For theater fans, last November was a very sad time. The passing of renowned composer Stephen Sondheim at the age of 91 left many turning to design their own tributes. Many covered his endless classics and began planning ways to bring his work to life going into 2022 and hopefully the first full year of live theater since 2019. Among them was The Rose Center Theater’s musical director Tim Nelson. As he stood before the anticipatory crowd waiting to see their production of Into the Woods, he announced that Sondheim’s passing inspired him to acquire the rights to put on the show. While they had put on various productions the previous year (including The Music Man), this was their first fully staged production in a few years.
For those lucky enough to see it on February 20, 2022, there was even a fun preshow from a local performance group. From the second floor of the venue, a student group performed a mix of his classics, ranging from West Side Story and Company to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With nothing more than harmonizing and small dance moves, they proved the versatility of his work. It was a delight predecessor to the doors opening to reveal the auditorium, already designed with a two-tiered stage and backdrop that will come to project everything from birds flying towards a window to giants wandering the forest. The vivid imagery already left plenty to predict for the afternoon to follow.
Into the Woods is not a simple show to explain. On the surface, it incorporates various fairytale icons from The Brothers Grimm in the way only Sondheim and book writer James Lapine could. It’s at times a satire, finding winking humor at the upbeat expectations while adding painful irony of darkness. Among the most prevalent examples is Witch’s (Melissa Cook) blackmailing characters to perform her requests by threatening infertility. A simple sight gag of her pointing a wand at actors’ crotches mixes comedy with the sad realization of how fantasy works. There is cruelty and desperation that is hidden under these absurd concepts. By Act II, the very construct is placed in a more academic conversation, asking the value of telling children these dark, demented stories.
Part of the charm of Sondheim and Lapine is how they really do stick to the original material. It is dark and disturbing. Things like Little Red Riding Hood (Kristen Daniels) running across Wolf (Brennan Eckberg) evolve from a simple fear of being eaten to something more perverse and disturbing. What makes the story exceptional is how it balances the tones, often needing comedy as a source of release. It even shines in transition scenes where various actors perform a Laugh-In style gag where “words of wisdom” get mixed in with misdirects and absolutely confounding statements.
It's a show that never loses momentum despite having several competing plotlines. Certain characters’ paths don’t cross until late in Act I or even later, and yet it always feels like they’re walking in on somebody else’s story. While one plot is playing out in the foreground, there is a handful running across the back, reflecting the passing of time. For a minimalist set, Into the Woods feels exactly like getting lost among the trees and the strange powers it beholds. Everything is in motion, and The Rose Center does an impressive job of keeping that energy going for over two hours.
The whole production reflects the effort of its cast and crew desiring to put on the best show possible. Every bouncy ensemble number is performed with enthusiasm, finding the 10+ minute opening number juggling several melodies and concepts so effortlessly that it shows performers who know how to work together. At one point even the cow Milky White (Dafne Casterjon) gets to have an impressive dance move. The Princes (Raymond Tezanos, Eckberg) also have the scene-stealing “Agony,” which hilariously finds typical heroic woe turning into a literal moment of bearing vulnerability. The show is packed with so many small moments that it’s easy to see why it’s a staple of live theater. Who doesn’t want to play any of these wild reincarnations of lore, especially when getting to sing such standards as “People Will Listen” and “Giants in the Sky”?
This is a show that’s so easy to like thanks to its bizarre spin on classic fairytales. Whereas most interpretations prefer happy endings and reasonable conflict, this is a show that never takes it easy. The direction manages to use every moment wisely. There is always something going on during the stage work, where someone even plays piccolos to indicate the presence of birds. The costume work is excellent, finding every actor able to be differentiated from each other. For as busy as everything was, the limited entrances and exits never felt crowded. Of the few tech problems that occurred, they were swiftly fixed by the start of the next scene.
If this is evident of future productions from The Rose Center to come, then they’re definitely ones to keep on your radar. Along with putting on an entertaining show, there is so much effort put into making the show something greater. The actors feel more skilled and the use of craftsmanship is practical and inspired. For a work as towering as this, there are plenty of moments that are easy to spin out of control, but they never reached that moment. Even its abrupt change into a quieter second half is perfectly handled, showing affection for the material that goes beyond loving the characters. It’s an interpretation that is full of great small moments. The show makes for a fun afternoon that proves how Sondheim’s legacy will continue to live on for decades to come. He was a generous composer who gave the performer plenty to work with, and thankfully every part of that is on display here.
Comments
Post a Comment