FARMINGTON — Starting in January, The Sandy River Players [SRP] will be performing Into the Woods at the Emery Community Arts Center at the University of Maine, Farmington. The production is scheduled to begin Thursday, Jan. 12, and continue Jan. 13, 14, 20, and 21 at 7 p.m. The final performance will be held on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m.

Franklin Savings Bank is the community sponsor for the production. According to Karen West, treasurer of the Board of Directors, they donated $2,600 to sponsor their orchestra.

The performance will be directed by Ethan Wright, a teacher in the music department at Mt. Blue High School and Director of Community Chorus and will feature 19 local actors and an 11-piece orchestra.

“At the end of October, we had auditions,” Wright stated. “And we had more than 40 people come out to audition, but it’s only a cast of 19. So, that was tough, but it was great to have that much interest.”

This performance comes on the tail end of a series of successful cabaret performances held by the organization at the West Farmington Grange and the Homestead Bakery. “Our intent was to have a ‘cabaret’ style atmosphere,” West stated. “We auditioned performers, Ethan then chose musical numbers based on the auditioners we had.”

“The audience sat at tables and the performers sang in and around the audience area. It was such a successful event in June we did another one in October,” she added.

West role in the Sandy River Players extend beyond being the treasurer of the board.

“Karen does like the million things, you can’t even call her one specific [title], like producer or treasurer or whatever,” Wright said. “She just does a million things that rarely gets noticed. And then if she doesn’t do them, everything falls apart. So, she’s really like a huge asset to the group.”

Wright and SRP were involved in a performance of Lend Me a Tenor at the West Farmington Grange Hall in Oct. 2021.

“We were on pins and needles about it,” West commented. “Because [COVID-19] was still happening. We were trying to do something and so we went ahead and did it. And it was really successful. Great, great show.

“For at least a year, we were completely dark,” she continued. “You know, everything was shut down. We didn’t do the summer [theater] of 2020. [In 2021], we did summer theater, but we did a video recording, and they could stream it. There was no audience. And then, you know, it looked like things were getting better. So, we decided to try Lend Me a Tenor.”

“There’s a lot of talent in this area, like a lot of really good musicians and actors,” Wright added. “And so, it’s like, finally we can start doing things again. And it’s just felt so good to actually be in a theater in front of people performing again.”

This upcoming performance comes after an unsuccessful attempt to get the rights to Mamma Mia. Originally slated for spring 2020, the pandemic stopped production in its tracks. SRP attempted to revisit the performance but were unable to secure the rights.

“Our plan was to try and do that this year, but when we applied for the rights for Mamma Mia, we couldn’t get them because it’s touring,” West said.

“So, I spoke to Ethan, we talked about some options. And he said, ‘What about Into the Woods’, which is also a very well-known play and musical and people love it. So, let’s go with it,” She added

Wright is especially excited for the production, as he feels that it can offer some commentary of the world outside of the stage.

“Jack has the magic beans and grows a beanstalk,” he said, “And he goes up there and steals stuff and comes back down. But the giant comes down and the giant, like, he causes damage and pain to all these people, and they have to figure out how to get beyond the giant.

“But the giant represents whatever is happening in the world at that time that’s causing pain and grief. So, I mean, it could represent the pandemic, it could be cancer, it could be aids, it could be war, it could be whatever, something that this existential thing that just comes into people’s lives, when they have their own stresses with everything else is going on.”