Additional favorite roles include Ar-thur in Camelot, Burrs in Lippa’s The Wild Party, Fagin in Oliver, John Ad-ams in 1776 and the Leading Player in Pippin. Thanks to Ryan and John for the opportunity. And as always, thanks to his amazing wife Shannon for her constant love and support!

Kelly Bolander (Flo-rinda/Hair & Makeup Design) - Kelly is very excited to be play-ing Florinda! She loves to do hair and had a

blast working on this production cre-ating characters. She works as a full-time hairstylist in Sycamore at Dolce Vita. Kelly has been performing since the age of three. Her passion has al-ways been dance. She has been in several principal roles with the Beth Fowler Dance Company such as the Rose Queen and Spanish Chocolate soloist in The Nutcracker and Summer Fairy in Cinderella. She has previous-

ly performed with Stage Coach as Frenchy in Grease, Mimi in Guys and Dolls, and in the ensembles of Oklaho-ma, Spamalot, and the hit show High School Musical. Most recently she ap-peared as Hedy LaRue in How to Suc-ceed in Business without Really Trying. She wants to thank her Dad, Mom, Erik, Amber, Katie, and her boyfriend Greg for always supporting her love for theater! And a huge thank you to Ryan and John for this opportunity!

Emma Carpenter (Cin-derella) - Emma is a sophomore at Dekalb High School and is very excited to be playing Cinderella. As a fresh-

man she was thrilled to play Miss Doro-thy Brown in the DeKalb High School’s production of Thoroughly Modern Mil-lie. Emma began acting in elementa-ry school, debuting as Gloria in Wait until Dark at Stage Coach. She has been in numerous Children’s Com-munity Theatre shows, most recently starring as Wendy in Peter Pan. Last spring she played Fiona in the DeKalb Middle School production of Shrek Jr. Emma has taken voice lessons for many years. She has performed vo-cally throughout Dekalb, including appearances at Hopkins Park and the House Cafe and has sung the nation-al anthem at over 40 local events, in-cluding the annual Dekalb/Sycamore Castle Challenge, the Corn Fest Race, and several DHS/Kish College/NIU athletic events. Emma is a member of the DHS Enharmonic Fusion, DHS Madrigals Royal Court, and DHS Var-sity Choir. Emma would like to thank Ryan, John, Margaret Fox, Travis Erick-son and her parents for their support, instruction, and encouragement. “Hope you enjoy Into the Woods!”


Daerielle Amber Cul-ver (Cinderella’s Step-mother) - Daerielle is delighted to delve into the woods under the visionary direction of

Ryan Morton with this incredible cast as Cinderella’s evil stepmother. Her previous Stage Coach Players’ credits include Mrs. Pugh in Annie, Isaachar’s wife in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and one of the Three Blind Mice doo-wop girls in Shrek. She had a marvelous time stepping outside the musical realm in Night People, the radio play directed by the admirable G. Scott Morris. She also donned three different wigs and more than ten costume changes as an “extra extraordinaire” in last sea-son’s production of 9 to 5. When not on stage with her theater friends, she can be found on stage with her guitar as part of The Pleasant Street Players. She would like to thank her wonderful family: her incredibly supportive father Ken, her fabulous stepmother Judy who always reminds her to follow her heart and seek happiness, and her wonderful stepsister Mary who en-couraged her to take chances in life and audition for this show because if you don’t try, you’ll never know what could be waiting in the woods!

Elenia Dokos (Witch) - Elenia is excited to be back onstage after a long hiatus. This is her fi rst Stage Coach pro-duction. She would like

to thank her family and friends for en-couraging her to get back to perform-ing and for all their support. Special thanks to the amazing cast and crew!!

Jennifer Engles (Snow White) - Jennifer en-joys theater on and backstage, joining productions in the en-semble and stage

crew in many shows, including Little Shop of Horrors, Wizard of Oz, Honk, and Oliver, but most of her singing happens as a cantor at St. Cather-ine of Genoa parish. When not on (or back) stage, Jennifer helps take care of her youngest brother and sisters and is the Claims and Safety Manag-er at Blackhawk Moving & Storage.

Rodolfo Espiritu (Baker) - Rudy is so happy to return to Stage Coach, where he did his fi rst show and his love of performing began. At

Stage Coach he has performed in Shrek, Annie, Joseph and Urinetown. He has also been in Les Miserables with Lake Zurich Players and Thoroughly Modern Millie with Music on Stage. He thanks Ryan, John, Jan and Sarah for entrusting him with the role of the Bak-er. Thank you to his voice teacher Co-lette for her work with this part and for helping him grow an appreciation for Sondheim. He wishes to thank all his family and friends for supporting him. Much love to his wife Eileen for her love and for waiting up for him when he comes home late from rehearsal.

Scott Fleetwood (Cin-derella’s Prince) - Hav-ing been back from stage hiatus for a full year (you may have seen him at SCP in

Spamalot, Black Patent Leather Shoes (BPLS), and Mary Poppins), Scott de-cided it was probably time to revisit one of his favorite previous roles. Un-fortunately, he has a very diffi cult time portraying a charismatic, obnoxiously


whimsical, and entitled white boy, but he’ll manage somehow. Facetious lev-ity aside, he is very grateful to his BPLS castmates for their continued support in his theatrical endeavors. Scott ded-icates his performance to the late, great Robin Williams, a true inspiration to any who struggle to banish their own personal demons in order to bring happiness and laughter to others.

Cheri Heinz (Jack’s Mother) - This is Cheri’s second performance with Stage Coach, the fi rst being Mary Poppins! She is get-

ting back into theater after about a 20-year hiatus! She was the choir di-rector at her church for 13 years and just recently gave that up to free up time to get back on the stage. Be-ing an empty nester also gives her a lot more free time to once again do something she loves. Cheri also plays piano and is a vocalist in her church praise band. She would like to thank her family for being supportive in this new adventure. She would also like to thank Jan Kuntz for giving her the opportunity to be in Mary Poppins and to become a part of the Stage Coach family. She would lastly like to thank Ryan and John for their help and support in becoming Jack’s mother!

Galen Hughes (Lucin-da) - Galen is making her happy return to Stage Coach after a two-year gap due to school. Her previous

stage appearances include Florinda in Aphra Behn’s The Rover, Mouse in A Year with Frog and Toad, and Sara in Diana Sun’s Stop Kiss. She is a The-atre Arts major at Monmouth Col-lege and is excited to be in the show that started it all. She was in Into the Woods in 2010 as her fi rst musical ever

and the rest is history! She would like to thank her parents for their years of unwavering support and to you for supporting your local community the-atre. Thank you and enjoy the show!

Janette Jacobs (Gran-ny/Giant) - This is Ja-nette’s fi rst time per-forming with these talented people and Stage Coach Players.

Janette started in theater way back in the 1970’s and has continued to perform and work with local theater groups around the area for the past 30 years. Janette is now retired (or pa-roled as she explains it) from the Illinois Department of Corrections after 23 years of employment. While working at the prison, Janette brought some of her theatrical talents to the youth, and over the years she directed sev-eral projects while teaching the youth theater skills. Some of Janette’s past performances have been as follows: Crumbs in Bed (an evening with Rich Orloff), Of Grapes and Nuts, The Cu-rious Savage, Into the Woods, Urine-town (twice), and Incorruptible. Ja-nette thanks the loves of her life - her husband Mitch, her daughter Heather, her son-in-law Scott, and her grand-daughters Charlotte and Claire - for their love and support. You guys are the best and I love you tons and tons.

Jacob Johnson (Wolf/Rapunzel’s Prince) - This is Jacob’s fi rst ever Stage Coach produc-tion and his return to theater after a six-year

hiatus! Born and raised in rural Minne-sota, he has been acting and singing for almost his entire life, performing all over the world, including a college choir tour in South Korea. Some of his favorite musical theater roles include


Rolfe in The Sound of Music, Will Park-er in Oklahoma, and Seymour Krel-born in Little Shop of Horrors. He has lived in DeKalb for the past six years now, works for Northern Illinois Uni-versity’s P-20 Center as a media pro-ducer, and is a board member of the DeKalb Festival Chorus. He would like to thank Ryan, John, Sarah, and ev-eryone in the cast and crew for be-ing so welcoming and giving him this opportunity to be on the stage again.

John Linderoth (Cinder-ella’s Father) - Since his initial SCP show Se-ussical ten years ago, John has been a con-sistent part of SCP pre-

sentations, among them A Christmas Carol (several times), Harvey, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas and recently Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, and The Devil’s Disciple. Again, he is the elder statesman of the cast and is challenged to keep up with an ar-ray of superb, younger talent that have set the bar high. John appre-ciates the patience and opportuni-ty afforded him by John, Sarah, and Ryan and wishes you an enjoyable evening as you go Into the Woods.

Maggie Madziarczyk (Little Red Riding Hood) - Maggie is a 14-year old Kaneland High School freshman who is very excited to be

performing in her 3rd show with Stage Coach! Favorite roles have included Paulette in Legally Blonde, Jovie in Elf, Princess Fiona in Shrek, JoJo in Seussi-cal, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Annie in Annie, and Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life. Maggie will soon be appear-ing in the web show Making It Again (set to premiere this fall). A huge thank you to Ryan, the production

team, cast, and crew for making this journey into the woods so much fun!

Kimberly Moorman (Cinderella’s Mother) - You may recognize her from her previous roles at SCP: Dolly Levi in Hel-lo Dolly, Rona Peretti in

Spelling Bee and the karate-wielding Sarah in Company. Being involved in theater for 20 years, there are too many productions to mention, but outside of Stage Coach, her favor-ite stage role has been Marion in The Music Man. Kim has extensive singing experience earning her Masters of Music in Vocal Education and Vocal Performance Certifi cate from NIU in 2008. She sang in Europe as a member of Voci d’estate, a summer program for emerging opera singers, and also has been a member of the Philader Consort of Dixon. When not on stage, she teaches choir, general music and co-directs the musicals at Traughber Junior High in Oswego. Most recently she co-directed the hugely success-ful, Alice in Wonderland, Jr. Despite all her credits, the role she most enjoys is the role of mom to her 4½-year-old son RJ and wife to husband Aaron.

Nika Morton (Bak-er’s Wife) - Nika has been a member of Stage Coach since 2010 when she music directed The Music

Man. Since then she has been music director for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Fo-rum, Company, and White Christmas. Nika also spent several years on the Play Reading Committee, served two years as Treasurer on the SCP Board of Directors, and appeared on stage


in Guys and Dolls. Currently, Nika is planning Stage Coach’s 70th anniver-sary celebration concert, which will be performed in November. By day Nika is a kindergarten through third grade general music teacher at Bristol Grade School and Yorkville Grade School in Yorkville. She also teaches private voice and piano lessons and sings in her church choir. In her free time Nika en-joys spending time with her family and friends, reading great books, and en-joying life with her wonderful husband Ryan, whom she met at Stage Coach!

Isaiah Panke (Jack) - Isaiah has been in many shows, including A Christ-mas Carol (three times), The Little Mermaid (Se-bastian), Peter Pan (Pe-

ter Pan), The Sound Of Music (Kurt), My Son Pinnoccio, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, Aladdin, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Fiddler On The Roof, and Shrek. Isaiah would like to thank his amazing music teacher Mr. Erikson for telling him to audition for this show and his vocal teacher Emily Padilla for helping him with his music. He also wants to thanks his parents and brother for supporting and believing in him and for taking him to and picking him up from rehearsals.

Heather Pauliks (Rapun-zel) - Heather is thrilled to be making her Stage Coach debut with this fantastic show as she has always wanted

to be a princess. She is a graduate of Elmhurst College with a degree in musical theatre. Favorite past credits include Hairspray (Lou Ann - Whea-ton Drama), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Ensemble - Summer Place Theatre), Dames at Sea (Trixie - Elmhurst Col-lege), and Phaedra (Aricia - Elmhurst College). Heather thanks her friends and family for their love and support.

Faith Peila (Sleeping Beauty) - This is Faith’s fi rst performance through Stage Coach. She is a second year BFA Acting student at

Northern Illinois University and has been in a variety of different shows, her fa-vorite roles being Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Esther Smith in Meet me in St. Louis. She is currently an in-tern through Organic Theatre Compa-ny at Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago and is also in the production of Out Of The Blue by Vladimir Zaytsev as the role of Babushka at NIU. She would like to thank her family and boyfriend for all of their love and support, her direc-tors Ryan Morton and Colin Jackson for the amazing opportunities, and all of her acting professors at NIU for all of the things they have taught her and for pushing her even when she didn’t think she could go any further.

CREW:John Feken (Music Director) - John has been a rehearsal accompanist and/or member of the pit for several Stage Coach musicals including both runs of Joseph and the Amazing Technicol-or Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls, Shrek, and Company. Most recently he was Co-Music Direc-tor for Mary Poppins. Into The Woods is his fi rst time as Music Director. In 2015 he was honored to receive a Special Award from SCP for his contributions to the musical productions. He also submitted and received grants on behalf of SCP to purchase new equip-ment for the pit including stand lights, a video monitor, instrumental micro-phones, a portable keyboard, and an amp. John received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Millikin Universi-ty in Decatur, Illinois, and his Master’s


Degree in Education from Aurora University. He has taught fi fth grade through twelfth grade band and sixth grade through twelfth grade choir for the Indian Creek School District since 1993. Mr. Feken is an active member of the Adult Bell choir and currently the Adult Vocal Choir Director and Or-ganist/Pianist at First Lutheran Church of DeKalb. He is also a member of Mu-sic Educator’s National Conference and the American Choral Director’s Association. John would like to offer a special thanks to his wife Sara Ann for her encouragement in this new role.

Laurie Hunyard (Costume Designer) - Laurie has been doing costumes for Stage Coach since 1991. She met her husband Mark backstage in 1992 during Bet Your Heart. Thanks to Ryan for being so calm during this process.

Jan Kuntz (Producer) - Jan is excit-ed to be working with this tremen-dous cast and crew to bring Into the Woods to life! Jan is a retired teach-er who taught high school English, speech and theater and garnered several awards for her contributions to education. At Indian Creek High School she directed approximately 40 plays and established a theater pro-gram with excellent traditions. As a member of the Stage Coach Players, she has directed many plays includ-ing, but not limited to Les Miserables: The Student Edition; Steel Magnolias; Grease; Death of a Salesman; and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; and most recently Mary Poppins. Jan also enjoys producing shows and mentoring new directors. She is a current member of the Stage Coach Board and was awarded with the SCOTY in 2005. Thanks to Ryan for asking her to be involved in this venture. Special thanks to Dan and

her family who always allows her to “play.” Much love to Ellie and Emma who make her one happy Glamma!

Matt McClane (Set Designer) - Matt is making his fi rst attempt at set de-sign and construction with Into the Woods and is forever appreciative of Ryan for the opportunity. Matt is a paramedic by day and jack-of-all-trades in his spare time. Matt also wanted to thank Michele, his wife, for bringing him into the company of such talented and friendly people.

Aaron Moorman (Sound Designer) - Aaron is excited to be running sound for this production, which is the 9th show he’s been a part of at Stage Coach. Of the nine shows, fi ve have been in front of the lights and the re-maining four have been working be-hind the lights at the sound board. He’s thankful for the love and sup-port from his wife Kim and son RJ, as he’s found a new passion at Stage Coach. He sends his love to his wife, who is on stage, which means he gets to run sound in the same production as her for the fi rst time. To the rest of the cast and crew, break a leg!

Ryan Morton (Director) - Ryan is thrilled to bring another Sondheim classic to the stage, after making his directorial debut at Stage Coach in 2013 with Company. He also assistant directed How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying in 2014. Before directing Ryan frequently appeared on stage at SCP, most memorably as Barfee in Spelling Bee, Pseudolus in Forum, and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. He’s on a performance hiatus because of his studies at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where he has just ten months left before dedicating ev-ery waking (and sleeping) moment to


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studying for the bar exam. He express-es boundless gratitude to the entire cast and crew, who truly made this show possible. He especially thanks Jan, for her vital organization and encouragement; John, for his brilliant music direction and insights into the show; Sarah, for her creative assis-tance and collaboration as my right-hand man; and Nika, for her love, support, and wonderful performance. Best of wives and best of women.

Sarah Morton (Stage Manager/Choreographer) - Having most re-cently worked backstage in My Fair Lady as choreographer, Sarah is ex-cited to work alongside her broth-er as his obedient servant. This is her fi rst time stage managing a show, as she is typically found performing

onstage. Her most recent roles in-clude Hairspray (Tammy), Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Refl ect Up (Virginia), and White Christmas (Judy). Thank you to the cast for all their hard work and to Stephen Sond-heim for creating songs that remain in your head all day. Enjoy the show!

Todd Toles (Light Designer) - Into the Woods represents his 61st show for SCP. Favorite shows he’s been in in-clude Forbidden Broadway (where he sang a parody of this show) and Bye Bye Birdie. A SCOTY winner, for-mer board member, and Lucille Akins Lifetime Achievement award winner, he has directed two shows and pro-duced, acted, lit, did sound, and fl ew scenery and people in many others.


DIRECTOR’S NOTES“The harder to get, the better to have.”

“Sometimes the things you most wish for, are not to be touched.”“Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor.”

Characters recite these and other fortune cookie-like phrases throughout “Into the Woods.” While somewhat randomly placed in the show, these sayings are vital to the themes of the musical. A tremendous amount of wisdom is packed into each maxim, as audience members are asked to consider their own goals in life.

Our version of this show takes place in a library, where wisdom lines each shelf. Our four main characters are lost. They need guidance to make their next decisions. While seeking those answers at the library, they are sucked into the stories, allowing them to experience their heart’s desires. Yet like so many of us, they realize fulfi lling their wishes merely created new ambitions, leading them back to the library for the next book in the series and another journey into the woods.

How often we fi nd ourselves on the same journey. We spend our lives pursuing love, wealth, fame, and other lofty goals. Many times, when those wishes come true, we then fi nd fl aws in what we have, or we yearn for even better circumstances. This constant search for complete satisfaction prevents us from simply enjoying and appreciating what we already have.

I personally look to my grandparents as examples of how to embrace life as it is. George and Anna Heitz married young and stayed together for 64 years, even though World War II kept them separated for their fi rst four years of marriage. Howard and Roberta Morton, married for nearly 52 years, were likewise a testament to love and dedication. Howard turned down a major promotion because it would have meant uprooting his family from Chicago. George spent his entire career working as a truck driver for an electric company. Anna and Roberta dedicated their lives to raising their children and providing a stable home.

Perhaps they, like Cinderella, “on occasion, wanted more.” But they did not go in search of it. They did not see marriage as an expendable arrangement, nor did they view their jobs as temporary placeholders until the next best offer came along. They were content with how their stories unfolded. My grandparents committed themselves to fi nding happiness in the simple joys of their modest lives.

Your wishes don’t always come true. And those that do aren’t always what you imagined. Make the most of what you’ve been given. Enjoy your story. I hope this show speaks to you as much as it does to me. — Ryan Morton, Director, Into the Woods

Auditions for “70 Seasons of Stage Coach”

will also be held at the same time and place as the “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” auditions.

“70 Seasons of Stage Coach” performances take place November 4 and 5, 2016.

visit stagecoachers.com for more information.stagecoachers.com/2016/2016_e_pixs/program.pdf · ·...

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