“Moments” From the Run of Queen’s Musical Theatre’s ‘Into The Woods’
Once upon a time… Queen’s Musical Theatre’s 2026 production of Into The Woods ran for 17 shows over the course of two and a half weeks, a run that is rarely tackled by amateur theatre companies. As a performer in the show, I first wrote an article about rehearsals early in January and now I hope to capture some of the many moments that took place throughout the show run.
As I sit at my desk (for the first time in a while, it feels) following closing, I find myself looking back on some of the fondest moments spent in the woods these last few weeks. Though extremely busy, having the opportunity to perform a show as many times as we did provided the cast and crew with a unique opportunity to know the material and our tracks inside and out. As Hannah Clark (Little Red Ridinghood) said near the end of the run, “I don’t think there is a single line in the show that I’m confused about now, even though there’s usually a few… They all make sense.” This certainly held true for myself as well: even with Stephen Sondheim’s complex lyricism and James Lapine’s book littered with riddles, by the final weekend it felt as though we came to a new understanding beyond what can typically be achieved with the work in and outside of the rehearsal room.
When considering the shows themselves, it’s important to note that for anyone performing or working backstage, it never begins at the same time an audience member sits down for the show—it’s typically a good deal earlier. At the latest, actors in Into The Woods were to arrive by 5:30pm for the 7:30pm start time. This is typical of most theatre productions, although I will be the first to admit I bent this rule more than a few times throughout the 15 shows I performed in. The time ahead of the show’s beginning gives the chance to run any lifts, fight or intimacy choreography, vocal warm ups, and a mic check (only the Narrator was given a lavalier microphone for the show, which made this part of the pre-show routine smooth). It also includes some time for actors to get into hair and makeup before the performance.
For the cast of Woods, we only had a few lifts to run ahead of the show, which were led by Stage Manager Quinn Hammond, with the help of our assistant stage managers (Agustina Tabares, Shenyi Lu, Kai Ileleji, Bria Chalovich, Devine Mattis, and Abby MacDermid). Sometimes fellow cast members would help by pulling the curtains to make entrances and exits to the stage easier. Following this, many of the cast and crew would hang out on the stage and in the audience, having their hair done by the wonderful hair and makeup team, or spending time stretching or eating before getting their costumes on. Around half an hour before the show, we’d engage in a cast vocal warm up, led by our vocal captains, Olivia Buchanan (Narrator) and Amelia Passafiume (Narrator Understudy), depending on who was the Narrator for that performance. Although I was often running in and out of vocal warm ups (typically to curl my hair and finish my makeup before putting my costume on), a constant within them was how they would end: by singing the—infamous, amongst our cast—sforzando at the end of “Ever After,” the Act One finale. This had been drilled into us by our vocal directors, Joey Harvey and Lauren Faria, until our final rehearsal. Each show, we would put a twist on the final words, to congratulate a swing who was on, a funny moment that happened pre-show, or anything else on our minds that evening. While we still frequently forgot about the sforzando—much to the dismay of Harvey and Faria—caught up in the chaos of so many cast members moving around at the end of the act, this ritual is one that remained a favourite.
A portion of the show that was entirely worked out in tech was the shadow puppetry section during two scenes. The first being when the Wolf (Garrett Fuller) eats Little Red Ridinghood, the second being when Little Red and her Granny (Joelle Bruyere) escape the Wolf’s stomach with the help of the Baker (Linden Imeson Jorna). By using a small, but powerful handheld light, the actors depicted the grotesque scenes through shadow choreography. Although it had never been rehearsed with the sheet and light until our arrival at the theatre, the trick ended up working; except for one performance where we experienced technical difficulties turning the light on, leading to the sheet appearing blank to audiences. Thinking quickly on her feet, our Narrator (Buchanan) acted out the “eating” and “escaping” scenes by laying on the ground and dramatically mimicking the choreography alongside actor dialogue, in order to convey the events to the audience. In these types of moments, improvisation is essential for carrying the story forward and ensuring the audience remains on the same page, even if one element falters. The Narrator’s role within this production was bent towards poking fun at the fairytales and engaging with the audience in a direct manner, which helped Buchanan’s solution fit in more with the style of the show.
As for swing-ons—a shorthand that refers to when a swing goes on for one of the roles they cover—we were fortunate to have many over the course of the 17 shows, with four performances scheduled to feature multiple swings. Beyond the scheduled performances, there were various other individual swing-ons throughout the run, including two evenings where our director, Karen Lear, went on for Jack’s Mom and the Witch due to illness and lack of availability within the cast. This aside, the runs were otherwise smooth, which felt like a feat in this bitter winter.
Eventually, all things have to end, and with our closing show this past Sunday, January 25th, it was littered with many QMT traditions. The first being the beloved “Memory of the Show,” started by alumni during QMT’s 2024 production The Prom. It has remained a part of closing nights since. The cast and crew arrange themselves in a circle, and to a simple melody, chant the song, with each member sharing a different memory from the rehearsal or show period, usually to make each other laugh ahead of what is often an emotional performance. This time, as we were not equipped to accompany ourselves on a piano, Harvey played the melody on the saxophone, and we continued on.
A second QMT tradition is the infamous closing show pranks. On and leading up to closing, actors prepare pranks to include into the show, which must be approved by the director and stage manager to ensure they do not sacrifice the integrity of the show to new audiences. Although some unapproved pranks still slipped through the cracks, derailing some scenes at unnecessary times, there were a few approved favourites: the Princes (Garrett Fuller and Justin Skinner) tearing open the top few buttons of their shirts during “Agony;” giving the Baker and Baker’s Wife’s (Mo Kelly) baby to the Witch (Boyacigil) so she could direct parts of “Last Midnight” to the baby in her arms, rather than just chase the other characters around the stage (a request that was denied during rehearsals); and secretly passing a miniature cow between one another on stage throughout the show.
All the fun aside, as Act Two developed, a crowd of cast members (those who spent the latter portion of the show offstage) slowly gathered to sit on the stairs by the balcony of the Baby Grand to watch the final few songs and scenes of the show. Myself, Clark, and Beckham Meredith (Jack) gathered backstage to listen to Imeson Jorna’s final “No More,” wiping away tears before rejoining him on the stage to sing a tearful “No One is Alone.” In the final song, “Children Will Listen,” as Imeson Jorna began retelling the narration from the Act One opening, I looked up at my companions, all overcome with emotion for this story. It certainly didn’t help that this audience, our final one, had so many children—the most of our run, at least a third of the audience. What better way to close our show than with them listening?
‘Into The Woods’ was presented by Queen’s Musical Theatre, and played from January 9-25, 2026 at the Baby Grand Theatre.
