Fairy tale characters, including Rapunzel, have settled into L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre. She joins other classic folk-tale figures in Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical Into the Woods, playing through Sunday, July 30.
Alysia Velez made her Broadway debut as the famed tower-dweller, and she joins a cast featuring Montego Glover as The Witch, Stephanie J. Block as The Baker’s Wife, Sebastian Arcelus as The Baker and Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf, all now reprising their Broadway roles for local audiences.
The Center Theatre Group engagement marks the end of a tour that features this much-lauded 2022 revival lifted almost directly from Broadway.
Sondheim’s celebrated musical weaves together fairy-tale personas like Cinderella with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, Jack (of the beanstalk) his cow (Milky White) and his beleaguered mother, Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf, Rapunzel and The Witch and two Handsome Princes, all with wishes. Two new characters (created by book author James Lapine), the barren couple, The Baker and his Wife, are on a quest to have a child. By the end of Act One, wishes have come true, and goals are attained. In Act Two, all the characters have to deal with what they did to get there.
There are few themes that aren’t touched on in the lesson-filled story: Greed, lust, the promise of perfect love, the eternal casting of blame, the hope of breaking the chains of generational sin, taking personal responsibility, finding meaning in community and forgiveness, and values passed on to children.
Difficult relationships between parents and children are exemplified in Rapunzel’s story.
Following are excerpts from my interview with Velez about the challenges of playing a terribly lonely, lovely maiden sheltered by an overprotective witch for a mother.
This was your big Broadway break.
It was crazy, a bit of a roller coaster. It was the last month of college, and I was doing my senior showcase. The Into the Woods team contacted my representatives at the time and said, “we’re looking for a Rapunzel, please send us her website and a clip.” I did an audition and within a few days I got a callback to start rehearsals on Broadway, two weeks after graduation. I lost my mind. I said, “I’m going to tell everyone I know.” They said, “no you can’t do that.” So I said, “I’m not telling a soul.”
Can you relate to the role?
Yes, you’re talking about a young woman with incredibly long hair, trapped in a tower with only an old witch to talk to, but in reading the part I found it very relatable. I think a lot of people want to be anywhere but in their current situation.
She also wants to experience love, beyond an obsessively possessive mother, from somewhere beyond where she’s at. I think a lot of people have been in her shoes.
Plus, after being stuck inside with COVID-19 for those years, there’s the notion of just wanting to get out after being stuck indoors. And I can pull on that.
Then there’s the parental situation. She has a very complicated relationship with her mother. Of course, no one’s family is like this, but there’s always some conflict to draw on. Especially when Rapunzel says she’s no longer a child and wants to see the world.
Rapunzel is known for the signature hair. Is it hard to deal with?
Everyone wants to know about the hair. The wig created by Cookie Jordan has a top part that’s hollow—it’s like a cake—and the massive, long braid that comes down behind my knee. It’s not cumbersome, I can still run, scream, sing and cry, a major part of the role. I own hoop earrings that are heavier.
It takes a little under 10 minutes to get the hair on. When Cinderella sings “I wish to go to the Festival” at the opening, that’s my cue to get into the stylist chair.
There are illusions in the show that the hair is tugged on, pulled and cut. But it’s theatre magic: The result of a lot of trial and error on many people’s parts from the successful revival.
You’re known as the first Afro-Latina Hispanic actress to play Rapunzel on Broadway.
Yes, it means a lot to me and for my family. Representation is super important for younger—and older—generations and it’s something I can aim for. When I told my family I got the part they lost their minds. This lets people like my 10-year-old sister know that it doesn’t matter how you look. You can play a fairy-tale character. Sometimes the only way to reach a goal is to physically see it. A brown girl can play a traditional blonde-haired character.
What makes this production special?
I think it’s the director Lear deBessonet. She worked to consolidate the show, smooth out the transitions and make sure there’s no dead space. There’s never a time when there’s no one on stage; characters are always entering and exiting.
Her New York City Encores! production had a short rehearsal process with only a few a few days to put the show together, and this show has a lot of words. With the Broadway revival we had time to go in depth with the characters. With Lear, we’ve been able to stretch in our character development and make choices. Everything was up for grabs, and everything was an option.
What has meant the most to you being in this production?
I’ve had the honor of working with four Broadway stars as The Witch/my mother– Patina Miller, Montego Glover, Joaquina Kalukango and Felicia Curry. They are four powerhouses. I loved working with them as people and as their daughter.
The role demands so much of the person playing The Witch and they were all open to my choices. And we all bonded during rehearsal. Working with them it’s always been easy to find the emotion in Stay With Me about a mother who just wants to shield her child.
There was a time when Patina and Montego were alternating the role and I always had to remember who I was working with. They had different blocking and a different dominant hand, so it kept me on my toes.
My princes have included Joshua Henry and now Jason Forbach. At the end of Act One we celebrate getting the things we wanted—things don’t go so well later—but it’s easy to play a love interest to charming people who have become good friends.
The role requires a high soprano voice.
It’s in my comfort zone. I made my opera debut with the Magic City Opera in Miami, where I’m from. I was the Sandman and Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel.
But I decided I wanted to do musical theatre, so after high school I auditioned for performing arts colleges in New York and received a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music.
Do you have a favorite song from the show?
The song No More towards the end of the show where the Mysterious Man/Narrator accuses the Baker of running from his own guilt and makes him face his responsibilities is heartbreaking. I love the messages of stopping all the madness in the world and “that change starts with me.” David Patrick Kelly (Narrator) and Brian D’Arcy James (The Baker) on Broadway and David Patrick Kelly and Sebastian Arcelus on tour have been especially touching.
And of course, there’s Children Will Listen. I’m always moved when the Baker wonders about being a father and his wife reassures him.
You’re also a dancer and even choreographed some shows in Miami.
Every city we’ve stopped in, like San Francisco before L.A., I’ve made appointments to visit dance studios. It’s fun for me and I love to dance. (She was a background salsa dancer in the film version of In the Heights),
We have fun backstage, and we started exercise and stretch circles during the tour. Into the Woods is strong on singing and acting, but we’re not doing a Fosse number. For me it’s a matter of maintenance.
Can you explain the show’s popularity?
In April for Encores! and June on Broadway, people were just beginning to come out from the pandemic and listening to this brilliant score was an outlet for audiences to laugh and cry.
Another factor is that people have known this show and hits like No One Is Alone since 1987. They may have done the show in high school or college or seen the original or revivals. You want to share the words, memories and experiences with your kids and friends.
Depending on where you are in life, you’re going to see the show differently every time. I’m sure 20 years from now I will be wiser, could be a mother and will see the lessons in another way.
There are so many messages in the show, and I’ve noticed especially when there are cast changes and new interpretations, that there’s always something I miss and something new to take away. And I’ve done the show more than 300 times.
What has this experience taught you?
This has been my first big theatre experience. I came in the first day of rehearsal and tried to play it cool and Joshua Henry came up to me and said, “I’m so excited and isn’t this awesome.” I realized that I was going to be seen and it was going to be okay.
He said “this isn’t going to be the hardest thing in your career. Try not to compare it to what comes next. Know this is a big deal and you’re in a good hands with a great team. You need to understand what it means to be grateful for opportunity and for good hands.”
In college I did audition crashing where you show up and 3 or 4 a.m. and sign a non-union sheet and hope the casting director will see you. I did that more than 50 times and maybe got seen maybe 11 or 12 times. I really wanted it and I’m fine with the hustle and grind; and I’m glad I had that experience. But I am grateful. I look at this show and part and just say “wow.”
For tickets and information, visit centertheatregroup.org
