Even with a rushed interview and learning the songs and material only the morning of her audition, Alison Woods scored the part of Luisa in “The Fantasticks.” After quite a short rehearsal and tech process, she and her fellow cast members (Eric McCormack, Harry Groener and Lucas Grabeel) will open the show for what promises to be an exciting run.

Woods recalls, “It was quick! I had only heard of the show before but didn’t know the music. It is quite beautiful, touching and universal, especially the song, ‘Try to Remember.’”

The play, loosely based on “Romeo and Juliet,” is about a 16-year-old girl falling in love with the boy next door, with very poetic dialogue and song lyrics. It’s about a time of innocence, teenage love and infatuation.

Woods started taking dancing lessons at age 2 and never looked back. All her free time and extracurricular activities were devoted to the performing arts, and it has paid off in her adult life as she continues to do what she loves. At Agoura High School, Woods performed in the musical theater productions of “Carousel” and “Guys and Dolls,” and then went off to college at UCSB.

Although she chose to major in psychology, Woods missed performing by her sophomore year. She and a group of likeminded friends put together a fully operated student-run theater company called Shrunken Heads Productions and presented a musical theater/cabaret-like show every quarter. To this day the program is running strong, complete with student-run cast, crew and orchestra.

Upon graduation, Woods again found herself yearning for the stage and landed the role as Princess Giselle in “Disney’s Enchanted Experience” at El Capitan. She then performed in “42nd Street” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and now welcomes the chance to play Luisa in “The Fantasticks.”

Woods believes everyone will identify with the play’s theme, “especially college students, newly experiencing the real world and all life and love have to offer, with beautiful music taking us back to simpler times. You’re sure to come out humming!”



“The Fantasticks” runs May 5-17 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. For more information, visit reprise.org.