Into the Hoods returns for Christmas
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
INTO the Hoods, the hip-hop version of Stephen Sondheim’s 1989 musical Into the Woods, returns to London – to the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall – for the Christmas season.
Opening on December 16, 2009, it continues until January 10, 2010.
Into the Hoods follows two children who are lost in the hood. An evil landlord befriends them after they have played truant from school and they are offered a room in his tenement block on the condition they work for him.
Reluctantly the children embark on their mission, which leads them to the flats occupied by Spinderella, where they discover gold Adidas trainers; Lil Red, the owner of a bright red hoodie; Rap-on-Zel, the producer of the finest quality long weave in the city; and Jaxx (who lives in the basement), the owner of a white I-pod.
Following its success at the Endinburgh Fringe in 2006 and 2007, Into the Hoods received its West End premiere in 2008 at the Novello Theatre, where it twice extended what was originally a limited season. For the final four week (August 4 to August 30, 2008), George Sampson, the fourteen-year-old winner of Britain’s Got Talent, played one of the lost children.
Kate Prince (Strictly Dance Fever) directs and choreographs Into the Hoods which is performed by 19 adults and nine children (three on stage). Many of the professional dancers have worked with celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Nelly Furtado, Pink, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce and Snoop Dogg.
The company, ZooNation, performs to music from Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, James Brown, Snoop Dogg, Bob Marley, the Chemical Brothers and others.