"Into the Woods" Interview with Cast Member Caroline Jameson

UB Theatre and Dance’s annual spring musical “Into the Woods” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine opens for a single week run at UB, from April 23 – 26, 2026. Tickets are only $10-$25. Get tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=into+the+woods+ub+center+for+the+arts

Originally from Guilderland, NY, senior BFA Music Theatre major Caroline Jameson, who plays The Baker’s Wife, is also minoring in Psychology and Dance in the Honors College. The Baker’s Wife is a warm, intelligent, and quietly restless woman whose longing for fulfillment drives much of the musical’s emotional core. Practical and compassionate, she balances her husband’s anxiety with pragmatism and emotional insight, often acting as the more socially adept and self‑aware half of their marriage.

While deeply committed to the Baker and their shared goal of starting a family, she grapples with unmet desires and a curiosity about the wider world beyond their shop, which leads to moments of moral ambiguity and self‑discovery. Jameson’s most recent roles at UB include Hope in “Urinetown” and Julia in “Fefu and Her Friends” (American College Theatre Festival Acting nominee). This fall, she is excited to begin training in the MFA Acting program at the East 15 International Acting School.

To someone unfamiliar with "Into the Woods," how would you briefly describe the show? 

“Into the Woods” operates as almost two entirely separate productions; Act I is a musical comedy farce, and Act II is significantly more surreal and macabre. “Into the Woods” is very similar to other “fractured fairy tales” that derive characters from Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Aesop’s Fables. My mom and I watched the TV show “Once Upon a Time” together when I was in middle school, and I find a lot of thematic similarities in the storylines, namely the motif that “all magic comes with a price.”

What first made you want to become a performer, and when did you first begin to appear on stage?

My older brother, Daniel, began performing in musicals when I was in 4th grade, and I performed alongside him in “Oliver!,” my very first musical, in 2014. I had pretty bad stage fright as a kid, and it took several years before I realized that it was not fear coursing through my body, but excitement. I’d like to say that I’ve improved my abilities as a musical theatre performer since then, but there is a singularity about the excitement of being in your very first show, and I find myself returning to that feeling every opening night since.

Tell us about your role as The Baker's Wife. What are her motivations and journey?

The Baker’s Wife is determined, clever, and shrewd at times. She is not cruel, but her aim is to do what is necessary to get what she wants, even if that means taking that which does not belong to her. At her best, her wishes are not entirely selfish; she dreams of having a child with her husband and creating a family. Her role in the social caste is determined by her relationship to her husband, who is also stratified by his occupation. The Baker’s Wife, like the other characters in the show, is irrevocably changed by her venture into the woods, and her journey of self‑discovery is a gift to play as an actor.

Your castmate Emmie Chin said her favorite song in the show is "Moments in the Woods," which you get to sing. Do you have a favorite song from the show? What's it like to sing it with a live orchestra?

First of all, I want to shout out Emmie Chin’s brilliant performance in this show, particularly her incredible vocals in the song “Stay with Me.” It is a personal favorite of mine. As musical theatre performers, it is a privilege when we get to perform with a live orchestra, especially with such a lush score by Sondheim. Fun fact: many of the sound effects for this show are created by the orchestra! Keep an eye out for this when you come to the show. :)

What's been one of your favorite experiences on stage, in this show or another?

I absolutely love the creative problem‑solving process that is involved in making a show happen. One of the greatest joys I experience in theatre is when a problem presents itself and everyone becomes determined to work together to fix it. I love the little things, like handing off a prop to a castmate, giving a thumbs‑up or a wave to a crew member during a backstage cross, or the group warm‑up before we all go out and do the show alongside each other. It is truly one of my favorite feelings to experience.

How difficult or easily do you find it to memorize dialogue, lyrics, melodies and then incorporate them with any choreography?

I am a visual learner, and memorizing lines usually comes to me pretty intuitively by creating mental images of how the lines appear in my mind’s eye, kind of like a mental teleprompter. The difficult part for me is more often than not the synthesis of memorizing blocking, as I usually need a few reps walking through spacing before I create muscle memory for it. This show is pretty verbose in its lyrics and language, and we spent many a music rehearsal going over the subtle rhythm and lyric changes between songs and their reprises in order to get it exactly right. We want to make (Music Director and Assistant Teaching Professor) Matt Marco proud above all else!

Who are some of your favorite performers, either from the music theatre world, or just in general? Why?

I really admire actors who began in theatre and have since made a name for themselves in television and film but harken their talents back to their stage experience. Sadie Sink comes to mind, as well as many of the actors from the TV show “The Pitt.” I admire singer‑songwriter performers and I’m a big fan of musical groups such as The Bengsons and Lyons & Pakchar, who create folk‑rock song‑cycle musicals such as “Hundred Days” and “Beau.”

Aside from "Into the Woods," is there a 'dream role' which you've always wanted to play? If so, why?

“Into the Woods” has been my first musical foray into playing a role that is a wife and mother, and I would absolutely love to return to playing the Baker’s Wife again someday. I also have a predilection for high‑energy rock musicals and have dreamed of playing roles such as Natalie in “Next to Normal” and Sally Simpson in “The Who’s Tommy.” I would love to be involved in writing a Duran Duran or DEVO musical, if any budding playwrights have an interest in workshopping this idea with me!

Do you have a sense of what you'd like to do after graduation next year, or is it too early to say?

I am incredibly excited to begin pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Acting beginning in October at the East 15 Acting School in England. In “Into the Woods,” Little Red Riding Hood describes herself as feeling “excited and scared,” and this same feeling resonates with my fear and excitement for what is to come following graduation. I am trying my best to move with the chaos of graduating and finishing my undergrad training rather than against it, and it has been a very arduous but rewarding season in my life. I look forward to what is on the horizon for me, feeling grateful for the connections I have made within UBTHD.