MurphyMade
I am going to start my story by admitting that Into the Woods has never been one of my favorite musical. I don’t know why, it just never appealed to me and I don’t think I ever really ‘got’ what it was supposed to be about. But that isn’t the end of this story, dear reader, because there is a twist coming …
Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987, the same year as The Phantom of the Opera and while the latter dominated that year’s Tony Awards, the former managed to score three wins for Stephen Sondheim’s Original Score, James Lapine’s Book of a Musical, and Best Performance for a Lead Actress in a Musical for Joanna Gleason. It received seven additional nominations including Best Musical, which it lost to Phantom. It did, however, win the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical as well as four other awards. The show has gone on to be staged in London, and has had many revivals over the years as well as a musical motion picture adaptation, which just proves the show does have a very devoted fan base.
Sondheim and Lapine took various Grimm’s Fairy Tales and mashed them together with various unrelated characters like Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, and a Witch, a Baker and the Baker’s Wife interacting. The first act basically presents each of their stories with the Baker and his Wife the center point around which the other characters revolve (Little Red Ridinghood buys the sweets she intends to take to her Granny from the Bakers, for instance), and concludes with the traditional ‘happily ever afters’, but as they sing ‘Ever After’ as a group, they fail to notice a new beanstalk rising from the ground behind them. Act II shows us what happens after the ‘ever after’ as the characters deal with the threat of a new Giant terrorizing their village, seeking revenge for the death of the first Giant that was killed when Jack chopped down his beanstalk. The second act is filled with tragedy and packs more emotion than Act I, but never fear because there is at least a small glimmer of hope for the surviving characters in the end.
This wild divergence in mood is perhaps what threw me off with my first encounter with the show because the stories we know and love end with the first act. Throwing them and us into a land of terror and chaos in the second is jarring if you aren’t expecting it and the theme of the show seems to be ‘be careful what you wish for’ because many of the characters whose wishes come true do meet tragic ends. There are also strong thematic elements dealing parents and children and how they can clash, with the lesson there being love and respect should trump everything else because you never know when you might lose someone with whom you’ll never have the chance to make amends (as I am a lot older now than when I first saw the show, I do ‘get’ what Sondheim and Lapine were going for). But even with the drama (and second act horror), the show is still full of subtle and laugh-out-loud comedy, and I think this new version of the show really puts an emphasis on the comedy that makes it feel like a much lighter, less oppressive show than I remember, while still maintaining the deep emotion of the second act.
This new version of Into the Woods is also not what you might be expecting, in that it’s not a fully produced, big Broadway musical production with massive sets. This is a staged concert version of the show, with the actors in full costume, but minimal sets that includes three tiny houses floating over the stage, and a collection of tree trunks that lower from the rafters as the character go into the woods (there are also two full moons — the Act II moon is larger than Act I and on the opposite side of the stage). There are steps to various levels of the stage with the orchestra right in the middle in full view. Props are also minimal, but the Milky White cow puppet (manned by Kennedy Kanagawa) was the hit of the night, completely stealing the show. The second Giant’s shoes, moved across the stage by Kanagawa and Josh Breckenridge, were also simple but impressive along with the rumbling sound effects with each ‘step’ taken. This is my first time seeing a show staged in this manner and I think director Lear deBessonet, who also handled the Broadway revival the preceded this tour, took on the project with a lot of imagination and creativity, along with the lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, which actually made me appreciate the show even more.
MurphyMade
One of the biggest selling points of this production is the cast, many of whom appeared in the Broadway revival at one point including Montego Glover (Witch), Stephanie J. Block (Baker’s Wife), Sebastian Arcelus (Baker … and Block’s real-life husband), Gavin Creel (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf), Cole Thompson (Jack), Katy Geraghty (Little Red Ridinghood), Diane Phelan (Cinderella), Nancy Opel (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Jason Forbach (Rapunzel’s Prince), and David Patrick Kelly (Narrator/Mysterious Man). To say that it was a treat to see this collection of performers of this calibre on stage — on a national tour no less — is an understatement. The opening weekend audience at the Kennedy Center got an even bigger, and completely unexpected, surprise due to an unfortunate injury that sidelined Arcelus. Forbach stepped into the role of Baker, and Andy Karl dropped in to reprise his role as Rapunzel’s Prince, getting the chance to cut up once again with Creel (in the show the two princes are actually brothers), especially in the ‘Agony’ number. Everyone was fantastic, obviously having a lot a fun with their roles, feeding off of the energy the audience was giving them. Block and Forbach were outstanding as the Bakers (and it should be interesting to see her doing the part with her husband), who spend the first act trying to gather several items for the Witch to break a curse she’s placed on their family after the Baker’s father raided her garden. Montego Glover is fabulous as the Witch, menacing the characters in Act I and then realizing that wishes come with consequences, and that perhaps she was a little too over-protective with her daughter Rapunzel, who rebels when she finally escapes that tower. Creel is a hoot as the sexy and sinister Wolf at the top of the show, and then just goofy as Cinderella’s Prince, who also learns that having a wish granted may not make him as happy as he expected. Forbach is also terrific as the Baker, a very different character from Rapunzel’s Prince, much more grounded with none of the Prince’s flamboyance. Diane Phelan is wonderful in the thankless role of Cinderella, always running from the Prince and being constantly upstaged by her Stepmother and Stepsisters (Ta’Nika Gibson and Brooke Ishibashi) in Act I, but playing a much larger, more dramatic role in Act II. Kelly makes for a terrific narrator and then brings more comedy to the stage when he doubles as the Mysterious Man. Thompson makes Jack childish and immature, as he should be as a mama’s boy, and then has to deal with real adult emotions when the world is turned upside-down by the arrival of the second Giant. In the end though he is still a child with very adult situations forced upon him and Thompson really makes us feel for Jack. Aside from Milky White, the human scene stealer of the show is Geraghty as Red Ridinghood. This child is much more adult than Jack, sassy with the Bakers, unafraid of the Wolf, and ready to cut a bitch if she has to. You can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on stage, and she also brings some real emotion to the character in Act II. Everyone in this cast is at the top of their games.
And that brings us to the twist in this story because in the end … I loved it. This format, this production, made things a little looser than a fully staged production. It allows the actors to be a bit more playful, to actually react to the audience reacting to them. The minimalism of the sets and props allows you to focus on the performances, the songs, the themes of the show, while then filling in the rest with your imagination … as any good fairy tale should. I was certainly hesitant to venture Into the Woods but this production had me totally under its spell. If you’re a fan of the show, this is one to not miss, and if you’re on the fence about it like I was, I highly recommend taking that journey.
Into the Woods runs about 2 hours 45 minutes with one intermission. Due to some dark material and adult themes, the show is recommended for ages 10 and up, with parental guidance suggested for the 10-12 age group.
Into the Woods runs through March 19 at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Other cities on the schedule include Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and more. Visit the official website for more information. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
“Maybe They’re Magic” – Into the Woods
New York City Center
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
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