Back from the Woods...

For six weeks in July and August, for 22+ hours a week, I was lost in the Woods.

When State College Community Theatre announced their summer season and I saw this show included, I was instantly interested.  "Into the Woods" was the 2nd show I saw on Broadway as a kid, and the Baker's Wife is a role I've always wanted to play.  After some LONG talks with Chad about what this would look like for our family this summer, I auditioned with his encouragement.  What a blessing to get the opportunity to do it!

The cast, crew, and artistic team were wonderful -- the show played for 2 weeks to nearly sold-out crowds each night.  There were some favorable reviews published in local newspapers (one HERE).  And Chad organized a group of 50+ folks from Calvary to come out for it, which was an overwhelming heartburst for me to see all of them.  Chad also did an AMAZING job in the role of "Mr. Mom" this summer....both he and Julia survived beautifully. 



Here are some pictures from the show, taken at our final dress rehearsal by the wonderful Drew Frank at Meadow Lane Photography:

I was blessed by being able to work with some extremely talented folks, specifically my counterpoint, Eric, who played the Baker.  He's a local music teacher, and just brought wonderful things to his role and our interactions.  His "No More" song near the end of the show was my favorite moment each night. (He sang the socks off of the original Broadway actor!)

I also loved having the chance to get to know Jonathan more, who played the Narrator/Mysterious Man.  Jonathan and I have interacted in a number of ways over the years through both of us being connected to Calvary, but we've never had the amount of time together that this show allowed.  It was a blessing to have another believer artist to work with, and we took time each night during the run of the show to connect beforehand and pray for our cast and crew.

(we also both loved meat-lovers pizzas, which was instantly bonding...

don't worry -- most of mine went home to Chad!)

Overall, it was an amazing experience...one that I was sad to see end.  But it was nice to get back to more normal family life again, too!

*I'm waiting on some pictures from other cast members, so I may be adding some more in the future...