Into the Woods (2023) Programme Booklet

27 OCT – 12 NOV 2023

SINGTEL WATERFRONT THEATRE

SEASON SPONSOR

INTO THE WOODS ORIGINALLY DIRECTED ON BROADWAY BY

BOOK BY

MUSIC & LYRICS BY

STEPHEN SONDHEIM

JAMES LAPINE

JAMES LAPINE

ORCHESTRATIONS BY

JONATHAN TUNICK STARRING (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

BENJAMIN CHOW CHLOE E-SHYAN CHUA INCH CHUA CANDICE DE ROZARIO MINA ELLEN KAYE VANESSA KEE DANIEL KOEK FRANCES LEE PRESTON LIM SHARON MAH VICTORIA MINTEY ANDREW MARKO NATHANIA ONG ADRIAN PANG GABY RAE MARISSA VOJODI ETHEL YAP CRENSHAW YEO ANDY YEW MUSICAL DIRECTOR

CHOREOGRAPHER

VOCAL COACH

JOEL NAH

ANDY BENJAMIN CAI

TJ TAYLOR

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

TIMOTHY KOH

SET DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

EUCIEN CHIA

JAMES TAN

SOUND DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

JING NG

LEONARD AUGUSTINE CHOO

WIG DESIGNER

LEONG LIM

DIRECTED BY

TRACIE PANG PRODUCED BY

TRACIE PANG & ADRIAN PANG

SINGTEL WATERFRONT THEATRE 27 OCTOBER TO 12 NOVEMBER 2023 The duration of this performance is approximately 2hrs and 45mins, with a 15mins an interval.

INTO THE WOODS is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com Original Broadway production by Heidi Landesman Rocco Landesman Rick Steiner M. Anthony Fisher Frederic H. Mayerson Jujamcyn Theaters Originally produced by the Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA

OF GIANTS, WOLVES, WITCHES AND WOODS...

1994: Adrian is playing Jack in SRT’s production of Into the Woods.

At the afterparty, he and a lovely young Stage Manager named Tracie Howitt have their meetcute. Tracie has big hair. Adrian has even bigger hair, is half-drunk and wearing leather pants. In Singapore. Tracie is impressed by the ingenious storytelling (and, perhaps a little bit by Adrian’s performance). As a gauche 28-year-old actor toggling between the UK and Singapore, Adrian channels his own struggle being caught between two worlds, a man-child forced to grow up into the real world.

Fast forward to 2011, and Adrian is playing the Baker in Dream Academy’s staging of Into the Woods, sharing the stage with Emma Yong, in what would be her swansong before we lose her to cancer a few months later.

This time, Tracie’s perspective of this show is as a director analysing another director’s work. Meanwhile, a still-notquite-grown-up Adrian resonates with the Baker’s challenges of adulting and being a role model to his own two young boys; and still grappling with his own reallife role as a son.

And here we are, in 2023, coming full circle and ticking one box on our Pangdemonium Wish List by staging one of our favouritest musicals. We are still in awe at how much it speaks truths about life and the world we live in, and makes us realise that, three decades later, we haven’t really grown up. (Speak for yourself, says Tracie).

As with the very best of stories, repeated retellings of this tale over time reaps different rewards. The show covers multiple themes: growing up, parents and children, moral responsibility, wish fulfilment, fantasy and reality, action and consequence....it is a treasure trove of parables and lessons.

“The woods” themselves can be metaphor for any period in one’s life where one feels lost, of being “in the wilderness”, whereby we have to venture “into the woods, and out of the woods…and (hopefully) home before dark”.

Act One is a gleeful mashup of the most beloved fairy-tale characters in search of happilyever-after. Like all of us in real life. In Act Two, the characters face the existential threat of a giant causing death and destruction.

In the musical’s 1987 premiere, this giant was interpreted by some as a metaphor for AIDS; the 2002 Broadway revival opened shortly after 9/11; and now our production comes after millions have been lost in the pandemic.

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Into the Woods continues to resonate because, like all fairy tales, it’s all about interpretation.

Never mind the above global catastrophes, a “giant’ can be an entirely private crisis for any one of us.

In the song “No More”, the Baker sings: How do you ignore All the witches, All the curses, All the wolves, all the lies, The false hopes, the goodbyes, The reverses, All the wondering what even worse is Still in store?

All the children…

All the giants...

No more.

Any individual can experience their own personal “giant”, “wolf ”, “witch”, “woods” – we certainly have. As an audience and as humans, each one of these entities in the musical is a symbol of any crisis in our real life, for us to find connection, comfort and catharsis.

It is our hope that, whatever giant, wolf, witch or woods you face, you will, in this musical, find the connection, comfort and catharsis that you may not even know you need.

And you may not know you need it, so we’re telling you that you do – Pangdemonium’s 2024 Season Ticket! We have an extra special Season lined up, kicking off with a play that enjoyed a critically acclaimed, sold-out run in our 2016 Season of Love, won the hearts of our audiences and a slew of awards, and has had numerous requests for a re-run. Well, your wish is granted – we re-gift you the little miracle that is Falling. Next up, is Edward Albee’s extraordinary masterpiece, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?... which will scare the Shih Tzu out of any fairy-tale Wolf. And we end the Season with the Asian premiere of one of the most beloved musicals of modern times, Dear Evan Hansen…

Enough said. Get your 2024 Season Ticket NOW. In the meantime, many thanks to our fabulous cast for telling this wonderful story; and also to our brilliant Creative/Production/ Technical/Stage Management Teams. As always, lots of love to the fantastic Pangdemonium family.

Much gratitude to our wonderful Season Sponsor DBS, and our lovely Production Supporters, for your faith in us. And to our Friends of Pangdemonium and Corporate Donors - thank you all.

Lots of love,

Adrian & Tracie Pang Artistic Directors

Finally, THANK YOU, for journeying with us Into the Woods. And remember that “happily ever after” is in pursuing, rather than finding it.

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BEHIND THE WOODS… Into the Woods was Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s second collaboration after Sunday in the Park with George (1984). The musical debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986 and premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987, where it won three major Tony Awards. The musical has since been produced many times, all over the world. A Disney film adaptation, directed

by Rob Marshall, was released in 2014. The film grossed over $213 million worldwide, and received three nominations at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

THE START OF THE JOURNEY For the longest time, Lapine had been wanting to write a fairytale, while Sondheim longed to tell a quest story. Lapine found that writing a fairytale from scratch was difficult and that the individual classics were all too brief for a full-length musical.

But, to weave the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and Cinderella with a childless Baker and his wife — interconnected by a Witch who told life’s hard truths — provided an intriguing challenge. The concept came from a previous TV idea that was scrapped, in which Sondheim and Lapine imagined their favourite television characters meeting each other in a hospital waiting room. When Sondheim and Lapine were asked to complete a screenplay for it, they moved on instead of moving forward.

When Lapine presented the epic, interwoven fairytale saga to Sondheim, he said, “You’ll never be able to musicalize this,”

James Lapine (right) and Stephen Sondheim

which naturally prompted the songwriter to accept the challenge.

The musical that was born out of this challenge intertwines several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Rapunzel”, and “Cinderella”, as well as several others. Their individual narratives are tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife and their wish to start a family, their interaction with a witch who has placed a curse on them, and their interaction with other storybook characters during their journey.

“I WISH…” It was part of Sondheim’s and Lapine’s wish list that several parts in this musical are doubled.

Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf, who share the characteristic of being unable to control their appetites, are usually played by the same actor. Similarly, so are the Narrator and the Mysterious Man, who share the characteristic of commenting on the story while avoiding any personal involvement or responsibility.

The score is also notable in Sondheim’s output, because of its intricate reworking and development of small musical motifs. In particular, the opening words, “I wish”, are repeated and developed throughout the show, just as Lapine’s book explores the

consequences of self-interest and “wishing”, delivered with a fixed beat that follows natural speech rhythms. Like many Sondheim/ Lapine productions, the songs contain thought-process narrative, where characters converse or think aloud.

Sondheim credits Lapine with one of the greatest re-envisionings of a classic fairytale trope: Cinderella’s conscious decision to leave behind her slipper, instead of it accidentally falling off in her haste. Sondheim explained that the concept was completely original and gave new depths to the princess-in-the-making.

And if it were not for Joanna Gleason, the actress who originated the role of the Baker’s Wife, the line, “This is ridiculous.

What am I doing here? I’m in the wrong story!” may not exist. When

Gleason was consulting Sondheim about her character’s tryst in the woods with the Prince, she admitted that she was confused and felt like she was in the wrong story. Sondheim stopped her and said that he was going to write that line into the show — the “only” line he ever stole from an actor.

LESSONS FROM THE WOODS The Time Magazine reviewers wrote that the play was an observation of “embattled relationship between parents and children. Almost everything that goes wrong—which is to say, almost everything that can—arises from a failure of parental or filial duty, despite the best intentions.”

Stephen Holden wrote that the themes of the show include the individual’s responsibility to the community. James Lapine himself said that the most unpleasant person (the Witch) would have the truest things to say and the “nicer” people would be less honest. In the Witch’s words: “I’m not good; I’m not nice; I’m just right.”

Given the show’s debut during the 1980s, the height of the US

AIDS crisis, the work has been interpreted to be a parable, whereby the Giant’s Wife serves as a metaphor for HIV/AIDS, killing indiscriminately and forcing the survivors to band together to stop the threat and move on, reflecting the devastation to many communities during the AIDS crisis. When asked about the thematic connection, Sondheim acknowledged that initial audiences interpreted it as an AIDS metaphor, but stated that the work was not intended to be specific.

Sondheim did, however, admit that he drew on parts of his own troubled childhood when writing the show. In 1987, he told Time Magazine that the “father uncomfortable with babies [was] his father, and [the] mother who regrets having had children [was] his mother.”

© Gerry Goodstein/ Courtesy James Lapine/ The Guardian

ONCE UPON A TIME…

A few hundred years ago, fairy tale auteurs like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault helped bring magical tales of princesses, evil ogres, dark forests, dark spells and thwarted love into the storybooks—and to the bedsides—of children everywhere. But how old are the tales they transcribed?

In a new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, a folklorist and an anthropologist say that stories like “Jack and the Beanstalk” are much older than originally thought.

Instead of dating from the 1500s, the researchers say, some of these classic stories are 4,000 and 5,000 years old.

This contradicts previous speculation that story collectors like the Brothers Grimm were relaying tales fairy tales that were a few hundred years old.

It turns out that it is pretty hard to figure out how old fairy tales are using simple historical data.

Since the tales were passed down orally, they can be almost impossible to analyse using a historian’s or anthropologist’s traditional toolbox. So the team borrowed from biology instead, using a technique called phylogenetic analysis. Usually, phylogenetic analysis is used to show how organisms evolved.

In this case, researchers used strategies created by evolutionary biologists to trace the roots of 275 fairy tales through complex trees of language, population and culture.

As they tracked, they found evidence that some tales were actually rooted in other stories.

More than a quarter of the stories turned out to have ancient roots — “Jack and the Beanstalk”, for one, was traced back to the split between Western and Eastern Indo-European languages more than 5,000 years ago; and a tale called “The Smith and the Devil” appears to be more than 6,000 years old. Not everyone is convinced though - other folklorists are finding fault with the study’s insistence that “The Smith and the Devil” dates back to the Bronze Age—a time before a word for “metalsmith” existed.

Using the Aarne-ThompsonUther Classification of Folk Tales—a kind of über index that breaks fairy tales down into groups like “the obstinate wife learns to obey” and “partnership between man and ogre” — the team tracked the presence of the tales in 50 Indo-European language-speaking populations.

They found the ancestries of 76 tales, tracking them backward using language trees.

In any case, fairy tales are part of our childhood, and continue to impact our psyches into adulthood, and even pop culture.

Here is some background to a few of the fairy tale folks you meet in Into the Woods.

CINDERELLA Although the most familiar version of “Cinderella” was recorded by 17th-century French writer Charles Perrault, the well-respected scholarly website SurLaLune Fairy Tales estimates there may be as many as 1,500 traditional variants of the tale around the world. Those include “The Girl with the Rose Red Slippers” from ancient Egypt, and even a ninth-century Chinese version. The story has inspired countless modern retellings, including Walt Disney’s iconic 1950 cartoon, the Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman, the novel and movie Ella Enchanted, and too many others to name.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Young Jack trades the family’s only cow for a handful of magic beans. When a giant beanstalk sprouts overnight, Jack seizes the chance to climb to a giant’s castle and steal all of his magical possessions. The story we know is from England, and Jack himself is English. (Need proof? Consider the famous line “fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.”)

But as SurLaLune Fairy Tales points out, there are fairy tale stories based on this tale found among Europeans, Scandinavians, and Indigenous groups across Canada. And then there is the Asian tale of the branch of the Bodhi of Buddha, which quickly grows skyward once planted.

As for modern adaptations, Jack has had his story told through the live-action films Jack and the Beanstalk (2010) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013).

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD In this fairy tale for kids— probably intended as a warning to follow directions—Red sets off alone to visit her grandmother with instructions not to step off the forest path. The rebellious Red promptly disregards this advice, attracting the attention of a talking wolf who sets out to eat and impersonate Grandma.

What happens next depends on which version you read. In the 17th-century French version recorded by Charles Perrault, Red gets gobbled up by the wolf. The End. In other iterations across Europe, North America, China, Japan, and Ghana, she’s saved at the last minute by a guy with an axe, or the wolf chokes on her hood, or he eats both Grandma and Red but is forced to vomit them up unharmed.

Of the many recent retellings on page and on-screen, the most accessible is the animated film Hoodwinked! with Anne Hathaway voicing a sassy Red.

RAPUNZEL Whether from Disney’s 2010 hit Tangled or 2002’s Barbie as Rapunzel from Mattel, you know the story: The girl with the climbable curls is isolated in a tower by a wicked witch. But as many fairy tale stories go, a handsome prince soon arrives to save the day.

The original Grimm version of Rapunzel is grimmer (naturally) than the banter-filled cartoon movie: Rapunzel winds up in the witch’s clutches in the first place because her pregnant mother couldn’t stop stealing magic herbs from the old crone’s garden.

Later, using Rapunzel’s hair as a lure, the witch catches the prince and throws him to the ground, where thorns pierce his eyes. She leaves him to wander alone for years in the wilderness.

But it is a fairy tale, so eventually, Rapunzel runs into him by chance; her tears fall onto his face, miraculously restoring his vision and leading the couple to their belated happily ever after.

CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

Candice de Rozario

Benjamin Chow The Baker

Benjamin has performed, notably, as ‘Bobby Strong’ in Urinetown; ‘Mark’ in RENT; ‘Smee’ in Peter & the Starcatcher; ‘Benmin’ in Tango; and as various characters in Dragonflies (Pangdemonium). He has also been seen as ‘Tartuffe’ in Tartuffe, An Imposter; ‘Gerald’ in An Inspector Calls ; ‘Jonathan/Darius’ in G*d is A Woman (Wild Rice); ‘Aw Boon Haw’ in The Secret Life of Haw Par Villa (Patch & Punnet); various characters in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Sing Theatre); ‘Prince Tun’ in Forbidden City and as ‘Lim Chin Siong’ in The LKY Musical (Singapore Repertory Theatre). He was presented Best Supporting Actor twice at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards.

Benjamin is also a working Voice Over professional whose audiobook work on titles such as Fox Fire Girl, Death of a Perm Sec, Ten Things My Father Never Taught Me and The New Singapore Horror Collection, among others, can currently be found on Storytel.

Jack’s Mother

Chloe E-Shyan Chua Lucinda

Chloe is a Singaporean performer and theatremaker. A first-class honours graduate of LASALLE College of the Arts’ Musical Theatre Programme, she was also a proud recipient of the Future Leader and Veda Mekani Performing Arts scholarships during her time there.

She is ecstatic to be making her professional Musical Theatre debut in Pangdemonium’s Into the Woods. Selected theatre credits include The Beginning of Anything (Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay); The Almighty Sometimes (Singapore Repertory Theatre); and The Last Silent Voice (L’arietta Productions).

Returning to the main stage after a five-year hiatus, Candice was last seen Inch Chua treading the boards in the Rapunzel Wild Rice pantomime, A Born in Singapore, educated $ingapore Carol, as ‘The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To in Fine-Arts, and inducted Be’. Her stage credits have into the music industry in Los Angeles, Inch has made run the gamut from plays a career as an international and musicals to theatre for young audiences, recording and performing including: La Meh-Lions artist. Her passion for (Esplanade Flipside 2022); the arts, wild places, and Diva to the Death (Bite technology has led her to Me! Productions); Forever play at numerous festivals Young (Sing’theatre); Into around the world and experimenting in a variety of the Woods; Company art forms. A recipient of the (Dream Academy); Fried Rice Paradise; Much Ado National Youth Award in About Nothing; Forbidden 2018 for her contributions City (Singapore Repertory in the arts, Best Sound at the 2020 The Straits Times Theatre); The Full Monty; Spring Awakening Life Theatre Awards for (Pangdemonium); Jack and her multisensory theatrical the Bean-Sprout!; The music production in ‘Til Emperor’s New Clothes; The End Of The World, Mad Forest (Wild Rice); We’ll Meet In No Man’s Lao Jiu: The Musical Land, and most recently (The Theatre Practice); honoured at the 26th COMPASS awards with the Furthest North, Deepest South (The Finger Players). artistic excellence award.

Candice is also a voice She is currently based in actor, and the lead vocalist Singapore with her two of the symphonic metal cats and nursery of plants, working on her new album, band SANGRIENTO, who are currently in the studio everything is now. working on their second full-length album, slated for release in 2024.

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Daniel Koek

Wolf / Cinderella’s Prince

Vanessa Kee Snow White / Understudy

Mina Ellen Kaye The Witch

Mina is insanely grateful to be part of this gorgeous piece of theatre that means so much to her!

Vanessa is a leading theatre actress that has trained under an impressive tutelage of Akiko Otao, George Torbay and Broadway’s Mary Setrakian.

Recently, she has been seen as ‘Helena’ in Shakespeare in the Park’s Midsummer Night’s Mina is a huge Sondheim Dream by Singapore fan and Into the Woods Repertory Theatre; Kit was Mina’s first professional Chan’s understudy in LKY stage debut in 2011 where The Musical (Singapore she played the role of Repertory Theatre) and ‘Rapunzel’. 12 years later ‘Maria’ (Rehearsal) in and she’s come full circle to The Sound of Music play her ultimate dream role International Tour as the ‘Witch’! She sends (Broadway International). her gratitude to Tracie and Adrian for this amazing Other leading roles include opportunity and trusting the titular role ‘Aida’ in AIDA her with this role. the Musical (Director Joe Barros); ‘Tzeitel’ in Fiddler Mina was last seen on on the Roof (Director stage as Judy Garland in Emily Maltby); ‘Esmeralda’ Pangdemonium’s End of in Quasimodo The the Rainbow which earned Musical (Director Nathalie her a nomination for Best Ribette); ‘Heidi’ in [Title Actress at the Life! Theatre of Show] (Sing’theatre); Awards 2023.

Pangdemonium’s Urinetown: The Musical Find out more about (Director Tracie Pang) and Mina on Instagram — playing herself in Singapore’s @minaellenkaye. premiere of West End Show A Spoonful of Sherman (Director TJ Taylor).

Hailing from South Australia, Daniel studied classical voice at the Conservatorium in Adelaide before moving to London to complete his Masters in Musical Theatre at the Mountview Academy.

Whilst in Europe, Daniel also studied in Amsterdam and sung a season with Nationale Reis Opera of the Netherlands. Theatre roles include ‘Jean Valjean’ in the West End production of Les Misérables; ‘Lieutenant Joseph Cable’ in the Lincoln Center Production of South Pacific (both United Kingdom and Australian Tours); ‘Anatoly’ in Chess (United Kingdom Tour); ‘Tony’ in the 50th Anniversary production of West Side Story; ‘Frank’ in the International Tour of Saturday Night Fever and he was also a principle cast member in Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures. Most recently Daniel was in the new Australian production of Phantom of the Opera at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Arts Centre. Daniel has recorded two studio albums and is also a highly regarded performance and vocal coach. Instagram: @dankoek

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Frances Lee

Little Red Riding Hood With a career in the theatre that has just reached its first decade, Frances shows no signs of slowing down.

Currently an artiste in the Music and Drama Company, you can also see her on your TV screens starring in Stardust Story’s ‘What on Earth?’ as NEELA the alien in disguise.

Her career in singing is just as impressive, with 2 original singles set to be released at the end of the year. She performed in this year’s National Day Parade as she has in 2021, 2019 and 2017.

Other notable productions include Pangdemonium’s Rent, Dick Lee’s Singapopera!, Dream Academy’s Broadway Beng, Checkpoint Theatre’s Normal and The Last Bull: A life in Flamenco; and The Theatre Practice’s Liao Zhai Rocks.

Andrew Marko Jack

Preston Lim

Rapunzel’s Prince Preston is a musical theater performer by night, software engineer by day.

He is extremely stoked to be a part of Pangdemonium’s production of Into the Woods! Past musical and operatic credits include: ‘Phoebus’ in Quasimodo, A Musical Story; ‘Mark Cohen’ in RENT; ‘The Baker’ in Into the Woods; and the title role of ‘Candide’ in Candide.

When he isn’t on stage, Preston can be found building software systems to fight mosquitoborne diseases at Verily (formerly known as Google Life Sciences).

He has also hosted several documentaries with Channel News Asia, including Gadg(AID), which explores ways technology can help individuals with physical disabilities and mental health conditions.

Preston studied classical voice at Stanford University, where he also obtained a B.S. in Bioengineering and an M.S. in Computer Science.

Sharon Mah

Cinderella’s Mother / Grandmother / Giant Sharon has played major roles in both musicals and plays.

Theatre work includes: ‘Mother/ Swee Gek’ in The Monster in the Mirror musical (Gateway Arts, 2023 & 2021); ‘Y2’, ‘Mother/ Lily’ and ‘Waiter 2’ in The Paiseh Pieces musical (The Second Breakfast Company, 2023); ‘Ma’, ‘Director’ and ‘Agent 1’ in BOOM (A Mirage, 2022); ‘Christine’ in Miss Julie (Singapore Repertory Theatre, 2022); ‘Papa Ge’ in Once on this Island (Sing’Theatre, 2020).

Andrew is a stage and screen actor, voice-over artist and musician. Andrew is most known for his role as ‘Joshua’, a teenager with severe autism, in Pangdemonium’s production of Falling, for which he won a Straits Times Life Theatre Award for Best Actor. He also received a Straits Times Life Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor as ‘Ting Tong Bell’ in Wild Rice’s Peter Pan in Serangoon Gardens.

Andrew was last seen in Sing’theatre’s production of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.’

Other notable theatre credits include: Extinction Feast (The Theatre Practice); Urinetown: The Musical (Pangdemonium); Private Parts (Michael Chiang’s Playthings); Mama White Snake (Wild Rice); Every Brilliant Thing (Bhumi Collective); The Emperor’s New Clothes (Wild Rice); Electra (Cake Theatre) Andrew is proudly represented by FLY Entertainment!

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Victoria Mintey

Cinderella’s Stepmother Victoria is a British/Irish actor, singer and specialist trainer in public speaking.

She has called Singapore her home since 2011 where she lives with her husband, Steve, and their two boys.

Victoria trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, gaining her MA in Performance (Musical Theatre). She has worked on a huge variety of stage, screen and voice projects and was a co-founder of Wag the Dog Theatre in 2016.

Singapore credits include: People, Places & Things (Pangdemonium); How I Learned to Drive (Wag the Dog Theatre); The Pillowman (Pangdemonium); The Memory of Water (Wag the Dog Theatre); Dragonflies (Pangdemonium); Romeo and Juliet (Singapore Repertory Theatre); The 39 Steps (Asylum Theatre); A Singaporean in Paris (Sing’theatre); Twelfth Night (Singapore Repertory Theatre); Fantastic Mr Fox (The Little Company).

Adrian Pang

Gaby Rae

Narrator / Mysterious Man

Sleeping Beauty / Understudy

Selected UK theatre includes Hair; A Midsummer Night’s Nathania Ong Dream; The Comedy of Errors; The Magic Cinderella Fundoshi; The Mens Womb; A Christmas Nathania graduated from Carol; Take Away.

Mountview in 2021. She made her professional debut Selected Singapore theatre includes title in Be More Chill in the roles in Hamlet and West End in 2021.

Macbeth; Twelfth Night; Forbidden City; Theatre credits include: Eponine in Les Misérables The Glass Menagerie; Little Shop of Horrors; UK and Ireland Tour, Les They’re Playing Our Misérables West End Song; Barefoot in the (Sondheim Theatre) Park; Boeing Boeing; Other Credits include: Magic at the Musicals at The God of Carnage; The Weight of Silk on the Royal Albert Hall, Big Skin. Adrian and Tracie Night of Musicals at the Pang are Artistic Directors Manchester AO Arena. of Pangdemonium, for Into the Woods will be which he has appeared in Nathania’s professional many productions. At the musical theatre debut in Straits Times Life Theatre Singapore.

Awards, Adrian has won the Best Actor Award for She will be performing The Dresser; Much Ado a solo concert in the About Nothing; Rabbit Esplanade concert hall on Hole, The LKY Musical, the 20th of December in and The Son. aid of the Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

The productions he is proudest of are his sons Zack and Xander.

Gaby Rae is a triple threat performer and dedicated educator. Her theatre credits include ‘Eliza’ in Sherlock Sam: The Musical! (Dream Academy); ‘Sofia’ in A Singaporean In Paris (Sing’theatre); ‘Fleurde-Lys’ in Quasimodo (Sing’theatre). She has performed for events such as the 2023 Olympics E-Sports Opening Ceremony; Nanyang 58th National Day Dinner; Chopard; OCBC.

Marissa Vojodi Florinda

Marissa’s love for singing was sparked at the young age of seven when she picked up a microphone for a talent show. Since then, she has embarked on a journey of training and honing her performance skills, from spending four years in her secondary school’s drama club, to graduating with a diploma in Theatre (English Drama) from Nanyang Academy of Fine Gaby has also lent her voice Arts (NAFA) and recently to on-screen characters graduating with a First in the award winning local Class BA (Hons) in Musical animated series Puberteens. Theatre from LASALLE As a choreographer, Gaby College of the Arts. Her has worked on various notable roles include ‘April’ shows, corporate events and ‘Jenny’ in Stephen and most recently The Sondheim’s Company Addams Family (LASALLE and ‘Alice Beineke’ in The College of the Arts Addams Family as part of Singapore).

The LASALLE Show 2023.

This production marks the Gaby is also a lecturer beginning of her professional for the Musical Theatre career. As a true soprano BA(Hons) Programme at who can belt out a power Lasalle College of the Arts ballad or two, she will Singapore. She prides herself always be where the music in her ability to assess and takes her. create solutions that are tailored to each individual’s needs.

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Crenshaw Yeo The Steward / Cinderella’s Father

Ethel Yap

The Baker’s Wife Ethel Yap is an actress, singer-songwriter and arts educator who has appeared on stage and screen in a variety of lead and supporting roles. Her work includes Liao Zhai Rocks; Lao Jiu: The Musical; Four Horse Road; Untitled Women; PROJECT Utopia; A Singaporean In Paris and the Singapore stagings of Tribes; Urinetown: The Musical and The Nest.

As a singer-songwriter, Ethel has been releasing music since 2017 and she continues to write music that centres on themes of identity and meaning in the folk genre. You can learn more about her work at @ethelyap on Instagram and www.facebook.com/ ethelyapsg.

Crenshaw graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts in 2015 with a BA in Musical Theatre. Since then, Crenshaw has worked on many local productions including The LKY Musical (Metropolitan Productions), Rent (Pangdemonium), and La Cage Aux Folles (Wild Rice). Most recently in Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Singapore Repertory Theatre), Crenshaw performed the dual role of Actor and Assistant Director.

Crenshaw is a graduate of Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Directing Residency Program.

Theatre being an indispensable part of their life, Crenshaw started their own theatre company, producing and directing its first show Banh Mi on the Roof & Till the Lights Come On: A Double Bill of Serious Comedy in 2022. As a career-long Sondheim fan, Crenshaw was deeply saddened at his passing in 2021, and is very grateful for the opportunity to celebrate his work in this production of Into the Woods.

Andy Yew Milky White

Andy is a multilingual stage and screen actor/singer.

He first performed in the musical West Side Story and since then he has performed for: Mama Looking for her Cat, Romance of Mistakes, The Legend of Nezha, True Monkey King (Paper Monkey Theatre); Those Who Can’t Teach (Yellow Chair Productions); Tahan (Teater Ekamatra); A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie, Old Songs of Red Hill Market (Toy Factory Productions); Exile or Pursuit (InArts Productions); The LKY Musical (Aiwei and Singapore Repertory Theatre).

His screen works also includes Youth Diaries, My Blissful Living and Friends and Foes.

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CREATIVE TEAM Tracie Pang Director

Tracie trained at Croydon College, London, and has clocked up close to 30 years working in theatre throughout the UK and Asia. In Singapore, she set up The Little Company, for whom she wrote and directed numerous productions for children aged 3–14. She was Associate Artistic Director for Singapore Repertory Theatre from 2006–2010.

In 2010, Tracie founded Pangdemonium Theatre Company with her husband Adrian. At the Straits Times Life Theatre Awards, she won the Best Director Award for Pangdemonium’s Falling, and received nominations for Pangdemonium’s The Full Monty; Dealer’s Choice; Rabbit Hole; Next to Normal; Fat Pig; Tribes and Dragonflies, and also for SRT’s The Dresser; The Snow Queen and The Pillowman. Other productions she has directed for Pangdemonium include Closer; Spring Awakening; Swimming with Sharks; Gruesome Playground Injuries; The Rise & Fall of Little Voice; Frozen; Circle Mirror Transformation; Chinglish; The Effect; Rent, The Pillowman, Tango, Fun Home, The Father, Peter and the Starcatcher, Late Company, This is What Happens to Pretty Girls, Urinetown: The Musical, The Son, Girls and Boys, The Mother, The Glass Menagerie, and People, Places & Things.

Tracie was awarded the 2015 AWA International Woman of the Year for The Arts, and the 2017 Women’s Weekly “Great Women of our Time” Award for Media and the Arts.

Stephen Sondheim Music & Lyrics

Stephen Sondheim (born 1930) is widely acknowledged as the most innovative and influential composer in Broadway history. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony and Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors.

Some of his most celebrated works include Passion, Assassins, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd, Pacific Overtures, A Little Night Music, Follies, Company.

Sondheim died at the age of 91 at his home in Connecticut, where he had been spending most of his time during the pandemic. His legacy will resonate long into the 21st century.

James Lapine Book

James Lapine is a playwright and director. On Broadway he has worked with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; and Passion.

He also conceived and directed the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim. With William Finn he created Falsettos recently revived by Lincoln Center Theater; Little Miss Sunshine; Muscle; and directed Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other Broadway credits include his play based on Moss Hart’s memoir Act One (also LCT), Amour, The Diary of Anne Frank, Golden Child, and Dirty Blonde.

Lapine has been nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning on three occasions. He has also been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, SDC’s Mr. Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater, and inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

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Timothy Koh Assistant Director

In New York City, Tim has worked as an Assistant Director at Lincoln Center Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club, held a Fellowship at Playwrights Horizons, and directed thesis plays at NYU’s Graduate Department of Dramatic Writing.

Other US experience includes work with Scott Rudin Productions, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and the Lucille Lortel Awards.

In Singapore, he is the Associate Director of Pangdemonium, where he helms the New Works Lab and the Very Youthful Company. With Pangdemonium, he directed Doubt: A Parable and Muswell Hill. He assistant directed The Mother; The Glass Menagerie; End of the Rainbow; and People, Places & Things.

Training: New York University Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Theatre), College of Arts and Science (BA English and American Literature).

Andy Benjamin Cai

Eucien Chia

Andy Benjamin Cai is a highly skilled professional in dance, known for his exceptional abilities as a choreographer, educator, and performer. Graduating from LASALLE College of the Arts, he has represented Singapore in global competitions and showcased his choreography in countries like Italy, France, and Russia.

Eucien has been a long-time Pangdemonium collaborator since 2011. His notable scenic designs for Pangemonium include RENT; This is What Happens to Pretty Girls; End of the Rainbow; Muswell Hill; The Father; and The Pillowman.

Choreographer

Andy has received prestigious awards and recognition for his talent.

He has contributed to the local theatre scene, lending his expertise to productions like La Cage Aux Folles, Voyage De La Vie, Crazy Christmas, Dim Sum Dollies, The LKY Musical, December Rains, Turandot, RENT, and Urinetown.

Handpicked as a Creative Director for the esteemed Music & Drama Company, Andy has proven his leadership and inspiring abilities. His most significant accomplishments include being selected as the Chief Choreographer for National Day Parade in 2017 and 2022 and as the choreographer for the inaugural Olympics Esports Week, showcasing his exceptional skills on a national and global scale.

Set Designer

TJ Taylor Vocal Coach

Since moving to Singapore from the UK 10 years ago, TJ has established himself as a leading musical theatre practitioner in Singapore. TJ is the proud Associate Artistic Director of Sing’theatre as well as the Artistic Director for the Singapore Musical Theatre Fringe Festival.

As a director, his passion is creating innovative ensemble theatre that brings top-quality Broadway-style productions to Singapore. Recent directing credits include Rent and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change both with Sing’theatre.

TJ’s performance highlights include; Anthony in End Of The Rainbow (Pangdemonium), Frollo in Quasimodo (Sing’theatre), and Jeff in [Title Of Show] (Sing’theatre).

TJ specialises in Musical Theatre singing technique and teaches at LASALLE College of the Arts as well as his private students. His vocal coach highlights include working with Singapore’s top musical theatre production houses such as Singapore Repertory Theatre, Base Entertainment, Pangdemonium, and Sing’theatre.

Instagram — @musicaltj

His design work with Pangdemonium has often been recognised at the Straits Times Life Theatre Awards, with nominations in the Best Set Design category for The Glass Menagerie, The Mother; Urinetown; Little Voice; and Spring Awakening; and receiving the Best Set Design award for Dealer’s Choice.

Other Awards: Straits Times Life Theatre Awards Best Set Design winner for The Almighty Sometimes (Singapore Repertory Theatre); Company (Dream Academy); December Rains (Toy Factory) Selected productions: for SIFA - The Commission; DisSPACEments (installation); for Esplanade Theatres - Kingdoms Apart; A Good Death; with Wild Rice - La Cage Aux Folles (2017); Boeing Boeing (2017); A $ingapore Carol; The Emperor’s New Clothes; Snow White; with Checkpoint Theatre - Normal; with Toy Factory Productions: December Rains; Shanghai Blues; Sleepless Town; with STAGES - H is for Hantu; with I-Theatre - Sing To The Dawn; The Wizard of Oz; The Arabian Nights; Fairytaleheart.

Eucien thanks God for his amazing family.

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Jing Ng

Sound Designer

James Tan

Lighting Designer James Tan (Pangdemonium’s Associate Artist/ Independent Lighting Designer) was conferred The Young Artist Award and awarded Arts Professional Scholarship by The National Arts Council of Singapore. Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design, University of California San Diego. James leads the Pangdemonium Lighting Apprenticeship Programme – giving a lighting individual an exclusive opportunity to further develop their craft with the company each season.

Selected Theatre Lighting Design Credits: The Glass Menagerie, Dragonflies, Next to Normal (Pangdemonium), Animal Farm, Merdeka (Wild Rice), Disgraced, Hello Goodbye (Singapore Repertory Theatre) and Lord of the Flies (Blank Space Theatre with Sightline Productions).

Selected Events Lighting Design: National Day Parade 2022 (Defence Science and Technology Agency), From Singapore to Singaporean: The Bicentennial Experience (Singapore Bicentennial Office), OCBC Garden Rhapsody: Rainforest Orchestra – Asia & Australia Edition (Gardens By The Bay) & The Art of the Brick®️ Exhibition by Nathan Sawaya (MBS ArtScience Museum). Selected Public Artwork: Yellow (Public Art Trust Rewritten: The World Ahead of Us).

Awarded the National Arts Council Scholarship, Jing graduated with first class honours from Rose Bruford College (U.K.) specialising in Performance Sound. Having designed for various companies and productions over 10 years of practice, he aspires to provide a wholesome sonic experience for the audience - what, why, and how you listen through a live performance.

As an arts educator at NAFA since 2017, Jing has been teaching the core principles and techniques of production sound design. These modules foster future practitioners in developing a deeper understanding of sound in various artistic mediums and discovering the infinite possibilities of sonic arts. He was nominated for Best Sound Design in the 2014 Off West End Theatre Awards, and the 2018, 2022 & 2023 Singapore Straits Times Life Theatre Awards. Jing is currently developing future iterations of his installation work - Distance Makes The Heart Fonder. Website: www.jingngsound. com // www.soundcloud.com/ jingsound

Leong Lim Wig Designer

Leong is a hairstylist with over 30 years of experience, and is currently based at The Hair Shop, Singapore.

A veteran hair designer, Leong has been involved in many film, television and theatre productions; his hair creations have also been featured in many top magazines.

Leong loves developing signature hairstyles for each and every character & client and bringing them to life. Recent productions include People, Places, and Things, Doubt: A Parable (Pangdemonium), Three Years In The Life And Death Of Land (The Necessary Stage), and Cabaret (Sing’theatre).

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Leonard Augustine Choo Costume Designer

Leonard Augustine Choo is an international costume designer, fashion consultant and educator based in Singapore. He designs costumes for dance, opera, theatre, and film, and was the principal fabric shopper for the New York City Ballet costume department for 12 seasons, working on over 75 unique ballets.

Design credits include: Doubt, End of the Rainbow, Muswell Hill, The Glass Menagerie, Urinetown, Late Company (Pangdemonium); The Almighty Sometimes, Guards at the Taj, Gretel & Hansel (SRT); An Inspector Calls, Merdeka!

(Wild Rice), iSing International Opera Festival (Suzhou, China); ABT Fall 2018 Video, Moulin Rouge Spot, Forest Boy (New York); Imagining Madoff, Don Giovanni (Boston).

Leonard has worked for the Juilliard School, television shows Gotham (FOX) and Crashing (HBO), TransSiberian Orchestra, Ballet Academy East, Barrington Stage Company, and Opera Omaha. He has lectured at LASALLE College of the Arts, National Library, and the Arkansas Arts Center.

Holding an MFA from Boston University, Leonard is the first and only costume designer awarded the Singapore NAC Overseas Arts Scholarship in 2011.

ORCHESTRA Joel Nah

Rizal Sanip

Music Director & Keyboard 2

Jane Foo

Percussion

A recipient of Singapore’s National Arts Council Arts Scholarship in 2014, Joel Nah studied classical piano with Ong Lip Tat and was mentored by Cultural Medallion recipient Iskandar Ismail. At Berklee College of Music, Joel studied film music composition with Lucio Godoy, conducting with Constantino Martínez Ortz, orchestration, arranging, and audio mixing masterclasses with Conrad Pope, Nan Schwartz, Dr. Norman Ludwin, and Alan Meyerson.

Jane Foo is an accompanist, arranger, music director and educator. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from King’s College London. Recent credits include: The LKY Musical (Singapore Repertory Theatre); The Addams Family (LASALLE College of the Arts).

Rizal Sanip, a homegrown drummer, has passionately embraced the world of music since his 2002 debut in Honk! He served for 13 years in the Singapore Armed Forces Central Band, holding roles such as percussion section leader, drum major, arranger/guitarist for the dance band, and concert emcee, to name a few. Notably, he was involved in Singapore’s National Day celebrations from 1990 to 2003.

Joel is also a member of the TENG Company, overseeing the music department.

Selected musical theatre credits as music director: End of the Rainbow, RENT, Next To Normal, Peter and the Starcatcher, Urinetown, Forbidden City - Portrait Of An Empress. As musician/associate MD: Frozen, The Lion King, WICKED, Evita, West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, Aladdin.

Other Singapore theatre credits include Beauty World, Crazy Christmas, Broadway Beng. As composer: Ramesh Meyyappan’s Off Kilter; Esplanade’s March on 2022: I Have Something To Say. As orchestrator: SIFA 2019 Festival Closing Concert with the SSO.

Keyboard 1

Jane was also music director and arranger for Out-of-Bounds in collaboration with Fill The Vamp.

Jane has been the resident pianist for Sing’theatre’s Musical Theatre Open Mic nights since 2016.

After years of teaching in schools such as School of the Arts, she has recently transitioned into the freelance music scene, and is thrilled to be working with Pangdemonium for the first time.

Rizal is a versatile studio musician proficient in drums, percussion, and trumpet. He has collaborated with theatre companies like Pangdemonium, The Theatre Practice, Dream Academy, Wild Rice Productions, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Vizpro, Toy Factory and Base Entertainment.

In addition to his musical career, Rizal has mentored young minds, teaching music at international and local schools in Singapore. At 48, Rizal pursued a music degree at LASALLE College of the Arts to further enrich his veteran musician’s journey.

Ryan Sim Brandon Wong Bass

Brandon Wong is synonymous with the classical, jazz, pop, and musical theatre scenes in Singapore.

A brilliantly versatile musician, Brandon has collaborated with major ensembles, including the Singapore Armed Forces Bands, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, and Asian Cultural Society Orchestra.

Brandon graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Electronics, Computer and Telecommunications in 1998. A full scholarship recipient, Brandon graduated in 2017 with B.Mus Honours (Distinction) - Double Bass Performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, and is also a recipient of the prestigious Steven Baxter Memorial Award for outstanding performance and achievements.

Cello

Singaporean cellist Ryan Sim is a graduate of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore and the Robert Schumann Hochschule Dusseldorf in Germany.

An avid musician and teacher, Ryan often performs and freelances with local ensembles such as the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra Singapore, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Ryan is also the leader and a founding member of Singapore’s premier cello quartet, Bossa Celli.

Recent notable projects include the 2022 run of Wild Rice’s production Don’t Call Him Mr. Mari Kita! with Julian Wong, showcasing the works of local composer Zubir Said, and the 2023 premiere of Kelly Tang’s new composition Movements in Time - Artworks from the National Gallery with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra.

Multitalented and naturally inquisitive, Brandon extends his talents to being a double bass luthier, audio engineer, and producer.

Zaidi Sabtu-Ramli Woodwind

As a freelance composer and musician, Zaidi Sabtu-Ramli began playing the clarinet at the age of 12. He studied under Mr Yorrick Krabbé, and he received a distinction in his Grade 8 practical exam from the Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Zaidi also picked up other woodwind instruments and made his debut as a flute soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1999.

Zaidi is an orchestral conductor, performer, and educator. Prior to the pre-Covid-19 pandemic, Zaidi was actively touring as a principal Reed doubler on several international musical theatre productions, including The Sound of Music, Jersey Boys, Dirty Dancing, The Color Purple, Frozen, Matilda, and more. During his BA Hons Music Composition studies at LASALLE College of the Arts, he was mentored by Prof. John Sharpley and Prof. Dieter Mack.

Apart from teaching music at local schools, Zaidi writes an average of four commission works annually.

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Kenneth Lun Trumpet

Kenneth Lun graduated from the prestigious Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University, Baltimore MD, USA with a Bachelor of Music (Major in Trumpet Performance and Minor in Jazz Trumpet).

Since coming back from the USA, Kenneth has had a distinguished career in the music scene. He currently serves as principal trumpet of the Singapore Lyric Opera Orchestra, and also plays lead trumpet with the Summertimes Jazz Band.

Apart from the concert stage, Kenneth is also an experienced and one of the most sought after trumpeters in musicals.

Among his list of performances include Cabaret, West Side Story, The King and I, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Beauty World (solo trumpet), Into the Woods, The Magic Box, Sing Dollar!, Victor/ Victoria, Fried Rice Paradise, Wicked, A Chorus Line, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Singapura, Aladdin, Frozen, and The LKY Musical.

Han Oh Christina Zhou Violin

Christina Zhou is a violinist, educator, and business owner.

A highly sought-after freelance violinist and educator in Singapore, she is currently the Director and Principal of Coronation Music School. She is also the Founder of 12Petals, a global multi-disciplinary mentorship program.

At the age of 20, Christina earned a bachelor’s degree with Distinction Honors, where she studied under the late Zvi Zeitlin at the Eastman School of Music in the USA. She has won the First Prize of the Concerto Competition at Eastman and the Third Prize in the Junior Category of the National Violin Competition in Singapore. Christina has performed extensively as a classical chamber and orchestral violinist, as a session player for other genres, and on commercial projects both in the USA and Singapore.

Christina is also a member and alumni of the altMBA; Seth Godin’s flagship workshop for selected global leaders from all over the world.

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Viola

Han Oh is a multi-hyphenate musician who has collaborated with a wide range of international artists, from Jay-Z to Paul McCartney, and has toured with Grammy-winning producers like David Foster.

Han was the sole prize winner for the 1993 National Singapore Music Competition. He served as the principal violist for various orchestras, including the Colorado Mahler Festival Orchestra and the Asian American Philharmonic Orchestra. Han made history as the first Singaporean musician to perform at the Grammy Awards and Coachella Valley Music Festival and toured extensively with Gnarls Barkley.

In Singapore, he contributed to the local performing arts scene, leading and performing numerous orchestra and musical theatre productions.

Han is also a prolific recording artist, with credits on various albums.

Han currently serves as Artist Faculty for Viola at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore.

He is also an official Yamaha Strings artist.

ACT ONE Prologue: “Into the Woods”

Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker, Baker’s Wife, Cinderella’s Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Jack’s Mother, Little Red Riding Hood, Witch, Cinderella’s Father, Milky White

“Cinderella at the Grave” Narrator, Cinderella, Cinderella’s Mother

“Hello, Little Girl” Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood

“I Guess This Is Goodbye”

“Giants in the Sky” Jack

“Agony” Cinderella’s Prince, Rapunzel’s Prince

“A Very Nice Prince” (Reprise) Cinderella, Baker’s Wife

“It Takes Two” Baker’s Wife, Baker

Jack

“Second Midnight”

“Maybe They’re Magic” Baker’s Wife, Baker

Witch, Cinderella, Cinderella’s Prince, Rapunzel’s Prince, Cinderella’s Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Grandmother, Narrator

“Baker’s Reprise”

“Stay With Me”

Baker, Narrator

“I Know Things Now” Little Red Riding Hood

“A Very Nice Prince” Cinderella, Baker’s Wife

Witch, Rapunzel

“On the Steps of the Palace” Cinderella

Act I Finale: “Ever After” Company

“First Midnight” Company

ACT TWO Prologue: “So Happy, Into the Woods” Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker, Baker’s Wife, Cinderella’s Prince, Jack’s Mother, Cinderella’s Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Witch, Little Red Riding Hood, The Steward, Milky White

“Agony” (Reprise) Cinderella’s Prince, Rapunzel’s Prince

“Witch’s Lament” Witch

“Any Moment” Cinderella’s Prince, Baker’s Wife

“Moments in the Woods” Baker’s Wife

“Your Fault” Jack, Baker, Witch, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood

“Last Midnight” Witch

“No More” Baker, Mysterious Man

“No One Is Alone” Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Baker, Jack

Finale: “Children Will Listen” Company

MUSICAL NUMBERS

PRODUCTION TEAM Cast (in alphabetical order) BENJAMIN CHOW The Baker

CHLOE E-SHYAN CHUA Lucinda

INCH CHUA Rapunzel

CANDICE DE ROZARIO Jack’s Mother

MINA ELLEN KAYE The Witch

VANESSA KEE Snow White

DANIEL KOEK Wolf/ Cinderella’s Prince

FRANCES LEE Little Red Riding Hood

PRESTON LIM Rapunzel’s Prince

SHARON MAH Cinderella’s Mother/ Grandmother/ Giant

ANDREW MARKO Jack

VICTORIA MINTEY Cinderella’s Stepmother

NATHANIA ONG Cinderella

ADRIAN PANG Narrator/ Mysterious Man

GABY RAE Sleeping Beauty

MARISSA VOJODI Florinda

ETHEL YAP The Baker’s Wife

CRENSHAW YEO The Steward/ Cinderella’s Father

ANDY YEW Milky White

Understudies VANESSA KEE Baker’s Wife/ Witch

SHARON MAH Jack’s Mother/ Cinderella’s Stepmother

GABY RAE Cinderella/ Florinda/ Lucinda/ Cinderella’s Mother/ Grandmother/ Rapunzel

CRENSHAW YEO Narrator/ Mysterious Man/ Jack/ The Baker

Creative Team STEPHEN SONDHEIM Music & Lyrics

JAMES LAPINE Book

JONATHAN TUNICK Orchestrations

TRACIE PANG Director

TIMOTHY KOH Assistant Director

JOEL NAH Orchestra JOEL NAH Music Director & Keyboard 2

JANE FOO Keyboard 1

RIZAL SANIP Percussion

BRANDON WONG Bass

RYAN SIM Cello

ZAIDI SABTU-RAMLI Woodwind

KENNETH LUN Trumpet

CHRISTINA ZHAO Violin

HAN OH Viola

Music Director

ANDY BENJAMIN CAI Choreographer

TJ TAYLOR Vocal Coach

EUCIEN CHIA Set Designer

GRACE LIN Associate Set Designer

JAMES TAN Lighting Designer

JING NG Sound Designer

GUO NINGRU Associate Sound Designer

LEONARD AUGUSTINE CHOO Costume Designer

LEONG LIM Wig Designer

Production & Stage Management Team

Pangdemonium Team

CAT ANDRADE

TRACIE PANG

Stage Manager

FAE TAN Assistant Stage Manager

MANDY NEO Assistant Stage Manager

MELISSA HO Assistant Stage Manager

RUTH CHEE Swing Assistant Stage Manager

MARC ANDRE Set Coordinator

TERENCE LAU Technical Consultant

DANIEL SIM Props Master

CHAN SILEI Associate Props Master

TAN JIA HUI Costume Coordinator

ANNA LIGHT Tailor

JUSTINA KHOO Wardrobe Manager

RIKO WONG Dresser

RILLA DJONO Dresser

DILYS ANG Dresser

TERESA TAY Hair Artist

JUNE GOH Special Effects Makeup Designer

RAYMOND GOEI Sound Operator

JEAN YAP Sound Operator (RF)

KATRIEL TAI

Artistic Director/Managing Director

ADRIAN PANG Artistic Director/Producer

RENEE TAN General Manager

TIMOTHY KOH Associate Director

LEAH SIM Production Manager

SUNITHA NAYAR Production Manager

CAT ANDRADE Company Stage Manager

KOH YI WEI Production Coordinator

KRISTAL ZHOU Marketing Manager

RICHIE RYAN Digital Marketing Executive

KUSUM SINGH S. Fundraising & Engagement Manager

CLARE YURU Business Development Manager

MICHELLE SEETOH Ticketing Manager

MARIEM TOUAHRIA Accounting Manager

GUINEVIERE LOW Company Administrator

TAN QIANG QIAN Fundraising Assistant

KERINE LAM Marketing Assistant

EUNICK MOIRA Ticketing Assistant

JAMES TAN Associate Artist

Sound Operator (RF)

ERNST CHUA Sound Assistant

ENQI CHEE (ROADIE PTE LTD) Lighting Programmer

PAUL LIM Lighting Apprentice

IAN LEE Technical Management Apprentice

ALOYSIUS FOONG Rehearsal Pianist

Pangdemonium Board RAEZA IBRAHIM JOHN CURRIE DEBBIE ANDRADE LEONARDO DRAGO DR. JADE KUA BEATRICE CHIA-RICHMOND TRACIE PANG ADRIAN PANG

VANESSA MOSTAFA FOH Manager PA G E 2 6

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH A major component of Pangdemonium’s mission is to nurture aspiring artists and theatre practitioners.

We want to provide opportunities for emerging talents to work with and learn from industry professionals in a challenging and inspiring environment.

With these practical and instructive programmes, we aim to reach out to the community, fuel the creative instincts of young minds, cultivate a passion for the art of storytelling on stage, and share hands-on experience in the craft of theatre-making. Through this, we hope to foster future theatre-makers.

Triple Threats Musical Theatre Workshop Our long-running Triple Threats Musical Theatre Workshop is designed for youths aged 13 to 19 who are interested in the art of musical theatre.

The programme aims to impart the fundamentals of storytelling through music, expression through song, vocal instruction, and movement. It culminates in a special showcase.

Our alumni have gone on to perform in professional productions such as Six The Musical, Fun Home, The Great Wall Musical, and Miss Saigon Vienna. Many have furthered their training in musical theatre in degree programmes both locally and abroad.

Very Youthful Company

New Works Lab

The Very Youthful Company (VYC) represents our youth wing, where theatre-makers aged 14-19 form a company and perform in a fully staged play.

We launched our New Works Lab in 2022. The Lab provides playwrights with intense dramaturgical support on a new original play.

Through weekly Saturday sessions, they act, stage manage, and design aspects of the show under the guidance of our Pangdemonium team.

This year, Ong Chong An was selected to further develop his play, Singapore, Michigan, through stages of redrafting, feedback, and inquiry.

Last December, we staged Failure: A Love Story by Philip Dawkins at the SOTA Studio Theatre.

The process-focused programme culminated in a staged reading this past August.

Applications for this year’s performance have closed.

The programme will run from September through December 2023.

Applications for the next showcase will begin early next year.

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TECHNICAL APPRENTICESHIPS Our Technical Apprenticeship programme offers a production-long, professional experience for highly motivated and committed individuals who are looking to bridge the gap between their academic experience and a professional career in theatre. We offer apprenticeships in Stage Management, Production Management, Technical Management, as well as an exclusive programme in Lighting Design.

Stage Management

Production Management

Apprentices will work with our professional Stage Management team from pre-production through the final performance.

Apprentices will work with our fulltime Production Management staff.

In the process, they will have the opportunity to maintain paperwork, take line notes, be on book, preset and run shows, among other duties.

Stage Management apprentices are required to attend rehearsals and become an active running crew member during performances.

Technical Management Apprentices will have the opportunity to work with our professional Technical Management team and Creative team. The apprentice will gain handson experience working with professionals in the industry from pre to post-production.

This is a 24-month apprenticeship programme for all young professionals interested in Technical Management.

Dates and hours will be determined by the needs of each production.

Production Management has the critical role of keeping a production running smoothly from conceptualization through rehearsals, set-up, performances, and eventually strike and archival.

Apprentices will assist the Production Management team in coordinating the various production disciplines – scenic, lighting, wardrobe, sound, multimedia projection, and stage management.

Production Management apprentices are required to fulfil office hours in the department as well as attend to the needs of the production during performances.

We’re looking for earlycareer professionals who meet the following qualifications: • Have some previous theatre training and skills.

• Exhibit a strong drive to work in this field (relevant academic qualifications are a plus, but not a requirement).

• Are over 18 years old.

• Are willing to clock irregular working hours.

Lighting Design This is a 12-month apprenticeship that will give an intermediate-level lighting-specialized individual an exclusive opportunity to further develop their craft under the mentorship of Pangdemonium’s Associate Artist, James Tan.

• Can commit for the length of the production (depending on individual apprenticeships, may be anything from 3 to 6 months).

• Word processing and spreadsheet experience is also required.

Dates and hours will be determined by the needs of each production.

—

James Tan is an established Singaporean Lighting Designer. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design from UC San Diego. James recognises the significance of mentorship for young aspiring lighting professionals. James was conferred The Young Artist Award and awarded Arts Professional Scholarship by The National Arts Council of Singapore.

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Admission by interview only.

For enquiries, please email us at education@pangdemonium.com.

THANK YOU FOR BEING OUR FRIENDS! White Knights Anthonia Hui & Leonardo Drago Winged Crusaders Holywell Foundation Jacqueline Ho, Esq The Diana Koh Foundation The Grace, Shua Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust Crusaders Mrs Lee Li-Ming Priscylla Shaw Superheroes Desmond & May Lim Harris Zaidi & Terry Tan Oh Jen Jen Russell Heng Shiv & Roopa Dewan Heroes Anonymous Conrad & Andrea Lim Dr Irene Lim & Prof David Stringer Hans Joachim Joerger-Ramos Heng Gek Hwah John Currie & Hong Sun Chee Katherine Krummert & Shawn Galey Kok Aun Koh Mr & Mrs Clarence Tan Rahul Choudhuri Ronald & Janet Stride Ronald Gwee SL Chan Sze Wei Goh

Champions Ajit R Nayak Angela Erika Irma Soeteber Angela Wu Anonymous Anton Lee Wei Min Audrey Chng Barry & YT Clarke Brian Selby & Angelina Chang Catherine Cheung & Elvin Too Chan Weng Onn Chia Yu Hsien & Linda Lim Christopher Pang David Neo Dr Tan Eng Thye Jason Duncan Kauffman Ferdinand de Bakker & Yoon Lai Cheng Foo Yee Ling Grace Chiam Gretchen Liu Kelvin & Sandy Tan Kevin & Dina Coppel Kwok Junfeng Lee Eng Hin & Saralee Turner Lim Wen Juin & Rachel Low Max Tan & Nani Zhang Melanie Tan Michele Gai Musgrave Musa Bin Fazalur Karim Nithia Devan Pang Siu Mei Ravi Sivalingam Richard & Karen Hounsell Rita Elaine Silver Robin Arnold Rumyana Lulova Sardool Singh Sehr & Ashnil Dixit Selina Chong Serene Ng Shou Sen Cheam Steve Miller & Pat Meyer Susan Sim Suzanne Lim Tan Poh Kiang Tania Wee Tee Bee Tin Toh Wei Seng Yap Su-Yin Yee Pui Phing Yvonne Tham

Pangdemaniacs Anna Tan Anonymous Anonymous Audrey Phua Chan Wai Kin Chia Yu Hsien & Linda Lim Chloe Goh Chng Pei Ee Dominik von Wantoch-Rekowski Dr Christopher Chen Faye Kwan Gan Heng Hui Geoffrey Baker Heng Jian Yong Lionel Heng Wen Xiu Hwee Suan Ong Janice Goh Jasmine Wong Jennifer King Joee Ng Joni Koh Jorin Ng Khoo Swee Koon Leslie Lee Lim Jia Yan Lim Lay Keow Lim Mingcheng Lionel Yeo & Janice Koh Loh Soon Hui Lone Lee Lydia Ong Matthew Flaherty

Maurice de Vaz Michael Henderson Nathalie Ribette Ng Hua Feng Nikko Aw Niko Lin Omar Sotomayor Ong Pei San Ong Sok Chzeng @ Su Chzeng Booth Ong Pek Li Jin Joanne Pierce Sim Pierre Colignon Rajesh Achanta Ronald JJ Wong Rosalind Khor Sabrina Amir Soh Sandra Gwee Sarah Mei Ismail Siva Govindasamy & Malini Sitaram Sui Ang Teo Kien Boon Therese Nai Vanessa Seah Vidula Verma Wee Cathleen Yichun Ng Yunita Ong Yusri Shaggy Sapari Zech Tan – We would like to express our sincere thanks to our new Friends who made their kind donations after this list went to print.

PangsGiving (2023)

BECOME A FRIEND OF PANGDEMONIUM! Join our philanthropic friends and help us tell the stories that are inspiring, relevant and accessible for the young and young-at-heart.

At Pangdemonium, we believe in staging productions that have a global resonance and universal significance in hopes of fostering a resilient and compassionate society.

As our Friend, you will receive complimentary tickets, be the first to hear about our latest projects, receive a 250% tax deduction on your donation, enjoy backstage tours and much more!

If you believe in the work that we do, please become our Friend today!

Your support will not only go towards bringing stories to the stage, but also giving opportunities to our theatre practitioners as well as nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences.

– Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status (UEN No.: 201229915M) and cash donations above $50 are eligible for a 250% tax deduction. Donate today at donate.pangdemonium.com.

The Pillowman (2017)

For more information on joining our Friends of Pangdemonium programme, please contact us at fundraiser@pangdemonium.com.

PANGDEMANIAC

$500

CHAMPION

$1,000

HERO

$2,500

SUPERHERO

$5,000

CRUSADER

$10,000

WINGED CRUSADER

$25,000

WHITE KNIGHT

$50,000 PA G E 3 1

CORPORATE GIVING — SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS At Pangdemonium, we are able to continue doing the work we do because our corporate partners believe in us. For the past decade, Pangdemonium has shared the power of live storytelling with audiences from all walks of life. Even during unusual and challenging times, we continue to tell these stories.

We are extremely grateful to companies like DBS Bank Ltd, Alfa Tech and HCS Engineering for standing with us in solidarity and coming on this journey with us as a season sponsor and corporate donors respectively.

Corporate support is crucial in helping Pangdemonium fulfill our mission, by assisting in our day-to-day operations, keeping our high production values, and funding our education and outreach programmes.

In appreciation of your generosity, our Corporate Donors, Corporate Sponsors and In-Kind Partners get to enjoy exclusive opportunities and entitlements – from being able to demonstrate your commitment to the arts and the theatre community to connecting with clients over meaningful experiences, increasing your brand engagement, and achieving your organisation’s philanthropic and community outreach goals.

We have an exciting year ahead with productions that continue to address challenging topics and at the same time make arts accessible to more people.

Arts communities all around the world are still facing many challenges in a post-pandemic world, and we welcome your solidarity and support so that we can continue to inspire and empower lives through the magic of theatre.

– Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status (UEN No.: 201229915M) and cash donations above $50 are eligible for a 250% tax deduction.

Consider making an online gift today at donate.pangdemonium.com or contact our Philanthropy team at clare@pangdemonium.com for corporate giving, sponsorship opportunities, and in-kind donations.

People, Places, & Things (2023)

Tracie and Adrian would like to say a big thank you to the following for creating further pangdemonium with us on our production of Into the Woods.

SEASON SPONSOR

SUPPORTED BY

OFFICIAL STORAGE

LOVINGLY FED BY

OFFICIAL MAKE UP

SPECIAL THANKS TO

HCS ENGINEERING PTE LTD AVC PTE LTD PIVOTAL STUDIOS PTE LTD

Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme for the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026.

OFFICIAL WINE

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With banking that’s in sync with your life. And knows what you need even before you do.

Rock on!

EXPERIENCE LUXURY LIVING WITH FRASERS HOSPITALITY

Fraser Residence River Promenade, Singapore (Artist Impression)

Fraser Suites Singapore

Fraser Residence Orchard, Singapore

Fraser Place Robertson Walk, Singapore

A member of Frasers Property Group More than a hotel, our Gold Standard serviced residences feel just like home.

Only better.

Imagine fully-furnished spacious apartments.

River Valley FRASER SUITES SINGAPORE From well-designed kitchenettes and Orchard Road washer/dryers, to balconies and modern FRASER RESIDENCE ORCHARD, SINGAPORE entertainment systems in every apartment.

Robertson Walk Imagine no further and discover a new level of FRASER PLACE ROBERTSON WALK, SINGAPORE living with us.

Robertson Quay, Singapore River FRASER RESIDENCE RIVER PROMENADE, SINGAPORE

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FRASERSHOSPITALITY.COM

2024 SEASON TICKET The 2024 Season commences in March with the highly anticipated revival of Falling by Deanna Jent. This play, which garnered unanimous acclaim and consistently sold out during its 2016 Pangdemonium run, has been in high demand for a revival.

As a grand finale to the season, Pangdemonium takes great pride in presenting the Asian premiere of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Dear Evan Hansen. This musical will move you in ways you never thought theatre could.

In June, the season’s second offering will be Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? This modern classic is a captivating blend of dark comedy and a love story, pulling skeletons out of closets and forcing us to confront the lies we tell ourselves.

Become our Season Ticket holder and save up to 27% on every standard ticket.

GREAT SAVINGS

Terms and conditions apply.

Scan here for more info!

As a Season Ticket holder, you also get to enjoy special perks such as priority booking, unlimited ticket exchanges and personalized concierge services.

PRIORITY BOOKING

Save up to 27% off standard ticket prices.

Secure the best seats in the house ahead of public sales for each show.

HASSLE-FREE TICKETING

PERSONALISED SERVICE

Simply flash your e-ticket to enter the theatre.

The 2024 Season Ticket is now available from our website at pangdemonium.com or sistic.com.sg.

No chatbots here – our terrific Ticketing Team will be here to assist you.

FREE EXCHANGES

Flexibility to change your booking up to 48hrs before your show.

SUPPORT LOCAL

Be a part of the Pangdemonium family and support the work we do!

2024 SEASON

SEASON PATRON

ON SALE FROM 4 OCT — 29 DEC 2023

FALLING

BY DEANNA JENT

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

BY EDWARD ALBEE

BOOK BY MUSIC AND LYRICS BY STEVEN LEVENSON BENJ PASEK AND JUSTIN PAUL