INTO THE WOODS
The
first show of Reagle Music Theatre of
Greater Boston's 42nd summer season is "Into
The Woods", a musical with music and lyrics
by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James
Lapine. It premiered on Broadway on November
5, 1987 and ran for 764 performances
starring Bernadette Peters as the Witch and
Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife. This
show was inspired by Bruno Bettelheim's 1976
book, "The Uses of Enchantment". The musical
intertwines the plots of several Brothers
Grimm fairy tales and follows them further
to explore the consequences of the
characters wishes and quests. The characters
some new and some familiar set out into the
woods on a quest. Act One sees them pursuing
"happily-ever-after" destinies. The
musical's second half explores what happens
after
"happily-ever-after" as the characters
confront giants, mayhem, conflict and
disappointment. In the end, they discover
that perhaps happiness is simply found in
living the tale and turning the pages. The
main characters are taken from Little Red
Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk,
Rapunzel, and Cinderella, tied together by
an original tale about a Baker and his wife
and their quest to start a family, most
likely taken from an original story of
Rapunzel taken from the Brothers Grimm.
Director Stacey Stephens, musical director
Charles Peltz who also conducts the
fantastic orchestra with
inventive choreography by Wendy Hall and
they come up victorious with this Sondheim
show. The musical numbers in the first act
are light and fluffy like the original fairy
tales but it is the second act that really
grabs you with its poignancy and power. The
multitalented cast does terrific work on
this very difficult show to perform.
Stacey not only directs the show beautifully
but blocks it wonderfully, too. I last
reviewed Stacey as a director in 2007 when
he directed "Singing in the Rain". The set
is by Janie Howland with gorgeous costumes
by Stacey. The three fairytales are
Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and the
Baker and his wife. The main character who
runs in and out of these tales is the witch
marvelously played with high energy by the
sexy Rachel York. She brings a lot of depth
to this role changing from old hag to young
beauty clad in a sexy red outfit in the
flash of the eye. Her first song is about
the vegetables the Baker's father stole
and she puts a curse on the Baker's father
for stealing her vegetables, prevents the
Baker and his wife from having a baby. The
witch only shows warmth to her adopted or
rather stolen daughter, Rapunzel in her
songs "Stay with Me" where she wants the
girl to stay trapped in her tower and in
"Witch's Lament" where she mourns her
daughter after the giant kills her. Rachel's
show stopping number is "The Last Midnight"
and plays this very demanding role extremely
well, capturing the hearts of the audience
while doing so.
Doug Jabara as the Baker and Shannon Lee
Jones as the Baker's wife do many comic bits
in the first act but the power of their
roles really shines through when they tug
your heartstrings. They hunt for four
things to break the curse including finding
the cow. They have other crazy antics
that liven up the proceedings with their
wild machinations. Shannon's "Moments in the
Woods" after her tryst with Cinderella's
prince is very poignant. I reviewed Shannon
last year at Foothills Theatre as Miss Mona
in "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". His
most poignant song is his duet with his
father in "No More" after the giant kills
his wife. The audience is left in tears at
the close of this song. The role of
Cinderella is played by McCaela Donovan who
has a gorgeous soprano voice. She wants to
go to the festival being thrown by the King.
Her voice soars in many numbers but is most
impressive in "No Is Alone" where she
comforts Red Riding Hood by saying her dead
mother and grandmother's spirits will never
leave her alone. Allison Russell plays Red
Riding Hood. She buys bread and sweets from
the Baker in the first act for granny but
devours it before she gets to her house. Her
encounter with the wolf enlightens her in "I
Know Now". She becomes stronger and a little
more blood thirsty when she and granny skin
the wolf and she carries the knife for
protection during the rest of the show.
Little Red Riding Hood learns that you have
to be careful what you wish for. Gregory
Issac Stone plays the dimwitted Jack who
sells his beloved cow Milky White for the
magic beans. He is a senior at Boston
Conservatory and shows great depth in this
role. Gregory shows off his powerful singing
voice in "Giants in the Sky" where he learns
a valuable lesson that there will be serious
consequences to your actions so you
shouldn't steal from others.
Scott Wahle does an excellent job as the
narrator of the show. He also plays the
mysterious man who has a secret that he is
hiding. Two of the biggest scene stealers in
this show are the two princes.Ayal
Miodovnik plays Cinderella's Prince
and Brennan Roach is Rapunzel's Prince. They
stop the show with their hilarious song
"Agony" which is my favorite song in this
show. In the first act they are suffering
because they can't get the girls they want
to be their wives while in the second
act their agony is because they have the 2
women as their wives. They explain that
"Royalty just can't make up its mind. Their
acting is sublime with the right amount of
pomposity in these roles.Ayal also plays the
wolf, after he eats granny, he snores in bed
and the Baker realizes who he is kills him.
Ayal also does a comical tango with Red
Riding Hood. Gorgeous blonde Krista
Buccellato plays Rapunzel who is trapped in
a high tower. She also has a fantastic
soprano voice. Catherine Lee Christie is a
hoot as Jack's cantankerous mother. Her
laugh out loud moments come whether she is
yelling at Jack for being stupid and when
she is telling off the female giant who goes
on a rampage after the death of her husband.
Kudos to the other cast members who do a
tremendous job in this very difficult
Sondheim show. So for a topnotch rendition
of "Into The Woods" be sure to catch this
show at Reagle Music Theatre where you will
find a Broadway style entertainment in MA.
INTO THE WOOD ( 17 to 27 June, 2010)
Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston, 617 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA
1 (781)891-5600 or www.reaglemusictheatre.com