HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- Ken Goodman, who plays dual roles of Cinderella's Prince Charming and the Wolf in the Hot Springs Village Players' production of "Into the Woods," says this may now be his favorite role ever.
"In the late 1980s, when in college, he fell in love with Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical and now, several decades later, he says he is very pleased to play these roles. The show, he says, is an incredibly creative weaving together of many fairy tales, along with powerful music and hilarious moments," a news release said.
"Stephen Sondheim creates a wonderful first act that ends with a joyous 'happy ever after,'" the release said. "Unfortunately, the second act sees everything begin to unravel. You must see this!"
"Into the Woods," a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Sondheim and based on the book by James Lapine, is directed by Kat Clayton and produced by Janis Bremer. Musical direction is by Lynne Border.
Performances will be at the Woodlands Theater in Hot Springs Village June 22-25 and tickets are on sale at https://hotspringsvillage.thundertix.com/events/211756. Attendees who live outside Hot Springs Village can show their tickets at the gate for entry.
Goodman has played the roles of Curly in "Oklahoma!" and Daddy Warbucks in "Annie" with the HSV Players. He was also the leading man for Murry's Dinner Playhouse in Little Rock for several years. Other regional appearances include productions in Hot Springs, Memphis, Shreveport, and Springfield, Missouri.
"Ken was bitten early by the theater bug -- he was in the sixth grade when he came to a realization that live entertainment would become crucial to his life moving forward. His favorite role, he says, was Adam in a Little Rock production of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,'" the release said.
"The song that Sinatra made famous, 'New York, New York,' claims that 'if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere' and it reminds Goodman that he did, indeed, make it in New York.
"And yet I'm grateful to not be touring with a show ... grateful to be a dad and also 'papa' (Grandpa) to four amazing grandkids -- Avery, Emery, Rosie, and Bailey," he said in the release.
"The play is a fun (and different) take on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales that explores the consequences of the characters' wishes and the quests they undertake to make those wishes come true. A baker and his wife want a child but first they've got to lift a family curse placed by an ugly old witch. They set off into the woods with a three-day deadline to find the four ingredients the witch demands for lifting the curse," the release said.