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Into the Woods
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The Cast
Photo by Ken Jacquesr
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By Rob Stevens
*Critic's Choice*
In the fall of 1986, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairy tale musical Into the Woods had its World Premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. After much tinkering with the show and cast, the show opened on Broadway a year later, winning Sondheim and Lapine Tony Awards for best score and best book, although the musical itself lost out to what is now the longest running musical in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. The creators tinkered with the show some more in 2002 (adding a second wolf, a cameo by the Three Little Pigs and a chorus boy in a cow costume), resulting in a Tony Award for Best Musical Revival although it had a very short return visit to Broadway.
In February, 2006, the original Into the Woods returns to San Diego in a beautifully realized production at Lamb’s Players Theatre. From the opening "Once upon a time" to the final "I wish," director Robert Smyth and his cast have created a perfect confection, a sweet to delight the senses. But this being Sondheim, there is a tartness beneath the sweet, and Smyth and company don’t miss a beat in delivering the goods on what happens after "happily ever after."
Ryan Drummond and Becky Biegelsen make a spunky, sparring, and supportive couple as The Baker and his Wife. It’s their intrusion into the familiar fairy tales of Cinderella (the bewitching Jennifer Shelton), Little Red Riding Hood (a lethal Season Duffy), Jack, of the Beanstalk (the dazed and confused Spencer Moses), and Rapunzel (the hirsutely coifed Chrissy Reynolds-Vogele) that sets the plot in motion. Of course there is a witch, a withered old crone (played to cackling delight by Deborah Gilmour Smyth), whose curse on the Baker’s household can be reversed with a golden slipper, a cape red as blood, a cow as white as milk, and hair as silky and golden as corn. You can see the complications multiplying as all of the above characters and more set off for adventures in the woods.
The cast is in fine voice, backed by six marvelous onstage musicians led by musical director G. Scott Lacy. Gilmour Smyth’s every note is golden with "Stay With Me," "Last Midnight," and especially "Children Will Listen" all beautifully sung. Drummond delivers an impassioned "No More" and teams up with Shelton for a hauntingly rendered "No One Is Alone." But as always in this musical, the showstopper is delightfully executed by the two Prince Charmings (Jason Heil and David S. Humphrey). Kerry Meads lends great comic support as Jack’s mother, and Jon Lorenz and Colleen Kollar add much to the atmosphere in their roles as House Masters, providing various voices as well as setting the stage.
Mike Buckley’s scenic design is simple yet evocative, perfectly setting the stage. Nate Parde’s soft, colorful lighting sets it off marvelously, and Jeanne Reith’s costuming is detailed and amusing. If you have never ventured Into the Woods before, don’t miss this golden opportunity. If you have been in the Woods before, sign up, explore, and discover more with this definitive production.
Into the Woods, produced by Lamb’s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Ave. in Coronado. 619-437-0600. $24-44. Tue-Thur, 7:30; Fri, 8; Sat, 4 & 8; Sun, 2. Closes March 19.
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