Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine’s (book) merging and reconfiguration of various fairy tales, Into the Woods, won multiple Tonys, opened his work up to a new level of accessibility and mainstream appeal, and – especially with the 1991 filmed presentation on PBS – turned a generation onto the possibilities of musical theater storytelling. Short North Stage proves how much beauty still lies in this beloved show with a glowing production directed and choreographed by Edward Carignan.
The flexible, evocative set – designed by Teresa Williams – subtly sets up the class distinctions that are always present in these fairy tales from the first moments. The shabby home of Jack (Carter Minor), his mother (Linda Kinnison Roth), and his best friend, the cow Milky White (Matthew Sierra, on the consistently excellent puppeteering), directly abuts the scraping-by home and bakery of the Baker (Cory Velazco) and Baker’s Wife (Dionysia Williams), with our view into them through what looks like a jagged piece torn off the wall.
When we see Cinderella (Olivia Billings), her father (Ryan Shreve), stepmother (Nick Hardin), stepsisters (Marshawn Clodfelter and Tessa Druhan), or the princes (Jordan Young and Justin LaBelle) in their homes, they’re on raised platforms, as, of course, is Rapunzel (Madeleine McNamara) in her tower. Little Red Ridinghood (Alana Sayat), The Witch (Diana DeGarmo), and the glue of the show – the narrator (Thom Christopher Warren, also the Mysterious Man) and Krista Lively Stauffer’s ethereal Cinderella’s Mother, earthy Granny, and ferocious, aggrieved Giant – hover between places and in the woods of the title, without having homes of their own.
One of the great pleasures of this production is the way it emphasizes storytelling. Over and over again, we see characters – in the moment of calm after something terrible happens – recount for the audience and for themselves. Stories we tell ourselves are crucial to growth and to keeping us stuck in the same place, and we see that theme twist and shift, held up to different light, through the two hours and 45 minute (with one intermission) running time.
The singing throughout is spectacular. DeGarmo seemed to struggle with the rhythmic introductory rap speech she delivers to the Baker and Baker’s Wife, but soared on the show-stopping “Children Will Listen” and the fragile “Stay With Me.” Minor’s heartbreaking read on “Giants in the Sky” reminded me how much I loved that song. The de-sexifying puppet take on the wolf pulled the rug out from under Little Red Ridinghood’s signature number, “I Know Things Now,” but Sayat blew the roof off with her take on it.
Befitting a show about community, about the way self-discovery is shaped by the people we’re around and finding a community, this Into the Woods takes flight on the numbers where characters spark off of each other. Velazco does an excellent job with his character’s arc of coming into his own through giving up a need to control, highlighted on numbers like a shimmering “It Takes Two” with Williams. Williams also shines on “Any Moment” with Young and the “No One is Alone Reprise.” Young does an excellent job showing off two different shades of the spectrum of sleazy charm with the slinky “Hello Little Girl” with Sayat and the surging “Agony” with LaBelle.
Jonathan Collura’s musical direction, leading a tight, six-piece orchestra of Robin Coolidge, Jr. on cello, David Gieseler on trumpet, Matthew Kinnear on violin, William Mayer on drums and percussion, and Tom Regouski on reeds from the keyboard, makes the most out of stripped down orchestrations, implying the right amount of lushness while also skewing it just enough. I registered particularly interesting, appealingly raw horn work from Gieseler.
This Into the Woods hit every beat I hoped for and reminded me how much I love this show. I was heartened to hear people around me who clearly didn’t have a couple of decades of fond associates with the material having a marvelous time.
Into the Woods runs through April 16, with performances at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. For tickets and more info, visit shortnorthstage.org.
(The original Baker’s Wife for this production, Eli Brickey, was in a car accident during rehearsals and is facing an extensive recovery. Anyone who’s seen local theater in the last several years is familiar with her work, and there’s a gofundme for her medical bills and expenses: https://gofund.me/f613e732)