From Sept. 31 to Oct. 1, Mater Dei’s Theatre Department performed this year’s All School Musical, Into The Woods.

Into The Woods, is a musical that combines the plots of various fairytales, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. The main storyline revolves around a baker and his wife trying to undo a witch’s curse. The curse can only be lifted if the baker and his wife steal items owned by the fairytale characters. In order to do this, they must journey into the woods.

As expected of a musical, much of the lines were sung by the cast. But, the Mater Dei production had creative aspects that allowed them to add its own uniqueness and humor. For example, the hen’s costume consisted of a simple white shirt that was labeled with the El Pollo Loco logo. In addition, the cow was eating Chick-fil-a, which evoked laughter from the crowd.

The All School Musical has been a Mater Dei tradition for many years. Students across every grade level were able to participate in different roles from cast members to crew members, and no prior experience was necessary for students who wished to take part.

“This show was tough to put together because Sondhiem musical scores are very difficult and require a lot of tedious work,” said Alden Hodgdon, The Baker. “Thankfully, we all had good work ethic to get the job done. It was a great experience.” 

This was Hodgdon’s third lead role in one of Mater Dei’s plays. For the six weeks before opening night, Hodgdon along with the rest of the cast and crew practiced for about three hours everyday after school.

“The kids did a great job at figuring out their characters. Watching the progression of character development was incredible” said Into the Woods Production Manager Alexi Thomas.

The hard work payed off as the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show as seen through their laughs, applause and standing ovation.

“It was wonderful, and I was surprised by the talent of the cast” said senior Kristin Neff who was in the audience.