Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:51 p.m. on Oct. 23 to properly characterize the reunion of Skyler and Brandon Adams in this production.
Sooner Theatre opens “Into the Woods” Friday, bringing two brothers together to direct and act after first being in the show 16 years ago.
“Into the Woods” is a three-time Tony award-winning musical written by James Lapine that follows a series of classic fairytale characters taking separate journeys to get their wishes. With music by Stephen Sondheim, the characters get what they want but face terrible consequences.
Brothers Skyler Adams and Brandon Adams grew up performing in and around Norman, both later graduating from OU. They were involved in Sooner Theatre’s “Into the Woods” production in 2008, the last time the venue ran the show as a community theatre production, with Brandon directing and Skyler playing Jack, a young boy who sells his cow for magic beans.
“Into the Woods” was the last production Skyler performed at Sooner Theatre. Now living in New York, he has since performed on Broadway and on national tours for productions like “Waitress” and “Pippin.”
Headshot of Skyler Adams provided by Sooner Theatre.
Brandon has directed and performed in many productions internationally, including performing in Germany in the Poteet Theatre’s award-winning production of “John and Jen” and as the principal vocalist for Holland America Line. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he moved back to Oklahoma from Chicago and now works full-time at Sooner Theatre as the house operations manager.
For this year’s production of “Into the Woods,” Skyler will make his directorial debut, and Brandon will play the Baker, one of the show’s protagonists whose wish, along with his wife’s, is to have a child.
During the several weeks they’ve worked together, Brandon said he has watched his brother grow personally and professionally and that working together has meant a lot to him.
“These are moments that we don't get a lot since he lives in New York, and this has been just a really fun, incredible moment for us to spend time together,” Brandon said. “On a personal level, it's super rewarding to watch him shine.”
Brandon said, working in a collaborative environment, he has been learning from his brother and absorbing the approaches he takes with the production. Skyler said he’s grateful to work with his brother as they navigate their different roles.
“For him to do that as my big brother speaks to the kind of big brother you should have,” Skyler said. “It just made me so excited because we have had different paths, and I've gone off in so many different directions.”
Having been asked by the theatre’s executive director to direct the show, Skyler said he was excited at the new opportunity and that he considers Sooner Theatre as one of his happy places.
“In some ways, it is a bit like the show,” Skyler said. “The last time I did (‘Into the Woods’), I really was like Jack, an idealistic dreamer who was gonna climb the whole world, and that's still very much who I am. But I have accepted the changes in my script.”
Directing for the first time, Skyler has faced new challenges, like creating what he calls a “math labyrinth” of entrances and exits, as well as a safe space for the cast. With an aim to encourage the cast to take risks, he said he feels like directing is his calling.
“My whole body is lit up, and I think that those are times when you're doing what you were born to do,” Skyler said. “Creating this space where people feel safe to risk and empower them with who they are. They are insanely interesting, talented, enough and worthy without any performance on top of themselves. I could do that all day.”
Headshot of Brandon Adams provided by Sooner Theatre.
Blocking for larger productions can feel choreographed and disconnected, but Brandon said that with a cast of only 20 people, blocking is more instinctual, allowing performers to sink into the character and question their motives instead of focusing solely on the steps.
“This has the chance to be something really special,” Brandon said. “These little groups, these productions, don't come around all the time. And this one already has the makings of something that's going to be a very cherished personal experience for me and hopefully the whole group.”
“Into the Woods” is divided into two acts. The second dives into darker themes like death, but Skyler said they’re telling the story honestly rather than “spoon-feeding the audience.” Brandon also explained that they aren’t shying away from the lows of the story.
“If there’s no conflict, (audience members) don’t care, (they’re) not engaged,” Brandon said. “The brilliance of the piece is that the material has done a lot of the work. We’re not shying away from leaning into the dark, but we’re also not dwelling in that.”
Skyler said “Into the Woods” digs into the human experience in a way that most musicals don’t, mirroring how people often expect one thing, but life always has alternative plans. He said people aren’t alone in the dark parts of their lives and the show honors those moments.
“The show does the hard work for us that we don’t have the energy or capability to do,” Skyler said. “We’ve all got jobs, kids, dreams or deadlines, and we don't address those questions that are forced upon our characters in the show. I think that that's why we get these gut punches, and we're just overcome with emotion and empathy. It covers the whole span throughout the show.”
While the show handles heavy topics, there are lighthearted and comedic moments throughout. The brothers are hopeful that the aduience will leave the theater feeling reflective of their own lives.
“I hope there’s a before and after moment for the audience of ‘I didn’t think about some of the pain in my life in that context,’ and them realizing maybe there’s a twinge of hope in what was before in their heart that hadn't had any light shed on it,” Skyler said.
Skyler and Brandon said working on “Into the Woods” has been a rewarding experience, from working together and watching each other grow, to Skyler's pride in the cast for expressing themselves through their performances.
“It's been so fun to say there's nothing wrong with fully expressing this part of your experience,” Skyler said. “Watching these people, that I feel like were craving this kind of (creative) freedom, and telling them to keep going has been incredibly rewarding."
“Into the Woods” will run from Friday to Sunday and Nov. 1-3 at Sooner Theatre at 101 E. Main St. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets can be purchased online, in person Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or at the Sooner Theatre box office one hour prior to show time. Half price student tickets can be purchased at the box office with student ID.
This story was edited by Shelby Emery. Natalie Armour and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
