Staging Sondheim: Miranda Middleton on directing Into the Woods at Elder Con
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods is more than just a fairytale mashup: it’s a deep, dark dive into what happens after “happily ever after.”
First premiering on Broadway in 1987, the musical blends familiar characters from Grimm’s tales – Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and Rapunzel – with original ones like the Baker and his Wife. Through intricate lyrics and layered storytelling, Into the Woods explores the messy consequences of wish-fulfillment, the moral ambiguity of desire, and the complexities of human connection. It’s a rich, ambitious piece of theatre, and one that demands clarity of vision and deft direction.
This year, Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music takes on the challenge under the guidance of award-winning director Miranda Middleton. We chatted with Miranda about her creative vision, working with emerging performers, and what it means to step “into the woods” in 2025.
Miranda is an award-winning director, writer, and choreographer with a Master of Fine Arts (Directing) from NIDA. Passionate about the intersection of text, music, and movement, her work aims to spark joy and connection. In 2024, she received the Sandra Bates Director’s Award and was nominated for a Green Room Award for her direction of The Grinning Man. Her directing credits span theatre, musicals, and festivals, with highlights including In Her Own Words (Sydney Festival), The Eisteddfod (Old Fitz), and Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody (Salty Theatre). She has also worked with major companies such as Opera Australia, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Bell Shakespeare. In 2025, she will travel to the UK to associate direct King of Pangea and continue developing her original musical Paper Stars through fellowships from NIDA.
Into the Woods has been interpreted in so many ways – how are you approaching this production?
Miranda: For several years now, I have dreamed of setting a production of ‘Into the Woods’ within the larger theatrical setting of a festival. After all, Cinderella sings about her “wish to go to the festival” in the opening number. So when Erin James invited me to direct this show at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, I thought: “Adelaide… the city of festivals… this is the time!”. Our unique spin on the show starts out in a retro Australian suburbia, where hills hoists and double denim are in, and smartphones don’t yet exist. When we first meet them, our fairytale characters are dreaming of… more than this everyday mundanity. But their endless wishing and wanting only results in chaos, death and destruction (a feeling all too familiar in our own time of late-stage capitalism!). So, they venture out into the ‘woods’. Dirt underfoot, festoons overhead – into a wide-open shrubland where it feels like anything could happen beneath the canopy of trees. Like in those almost-lost worlds of Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Lost Paradise – where you dance under moonlight with people you don’t know and may never meet again – our characters are indelibly changed by this moment of myth and magic in the woods.
What themes within Into the Woods are you most interested in highlighting through your direction?
Miranda: A line that’s always stuck out to me within the show is the Narrator’s: “You don’t want to live in a world of chaos!” In light of the current global politics and worsening climate crisis, I’ve been particularly interested in teasing out parallels between our own world in 2025 and that of Lapine’s fictional fairytale universe: the dangers of endless greed and consumption, and the impact of all of our individual actions on the future generations.
How have you adapted or interpreted the set, costume, or staging elements to reflect your vision?
Miranda: Simon Greer (set) and Christopher Snape (lighting) have really run with my ‘Aussie arts festival’ vision. We’ve leant into the idea of exposing all the theatrical elements rather than masking them like you often do, so lighting booms, par can lights and a giant circular truss create the architecture of ‘the woods’. Of course, we’ve also thrown in a healthy sprinkle of festoon lights and bunting to bring the carny world to life. Similarly, the students have been amazing in bringing to life this bold and as one of them called it – unorthodox – interpretation of ‘Into the Woods’. They’re responsible for the props, costumes, and hair and makeup in the show, so they’ve been tasked with everything from creating Cinderella’s throne out of spray-painted milk crates, to crafting a Giant costume out of black garbage bags and Coke cans, to sourcing every colour of festival face glitter under the sun! In the spirit of environmental sustainability, we’ve tried to upcycle and thrift as much as possible.
What are some unique strengths that student performers bring to a production like Into the Woods?
Miranda: It has been really special to explore this story, and its big existential themes of grief, love, and legacy, with a group of hopeful and imaginative young people. As the Witch sings, “wishes are children”, and I’ve been so inspired by the creativity and spirit of this young generation of thinkers and dreamers. THEY are the heart of the piece, and have brought so much of their individual personalities to the characters they’re playing.
What has been the most surprising or rewarding part of the rehearsal process so far?
Miranda: I think I was surprised by how well the show works in natural Australian accents! A slightly bogan Little Red, for instance, has so much spunk, and hearing Sondheim’s key lyrics like “no one is alone” and “careful the tales you tell” in our own voices seems to render them all the more potent.
Were there any major challenges during rehearsals, and how did you and the cast overcome them?
Miranda: Early on in the rehearsal process, I think my desire to completely deviate from ‘traditional’ fairytale renderings of the characters was a bit discombobulating. For example, our Narrator is reimagined as a young tween escaping into her imagination, and I didn’t want to make the witch look like a ‘hag’, so it was quite an iterative discovery process of building the ‘rules’ of the world.
Are there any moments in the show that feel especially relevant or resonant right now?
Miranda: A really strong thread within the piece is the notion of parenthood versus childlessness – seen through the Witch’s love and later loss of Rapunzel, the Baker’s Wife’s yearning for a child, and the tenuous relationship between the Baker and Mysterious Man. For me, as an almost 32-year-old woman unsure if I want to bring kids into this world, I find the Witch’s lines in the finale particularly moving: “Careful before you say, ‘Listen to me’. Children will listen”…
What do you hope audiences take away from this production?
Miranda: More than anything, I hope that audiences leave the theatre feeling a little more ALIVE to the present moment. I hope it reminds people that though the way ahead may be dark, there are always glimmers of hope and beauty to be found, and that we’re always stronger together than alone.
Into The Woods runs from Thursday 24 April to Sunday 27 April 2025
For tickets and more information, please visit the the University of Adelaide website
