Above: Will Shelton '19 as Cinderella's Prince and Eli Schuchert '18 as Rapunzel's Prince.
(Photo Credit: Mike Olivieri)

Into the Woods Entertains Crowds

Last weekend, the Xavier Dramatics Society presented Into the Woods—the first musical ever performed in Keenan Commons.

Building on the success of their fall show, Our Town, XDS members boldly took on Into the Woods, which features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical combined the plots of various fairy tales, exploring the consequences on the characters’ lives. Xavier students were joined on stage by students from Dominican Academy, Notre Dame School, and Saint Vincent Ferrer.

Above: The Into the Woods playbill.

“We have grown a great deal in the new space," said director Nicole DiMarco. "We had another record breaking turnout for auditions, and we broke the ticket sales record that was broken last year. It was standing room only Friday and Sunday!"

DiMarco said she was pleased by the quality of all three performances, the result of three-hour rehearsals that took place four days a week since the show was cast in January. "We did the original score, not the junior score, and they rose to the challenge, which made me very proud," she said. "I had several students tell me they forgot they were watching a high school musical. That they thought it was professional—that's the best compliment I can get! My students all loved it, and they are some of the harshest critics."

To view photos from Into the Woods, click here.