Cappies Review: Into the Woods at JEB Stuart High School

When viewed through the fogged lens of youth’s innocent idealism, the familiar childhood fables of villainous witches, beautiful princesses, and unlikely heroes are often beloved for their magical wonder and surreal effervescence.  Yet these supernatural stories almost always possess much deeper meanings, frequently layered with probing social commentary and important life lessons.  This point was fully examined in J.E.B Stuart High School’s willfully silly but insightful production of Into the Woods.

With an intricate score and ingenious lyrics provided by the celebrated musical theater icon Stephen Sondheim and complimented by James Lapine’s book, Into the Woods is the musical medley of mainstream fairytale stereotypes into one chaotic storyline. The show first graced the stage in 1987 featuring Broadway stars such as Bernadette Peters and Joanna Gleason, receiving multiple Tony Awards and rave reviews during its premiere run. Intertwined with the stories of many iconic storybook favorites such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk, the main plotline revolves around the original characters of an unassuming Baker and his equally plain wife. When this ordinary couple discovers their abilities to conceive a child are hindered by a long standing curse set upon them by a nefarious witch, they embark on a haphazard quest through the darkly magical woods to appease their punisher by collecting four unusual objects, all inadvertently linked to famous fairytale characters. Along the way the challenging tribulations and mysticism of the woods elucidates the unsettling fact that every wish has its consequence and not every story must have a happy ending.

The enchanting magnetism and seamless nuance of Mariana Barbosa’s multi-faceted portrayal of the Baker's Wife made her the linchpin of this production’s success. While she met the role’s strenuous musical demands with flawless vocal precision, Barbosa also formed a wholesomely endearing character that underwent apparent and compelling development, depicting perseverance and wisdom with a dubious glance or affectionately maternal action. Kind-hearted but weak of mind, Sam Khalaji’s Baker was an endearingly simple man fraught with the dark challenges of his plight in the unforgiving forest. Khalaji met Barbosa’s strong performance as the two created an aptly comfortable chemistry utilized through memorable numbers like “It Takes Two.”

Hillary Leersnyder possessed a quiet demeanor but insistent grace as Cinderella, a combination that culminated in a deeply impactful transformation as her iconic character searched for the ever elusive happy medium between insufferable nightmares and impossible dreams. Joshua Okada gushed with the youthful spirit of Jack while Joe Dubas’s flamboyant ridiculousness was an apt choice for the archetypically charming but self-centered Cinderella’s prince.  Amusingly frazzled as she cared for her doltish son, Lenny Mendez brought extra doses of comedy and energy to some scenes as Jack’s Mother.

Notable technical assets included the assortment of costumes designed, altered, and aggregated for this production. Flowing ball gowns, frayed rustic garments, and vibrantly colored pieces were integrated seamlessly together to help create the magical world and characters of this production. The lighting design also showed some attention to mood and action, utilizing an array gels and washes to transform the once welcoming forest into a dark and formidable wooded abyss.

J.E.B Stuart High School’s production of this incredibly demanding work should be lauded for elucidating the stark but somehow settling fact that the austere imperfections of reality are always looming around the corner, even when life may seem like a fairytale.


by Damian Leverett of McLean High School through the high school Cappies program, the critics and awards program for high school theater. In this program, high school students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools and write reviews for local newspapers. At the end of the year, student critics vote for awards that are presented at a formal Cappies Gala.