On May 8, Lexington High School presented its 2025 spring musical, Into the Woods. The musical, which ran from May 8-10, originally debuted in 1986 and was written by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Into the Woods is a story that interweaves famous fairytale characters with a few original ones who discover, in their search for a happy ending, that life isn’t as simple as they imagined it would be. 

“Into the Woods is one of those rare shows that works on so many levels,” Carly Kalivas, the director and producer of the LHS production, said. “At first, it seems like a fun mashup of a fairy tale—but then it hits you with these deep, emotional truths about growing up… and figuring out who you are.” 

 As director and producer, Kalivas oversaw the audition and rehearsal process. Aman Verma, a junior who starred as the Baker in the show, explained that this year’s cast, crew, and orchestra were particularly connected. 

“We got close to one another, and not only just with the cast itself… [but also with] tech and lights and costumes and pit… It’s a sense of community that we were able to bring from this production, specifically,” Verma said. 

This connection between the directors, cast, and crew was important early in the rehearsal process. At the beginning of production, the heads of all the different crew departments meet with the directors to discuss the overall vision of the show. 

“[The directors] give an introduction as to what their view is [and] what they want the style to be… It’s really important to have that communication,” Bruna Scussel, assistant head of Costume Design, said. 

Scussel stressed the importance of various departments working together to carry out the show. 

“We work a lot with props … If a character has a sword, we need somebody to put their sword in…we have to work with lighting also [for] color coordination to make sure someone [doesn’t] disappear behind a set,” Scussel said. 

The show’s theme focused on the process of maturing. The costume department communicated this by having the actors begin the show in bright clothes that degraded as the show progressed. Thematic ideas were also present in the play’s music, which was lyrical and flowing at some points and intense at others.

The larger-than-usual musical ensemble cast in this show presented some challenges. Because each ensemble member needed to look like a recognizable fairytale character, it was difficult to create so many individual costumes in a limited time. 

“We had to make [costumes] look recognizable, but also not too on the nose, and we had to make sure that every costume was done within the time. Timing was a struggle,” Scussel said.

Nonetheless, by blending reworked costumes from previous shows with pieces made from scratch, the costume crew ultimately achieved a result they were proud of. 

The Giant’s entrance in the musical was another particularly tricky moment.

“We had to figure out how to, first of all, create the giant. And we ended up using a shadow that we built from a light…The rumbling of the giant’s feet would be a bass drum, and then there was… the cast reacting to the pit making sounds while the giant was speaking. All those things were a lot of different teams and a lot of different artistic groups coming together,” Toby Forman, a band teacher and the director of the pit orchestra, said.

Despite the time constraints, Kalivas recognized the production crew’s hard work and supportive environment as what helped pull everything together. 

“That’s the beauty of theater—you find a way, together,” Kalivas said.

Verma said that the cast grew together as a team through each performance. 

“Every time I did a song, and then I went backstage, there was always a group of cast members there waiting for me… And then after, we just jammed out and danced to another song that played right after, and that was a fun experience to have.”

Ultimately, the show spoke directly to LHS students in many ways. 

“So many of our students are going through their own version of ‘the woods,’” Kalivas said. “Trying to figure out who they are, what they want, and how to deal with everything life throws at them. This show gives them a chance to see that others are facing those same questions. It’s powerful to see yourself in a story, especially one that says, ‘You are not alone.’”