A local production of the Broadway musical Into the Woods premieres tomorrow. The Tony Award winning show is being directed by Hong Kong residents Lindsey McAllister and Scott Gibson (musical director) of Bloody Offal Productions.
Besides the Brothers Grimm characters, you get to see a darker, more adult portrayal of life. Characters include Cinderella, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, as they teach the audience about the pitfalls of greed, unfaithfulness, pride and foolishness. Costumes play a big part, and have been meticulously designed by Bag Lady Productions.
'We have been researching the designs and working on the costumes since November, at that time no one had even begun rehearsing yet,' says Bag Lady's Elaine Wade. 'But we wanted to create the most authentic costumes possible - these are authentic period pieces that have been sourced and made in China.
'Even Cinderella's undergarments are real hip hoops.'
McAllister says the time and money invested has a huge importance to the show: 'We invest months of preparation with professional performers to reach the highest standard of performance, whereas it would be easy to scrimp on costumes or sets ... theatre is 'total' and if one element is compromised the entire piece suffers.'
The production runs until Saturday. Tickets for the Shouson Theatre, HK Arts Centre show are $180 (concession) and $200 (adults). Call HK Ticketing on 3128 8288.