Into the Woods musical draws alumni, community artists

During a recent dress rehearsal she was busy cutting out cardboard tree and branch shapes to fill in a few places on the set created for the stage at Hole Memorial Auditorium. As artistic director, she leads the design for the sets and made approximately 30 costumes for the 18-member cast, sewing the attire by hand or acquiring used clothing items from thrift stores and adding decorative elements.

Genobaga’s mother, Jolene Zackrison, a former teacher at La Sierra and the show’s prop master, along with students from the music and Art+Design departments under Genobaga’s direction have crafted intricate set pieces which bring to life the woods as the visual context for the tale woven together from classic fairy tale characters and their stories.

La Sierra’s production of “Into the Woods,” written in 1987 by celebrated composer and lyricist Sondheim, is accompanied by the La Sierra University Symphony Orchestra. It will be offered in four productions at Hole Memorial – Saturday, May 11, Thursday, May 16, and Saturday, May 18, all at 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 19 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at lasierramusic.org and are $23 general admission, $18 for seniors, and $10 for students and children.

Raejin Lee, La Sierra’s director of vocal studies who oversees the production noted, “’Into the Woods’ invites us to join familiar characters from beloved fairy tales as they venture into the unknown, seeking their deepest desires. Yet, as they soon discover, the path to fulfillment is fraught with challenges and unexpected twists and turns. Through their trials, they forge unlikely alliances and confront their innermost fears, ultimately discovering the true power of community – no one is alone.”  

Cast members include current La Sierra students and alumni: Temerlin Brown as the baker; Nicole Anne Tiburcio as the baker’s wife; Lillian Oceguera as the witch; Tashyanna Simpson as Cinderella; Mark Ejurango as Jack; Iman Asher-Haq as Little Red Riding Hood; Jacqueline Atterberry as Lucinda; Nicholas Ault as Rapunzel’s prince; Erin Nicole Bauzon as Milky White and Sleeping Beauty; Sebastion Castanon as Cinderalla’s prince and the wolf; Bri García as Jack’s mother; Sarah Johnston as the steward; Bridget Lee as Rapunzel; Alexander Mayang as the narrator and Mysterious Man; Sofia Maynez as Cinderalla’s mother, Granny and the giant; Monique Mcguire as the birds and Snow White; Lemti Nyirendah as the stepmother; and Jocelynn Pereda as Florinda.

Music alumnae from the Class of 2021, Juliana Baioni and Georgia Genobaga, Jill Genobaga's daughter, serve respectively as stage director and assistance director, with music direction by Jonathan Keplinger, a staff pianist, coach, and recital coordinator for UC Riverside’s Department of Music.

Jill Genobaga, who holds a medical degree from Loma Linda University as well as a bachelor’s in music from La Sierra, has more than 30 years of experience in drama. She previously taught science and also founded the visual and performing arts program at Pine Hill Academy in Auburn, Calif., leading it for eight years. Her mother taught English at the school before retiring. The two of them led in initiating the school’s drama program which resulted in 10 productions.

Genobaga returned to the inland region a couple of years ago and works at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine assisting with academic support for medical students. “This is definitely a hobby and love ,” she said of her involvement in the musical. She particularly enjoys the creativity in making the costumes “because it's a make believe world and so there's no real blueprint of how it's supposed to look.”

To maintain originality and avoid mirroring a Disney look, Genobaga refrained from watching certain movies and shows during the past few months as she envisioned and designed the costumes for “Into the Woods.”

“I wanted to reimagine the characters,” and connect the characters together, she said. “You'll see hints of Rapunzel and her prince kind of going together. And then the different parents that you don't really know are parents and eventually you find out, I try to link those all together with certain colors. [The audience] may not even notice, but it will help them keep track of who's who and who goes together.

“I think my favorite thing is the lettuce cape,” she added. “I've had numerous people ask me if that's real lettuce on there – ‘how are you going to keep that preserved?’”