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World Premiere Musical

Jack and the Beanstalk: A Musical Adventure

Recommended for ages 4+.

Tickets

$20
Pay-what-you-can option

Recommended for ages 4+.

  • Run Time

    55 minutes

  • Tickets

    $20
    Pay-what-you-can option

Learn more:

This event has passed

Stream Jack and the Beanstalk on demand anytime through January 4. Purchase a household ticket for access to the event until January 4 at 11:59PM ET.

This new, streaming musical takes us on an epic journey through Storyland with Jack, her cow Buttercup, her mother, the Grand Storyteller, King Giant, two Mice, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Fiddler Cat. The vivid imaginations of Harvard undergraduates Julia Riew and Ian Chan (the creators of last season’s Thumbelina) transform the classic fairy tale into a contemporary celebration of the power of kindness, courage, determination, and creativity to overcome life’s obstacles. Rebecca Aparicio makes her A.R.T. directorial debut with this production after serving as Assistant Director on Endlings and Gloria: A Life.

This performance contains strobe-like effects.

Closing Toast
Raise a glass (perhaps a Ta-Kitty Sunrise or Furrball Whisker) to toast the closing of this magical holiday show and the tenth anniversary of A.R.T.’s family programming. Storylanders of all ages welcome to attend on January 3 at 5PM ET. Register on Zoom

Meet-the-Cast Performances
Meet the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk on December 13 at 2:30PM ET and December 19 at 12:30PM ET. After you watch the show, join the cast on Zoom for games, dancing, and more fun!

Explore Storyland at Home
Dive into the Jacktivity Pack for at-home engagement through crafting, drawing, conversation, and creative play projects around the themes of kindness, courage, determination, and creativity. Viewing isn’t required to enjoy the fun! Physical copies are also available.

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Book, Music and Lyrics by Julia Riew
Music Direction and Orchestrations by Ian Chan
Video Editing and Compositing by Johnathan Carr
Directed by Rebecca Aparicio

Notable dates

Virtual Premiere: 11/27 at 6PM ET
Meet-the-Cast Performances: 12/13 at 2:30PM ET & 12/19 at 12:30PM ET
Closing Toast: 1/3 at 5PM ET
On Demand Thru: 1/4

Production Sponsors
The Linda Hammett Ory & Andrew Ory Charitable Trust
Additional Production Support
Bank of America
Bina and Robin Thompson

Photos & Videos

Original Cast Recording

Enjoy the music of Jack and the Beanstalk! The twelve-track album is available now so you can sing along with Jack, her cow Buttercup, her mother, the Grand Storyteller, King Giant, two Mice, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Fiddler Cat.

Stream the Album

Laughter Yoga

Join yoga instructor Jason Jedrusiak for a family-oriented warm-up for your body and mind as you get ready for Jack and the Beanstalk. Laughter Yoga invites you to laugh, play, and connect through simple movements and silliness.

Storytime Yoga

Go on a journey with Jack and friends by putting the story and feelings into your own body in an adventure through yoga, movement, and play. Featuring puppets, laughter, storytelling, silliness, creativity, and more.

Explore

Learn more about the play, explore your creativity, and even make your own character mask! A number of themed, printed activities for kids and grown-ups to do alone or together bring the themes and characters of Jack and the Beanstalk to life in your home. Physical copies are also available.

View Toolkit

Credits

Creative Team

Book, Music, and Lyrics

Julia Riew

Julia Riew

Book, Music, and Lyrics

Julia Riew

Julia is a Harvard College student concentrating in Theater, Dance & Media and Music, and she is from St. Louis, Missouri!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
Growing up, I LOVED Gail Carson Levine’s fairy tale adaptations: Ella Enchanted, Fairest, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, and more.

What traits do you share with the characters in the show?
I share many traits with the characters! For example, Buttercup and I both love carrots.

What is something special about you that makes you stand out?
I LOVE vegetables! Except asparagus.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
Kindness, courage, determination, and creativity!

What do you like most about being a writer and a composer?
Bringing families, friends, and even strangers together with the magic of music and stories!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Don’t be afraid to dream big and climb high. Your story’s up to you!

View full biography

Director

Rebecca Aparicio

Rebecca Aparicio

Director

Rebecca Aparicio

Rebecca Aparicio is a NYC-based director and writer thrilled to be back at the A.R.T, who also loves developing musicals for young audiences with her theater company, The Magic Forest.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
The Secret Garden. I loved this book because it showed how love and friendship can overcome even the hardest of situations.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
A magical land where there is only love. Everyone lives together in harmony with magical unicorns and rainbows are everywhere you look. Every meal is filled with chocolate, and the weather is always sunny.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A heart of gold is full of love, compassion, and empathy. It’s giving freely as Jack does in our story. Even though Jack only has one jar of milk left, she can’t bear the thought of the Bean Peddler going thirsty, so she gives her the milk. Helping others is the greatest thing you can do.

What do you like most about being a director?
Every day feels like playtime because you get to use your imagination to make stories come to life!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
The best advice is the advice Itsy gives in “To The Top,” which is Don’t Give Up! With determination, you can achieve anything by staying focused on your goal, no matter how hard things get!

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Music Direction and Orchestrations

Ian Chan

Ian Chan

Music Direction and Orchestrations

Ian Chan

(he/they) A.R.T.: WILD: A Musical Becoming, Jack and the Beanstalk: A Musical Adventure, Thumbelina: A Little Musical. Regional: The East Side, Central Square Theater; One Song Glory, Musical Stage Company; Home for the Holidays, Playdate Theatre. TV: “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” Paramount+. Workshops: Shimcheong: A Folktale; The East Side. Educational: The More You Know, Cruising Altitude, Miss You ’Til Tomorrow, Into The Woods, Legally Blonde, West Side Story, Fun Home.

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Video Editing and Compositing

Johnathan Carr

Video Editing and Compositing

Johnathan Carr

Johnathan Carr is a filmmaker and media designer producing video with A.R.T. for over ten years, currently working atop a pile of hard drives in his native Boston.

What is your favorite animal?
I have a strong affinity for cats, but I would say the dragonfly is actually my favorite animal. Dragonflies are said to appear after a crisis to let us know things are safe. They have bright colors, fly in geometric patterns, are friendly to humans and, best of all, they eat mosquitos!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. It’s a magically real story of a boy who runs away to live in the wilderness, Thoreau style.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
My advice to our young viewers is to always have a journal with you, a real notebook with a real pen or pencil. Write ideas, sketch drawings, keep a diary. Even the best digital tablets have not captured the feeling of giving your thoughts a physical form on paper.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A heart of gold does not put gold before the heart.

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Sound Supervisor and Recording, Mixing, Mastering Engineer

Alex Giorgetti

Sound Supervisor and Recording, Mixing, Mastering Engineer

Alex Giorgetti

Alex Giorgetti is a musician, producer and engineer in the Boston area and the Sound Supervisor at OBERON at the American Repertory Theater.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
Corduroy

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
To a place where I could play piano outside all day and where people respected themselves, each other, and the natural world.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Whatever you do—for play, for work, or for school—put your all into it so you can find out what you enjoy the most and what gives you the most self-validation. Then, focus on that.

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Costume Design

Elizabeth Rocha

Costume Design

Elizabeth Rocha

Elizabeth is a former illustrator turned costume designer working in Boston.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
The Wind in the Willows

What is something special about you that makes you stand out?
I have a strange imagination.

What do you like most about being a costume designer?
I like getting to play dress-up with all kinds of different people!

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Lighting Design

Finn Bamber

Lighting Design

Finn Bamber

Finn Bamber is a junior at Harvard College studying Theater, Dance & Media, working out of Basel, Switzerland!

What is your favorite animal?
My favorite animal right now is probably an octopus because they are very smart and can solve puzzles!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
I loved reading The Rainbow Fish as a kid, and as an adult.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
One of the virtues that The Rainbow Fish promotes is sharing love and sharing color, which are undoubtedly key parts of a golden heart!

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Props Design

Cynthia D. Lee-Sullivan

Cynthia Lee-Sullivan is in her thirty-seventh season at the American Repertory Theater, most of them as the Properties Manager. She grew up in South Bend, Indiana, attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theater Production from the University of Georgia. She’s had the opportunity to work with all of A.R.T.’s Artistic Directors, many other great theater directors, scores of designers, and theatrical troupes as diverse as Punchdrunk and Le Cirque Invisible.

What do you like most about being a props designer?
The best part of working in props is the creativity, craftiness, and ingenuity involved in getting a show up.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
If I found a magic beanstalk I would climb to the place where all my friends and family who aren’t here anymore have gone.

What is something special about you that makes you stand out?
My energy, enthusiasm, and green eyes are what make me stand out.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A few qualities found in a golden heart are kindness, generosity, and compassion.

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Animation, The Adventure Society

Dave Monteagudo

Animation, The Adventure Society

Dave Monteagudo

Dave Monteagudo is a theater director, film editor, and co-founder of Adventure Society.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite book growing up was Chicken Little because my wonderful mother would do voices for all the animals!

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
I’d want my magic beanstalk to lead to Puppy-land, which is obviously a magical kingdom where all the dogs live and play with humans all day long.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal is my dog Taco, because he’s the cutest and bestest pup in town.

What do you like most about being a theater artist?
My favorite thing about being a storyteller is creating magical moments that enchant audiences and transport them somewhere beyond reality. Strive for fearlessness. Embrace your imagination. And don’t be afraid to get weird.

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Illustration, The Adventure Society

David Mortellito

Illustration, The Adventure Society

David Mortellito

David Mortellito is a NYC-based Scenic Artist and member of Adventure Society, a group that focuses on developing game-based theater and similar artistic endeavors.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite book growing up was Joust by Mercedes Lackey, which is a story about a young serf named Vetch who works for a Dragon Jouster. Vetch learns about the special bond his new master has with his dragon. The only way to do this is to hatch a dragon egg by yourself. Vetch eventually hatches his own dragon, and together, they escape back to his home country across the desert.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
I would love it if the beanstalk led to an enormous TV and a gigantic cloud couch, which would be the most comfortable couch in the entire universe. It would be sooo big and comfortable that everyone could hang out and not bump each other’s elbows.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal is the Komodo Dragon, which can be found on Komodo Island and a handful of other Indonesian Islands. The Komodo Dragon is an awesome animal whose saliva can kill a person. Scientists are still studying its saliva to determine if it produces venom, cultivates toxins in its mouth (from a severe lack of oral hygiene), or a combination of the two. Females have been known to undergo parthenogenesis, which means they can sometimes lay eggs that will hatch without the help of a male dragon.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A heart of gold is made up of many different virtues which anyone can have. I studied Taekwondo when I was growing up, and we had five tenets which, if practiced, help a person to be virtuous. Those tenets are Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit. If a person achieves these things, they likely have a heart of gold.

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Production Stage Manager

Abbie Sage

Abbie Sage

Production Stage Manager

Abbie Sage

Abbie Sage is a senior at Harvard College studying History & Literature and Zooming in from Hinsdale, Massachusetts, hoping to pursue a career in stage management and arts administration.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
I always loved the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales and had a whole book of them as a kid.

What is your favorite animal and why?
I absolutely love cows (Buttercup specifically) and have since I was little.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
I think having a heart of gold comes from kindness, empathy, and a desire to do right by others.

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Assistant Director

Joy Nesbitt

Joy Nesbitt

Assistant Director

Joy Nesbitt

Joy Nesbitt is a senior in Harvard College’s Leverett House studying Social Anthropology and Music, currently located in Dallas, TX. She is so excited to be on the Jack and the Beanstalk team!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale when you were growing up?
My favorite fairy tale growing up was The Princess and the Frog with Princess Tiana.

What is your favorite animal?
My favorite animal is a Meerkat because they exhibit qualities that I know all too well: a little bit of spunk, a little bit of nervousness, and a whole lot of planning!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Find the power inside of you and use it to do great things!

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Cast

Sophie Bauder

Mother

Sophie Bauder

Sophie Bauder

Mother

Sophie Bauder

Sophie Bauder is a senior at Harvard College zooming in from Boston, Massachusetts! When she isn’t chasing Buttercup or dealing with Jack’s shenanigans, she studies History & Literature.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Jack’s Mother and I both care a lot about our family members! (We’re also both a little tired after a loooooong few months.)

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
I would want it to lead back to my home, so I could see my family (and pet my two cats and one dog!) no matter where in the world I’m living!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Read lots of books!! In books you’ll find a thousand stories just as exciting as the ones you’ll see in our show 🙂

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Caitlin Beirne

Grand Storyteller

Caitlin Beirne

Caitlin Beirne

Grand Storyteller

Caitlin Beirne

Caitlin Beirne is a first-year student at Harvard College, planning to study Theater, Dance & Media, and is performing from Mather House on campus!

What do you like most about being an actress?
What I love most about being an actress is being able to share inspiring stories with others! It is always so exciting to be on stage (or on Zoom!) and bring a character’s story to life.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
My character, The Storyteller, and I are both super outgoing and we love to be creative. We also love helping others and being there for our friends.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite fairy tale growing up was (and is!) The Little Mermaid! I absolutely love Ariel’s determination and courage to follow her dreams. She also has such a beautiful voice and loves to sing like me!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
A piece of advice that I have for young audience members is to never be afraid of following your passion. It may be challenging, but in the end, it is so rewarding. Thank you so much for coming to the show and believing in the magic! 🙂

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Jonathan Castillo
Jonathan Castillo

Stuart

Jonathan Castillo

Jonathan Castillo is a Harvard senior studying Theater, Dance & Media and performing virtually from Texas.

What  was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite book series growing up was the Sherlock Holmes books.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Like Stuart, I, too, would like to take from the rich.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
OOO! Probably a treehouse world where it smells like pine!

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animals are penguins! I like how they waddle!

What is something special about you that makes you stand out?
I think I’m very people-oriented! I love meeting new people and interacting with different people!

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
Honesty! Being honest to others and yourself is so beautiful, and will really help you out in the future.

What do you like most about being an actor?
I love acting because it’s so fun making jokes with friends and bringing the script to life.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Have fun! Make sure you play every day!

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James Caven

Itsy Bitsy Spider

James Caven

James Caven

Itsy Bitsy Spider

James Caven

James is a Harvard College senior studying Biology, performing from Brooklyn, NY!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
Growing up, my favorite fairy tale was (and still is!) Rumpelstiltskin. I like the way that the Miller’s daughter manages to beat him in the end!

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Itsy and I both have a big love of climbing; I used to climb the tree in my front yard all the time, and he’s always trying to get up that waterspout.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
If I found a magic beanstalk, I’d want for it to lead all the way up to the moon. I’ve never been!

What is your favorite animal and why?
Snakes are my favorite animal, because even though they seem scary and slimy at first, they’re actually really gentle and fun.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
I think some qualities that make up a heart of gold are kindness, loyalty, and compassion. Kindness to treat others right, loyalty to your friends, and compassion to understand when others do things that aren’t so kind or loyal.

What do you like most about being an actor?
What I like most about being an actor is getting to understand different points of view. When playing a character, you have to really get inside their head; by doing that, you get to learn about how a whole new person thinks, which is so much fun!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
A word of advice I’d give is to not worry too much. There’s a lot of serious scariness out there, but at the end of the day, it’s all about coming together and “telling” our own stories the best we can!

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Odessa Deng

Buttercup

Odessa Deng

Odessa Deng

Buttercup

Odessa Deng

Odessa is a rising junior at Harvard College (on a gap year), studying Neuroscience and Theater, Dance, & Media, currently performing from New Orleans, LA.

What do you like most about being an actor?
My favorite part of theater is the community that forms within every show. Even over Zoom, it has been such a joy to once again connect with fellow cast and staff members during this rehearsal process.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
I absolutely love Buttercup’s determination and confidence, and I hope to channel even a fraction of her energy in my everyday life. I also can’t forget her sass—she’s a cow who knows what she wants!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
I hope that Buttercup empowers you to realize your own worth and unique ability to tackle any new adventure in life, all while having a bit of fun in the process!

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Laura Frustaci
Laura Frustaci

Minnie

Laura Frustaci

Laura Frustaci is a senior studying English and Education performing from Brattleboro, Vermont.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Even though Minnie is kind of a villain, as an actor, it’s important for me to feel connected with her, so I found a few qualities I think we share. Minnie would do anything for her best friend, Stuart, and I would do anything for the people I care about. She’s also a great performer. Like Minnie, I have just as much fun rocking out onstage and performing for people.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal is a cat, because they’re soft and cuddly, but they���re also pretty tough when they need to be!

What is something special about you that makes you stand out?
Something that makes me stand out is my ability to cheer up my friends no matter how sad or stressed they are. I can always manage to make a friend smile or laugh when they’re having a bad day, which is the best feeling in the world.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
I think the most important quality in a heart of gold is being willing to help other people around you, and empathize with them. Empathy is being able to understand someone else’s feelings, and if you can do that, you can know how best to help them out or cheer them up!

What do you like most about being an actor?
My favorite thing about being an actor is that I get to experience other people’s (or animal’s) lives! Getting to play pretend and be somebody else for a whole show is the best job in the world, and I learn something new from every character that I play.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Stand up for what you think is right! Be like Jack, and have a heart of gold. Be courageous, and don’t let anyone push you down or hurt others around you.

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Olympia Hatzilambrou

Fiddler Cat

Olympia Hatzilambrou

Olympia Hatzilambrou

Fiddler Cat

Olympia Hatzilambrou

Olympia Hatzilambrou is currently taking a leave of absence after finishing her first year at Harvard College. She is performing from the Washington, DC area, and she is planning to concentrate in Integrative Biology with a secondary in Music and a language citation in Ancient Greek.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Like Fiddler Cat, I enjoy corny puns and play a stringed instrument in the violin family, though my instrument is actually a viola.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal is probably an octopus because of its cool camouflage and ability to open jars from the inside. (I considered saying cats, but I am sadly allergic to them.)

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
I think the most important quality in a heart of gold is a willingness to listen to others and show compassion to everyone.

What do you like most about being an actor?
My favorite part of being an actor is the opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes—playing a wide variety of characters throughout the years has taught me a lot about having a heart of gold.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
My advice for young audience members is to focus on your own adventure. Your path is unique, so forge it proudly! I wish you the best and hope you enjoy the show!

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Nikita Nair
Nikita Nair

Jack

Nikita Nair

Nikita Nair is a very excited Harvard College first-year student Zooming in from sunny San Diego, California! She hopes to pursue a joint concentration in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Astrophysics.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite story has to be a tie between Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. The heroines of both stories stand up for what is right and don’t take no for an answer.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
I think Jack and I both try to help in any way we can, but we also share a habit of acting without fully thinking (for better or for worse). We’re both also a bit starry-eyed, with our heads up in the sky at times, but we’ll never stop coming up with amazing ideas to try!

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
I’d want the magic beanstalk to grow all the way to the moon. It would be pretty cool if I could actually touch the sun as well.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Just like Jack learns throughout this story, don’t give up, make sure to think creatively, and above all, always remember that you get to tell your story!

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Louis Zekowski

King Giant

Louis Zekowski

Louis Zekowski

King Giant

Louis Zekowski

Louis is a sophomore at Harvard College studying Molecular and Cellular Biology, and he’ll be performing from sunny Burbank, California!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
Growing up, my FAVORITE book ever written was Airman by Eoin Colfer.

What traits do you share with your character in the show?
Like King Giant himself, I have a lot of ambition and TERRIBLE posture.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal has to be the giraffe, because it, like me, is comedically tall and thin.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
In my opinion, confidence, uniqueness, truthfulness, and empathy are the most important traits to make a heart of gold.

What do you like most about being an actor?
My favorite part about acting is getting to learn the same lessons as my characters, and choosing what aspects of their stories I might be able to bring into my life.

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Even strong people sometimes are scared to ask for help! But all of the strongest people have gotten help somewhere along the way.

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Musicians

Guitar

Sedona Farber

Guitar

Sedona Farber

Sedona is currently a junior at Harvard College studying Music and is performing from Los Angeles, California.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
If I found a magic beanstalk, I would want it to lead to a world where artists of any type could roam around freely doing their art every day without other worries. Without distractions from the real world, artists could unleash their craziest ideas and collaborate with any artist they could dream up.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
The qualities that make up a heart of gold would be compassion, empathy, and altruism. In this day and age, it is of utmost importance that we take extra care of the people around us, even if it means committing the smallest act of kindness. It is easy to get caught up focusing on your reality, which is critical, but it never hurts to spend a minute or two each day checking in with a family, friend, neighbor, or even stranger.

What do you like most about being a musician?
The thing I like most about being a performer is that I get to make composers’ and writers’ ideas come to life. Artists’ collaborations function like a family. We each play our part and, as a result, we are left with a satisfying and unified outcome.

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Saxophone

Veronica Leahy

Saxophone

Veronica Leahy

A.R.T.: Amal Walks Across America, Macbeth In Stride, Jack and the Beanstalk. She is a recent graduate of the dual program between Harvard and Berklee and the recipient of the Radcliffe Doris Cohen Levi Prize for musical theater. Member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop.

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Cello

Noah Lee

Cello

Noah Lee

Noah is a Harvard College sophomore (class of 2023) from New Jersey, studying Statistics.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
If I had a magic beanstalk, I would want it to lead to Gao Thai Kitchen in Ramsey, NJ. They have the best Crispy Calamari I’ve ever tasted.

What is your favorite animal and why?
My favorite animal is a Dachshund puppy. They have really stubby legs and long bodies, and I really want one when I’m a bit older.

What do you like most about being a musician?
I love collaborating with my peers because music is meant to be played with others! Productions are more meaningful and fun when they are performed by a group of artists with a collective and unified vision. Also, celebrating a successful production with your colleagues is always a good time 😉

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Violin

Alyssa Kim

Violin

Alyssa Kim

Alyssa is a junior at Harvard College hailing from northern New Jersey studying History of Science!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite book growing up was The Giving Tree—it always taught me the importance of giving back.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A heart of gold has the qualities of courage, understanding, and optimism.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
If I found a magic beanstalk, I would want it to lead to a place where I can see the whole universe at once.

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Additional Staff

Additional Illustrations

Heather M. Morris

Additional Illustrations

Heather M. Morris

Heather M. Morris is the Assistant Scenic Charge Artist at the American Repertory Theater and has been painting scenery for productions since 2010.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
The Last Unicorn

What do you like most about being a scenic artist?
I get to make magical places come to life!

What advice do you have for younger audience members?
Making art can be fun, but it’s also very important!

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Additional Sound Design

Bryan Atterberry

Costume Crafts

Jeffrey Scott Burrows

Costume Crafts

Jeffrey Scott Burrows

Jeffrey Burrows is a theater artist who has been painting and dyeing fabric, making hats, jewelry, footwear, armor, foam structures, puppets, and masks at the A.R.T. for over eight years.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
My favorite twenty-five books were the Freddy the Pig series. They were wonderfully illustrated stories about a clever little pig who lived on a farm in rural upstate New York. Freddy can talk and tries his hand at being a detective, politician, newspaper editor, pilot, and a magician.

If you found a magic beanstalk, where would you want it to lead?
Hopefully Japan because I admire their love of the arts. I also think the beanstalk would eventually have to start growing horizontally instead of vertically to get there. This would be great for me because I am afraid of heights.

What is a word of advice you have for young audience members?
No one is perfect. That is why pencils have erasers.

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Practical Lighting Effects

Sumner Ellsworth

Props Construction

Patrick Goodsell

Mariya Sudarska

Props Construction

Patrick Goodsell

Patrick Goodsell is the Props Carpenter for the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in furniture and musical instrument construction.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
As an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, I believe in a good fairy tale. My favorite story growing up was The 13 Clocks by James Thurber.

What is a word of advice you have for young audience members?
My advice to audiences both young and old is simply to be kind.

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Props Construction

Mariya Sudarska

Mariya Sudarska is the Assistant Props Manager at the A.R.T. She has done a number of productions with the company, as well as an array of shows in Boston, New York, and beyond!

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
When I was very little, my favorite book was a collection of fairy tales by Alexander Pushkin. When I got a little older, it was the Harry Potter series.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
A heart of gold is a kind heart, a heart that is empathetic and fair.   

What is a word of advice you have for young audience members?
Remain curious and continue to believe in magic.

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Voice and Speech

Erika Bailey

Voice and Speech

Erika Bailey

Erika Bailey lives in the Boston area and is the head of Voice and Speech at American Repertory Theater.

What was your favorite book or fairy tale growing up?
Theater Shoes by Noel Streatfield.

What do you like most about being a voice teacher?
My favorite thing about being a voice teacher is that I teach people to raise their voices to speak about things that are important.

What qualities do you think make up a heart of gold?
I think that a heart of gold comes from being a good listener who responds generously.

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