The Russian doll of a musical teaches all to be careful what you wish for
By Lucie K. Scheuer for the Rogue Valley Times
Like many of the astounding musicals that emerged from the mind of Stephen Sondheim, the musical “Into the Woods” is complicated. It’s a Freudian brain teaser, a dive into cognitive dissonance, a string of hybrid Grimms’ (aptly named) fairy tales set to music. They have been turned upside down, deconstructed and turned inside out.
As with several of Sondheim’s works, it can be dark and disturbing. It can also be funny, ironic and tragic, reaching moments of brilliance. There are so many themes to choose from: the importance of mother-child bonding, the loss of innocence, bitterness and betrayal, the death of magical thinking. Maybe happy endings are not always what they’re cut out to be. Be careful what you wish for.
The version that opened May 31 at Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Allen Elizabethan Theatre has all that and more. The ensemble’s singing is superb. The musical accompaniment by Amanda Dehnert, beautifully orchestrated. The costumes by Linda Roethke, imaginative and clever.
That doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Sondheim is known for theme and variation in his musical-operettas. The skipping rhythm of the “Into the Woods” theme for instance, carries us through a series of stories, tying them all together. The score is at times over-repetitive, with phrases over and under-rhymed. Sondheim’s technique of using iambic pentameter-type phrasing in works such as “A Little Night Music” and “Pacific Overtures” is literary genius. In this musical, it feels as though he got bored, maybe even lazy, with several lines not in agreement.
Although book writer James Lapine did an impressive job of getting the stories to agree, it doesn’t mean storylines are always easy to follow. If you plan to go, it might be wise to have a listen, reviewing the libretto first.
Like a Russian doll, this is a story within a story, within a story.
Once upon a time, there lived a young maiden wishing to go to a festival (Cinderella) and a carefree young man named Jack, being compelled by his mother to sell his beloved cow Milky White, for beans (Jack in the Beanstalk). There’s a little girl with a red cape who wants to visit her grandmother (Little Red Riding Hood). There’s also an angry witch, who has cursed a baker and his wife to be infertile and has kidnapped a little girl, locked her in a castle, where she hasn’t much to do but grow her hair (Rapunzel). In order for the baker and his wife to break this curse and conceive, they must acquire the girl’s red cape, the cow, Cinderella’s slipper and the girl in the castle’s hair.
The production itself is Broadway-worthy, with an ensemble possessing strong and wide-ranging voices. The narration by veteran actor Anthony Heald helps us keep the story straight. There are notable performances by Justin Huertas as Jack (of the beanstalk); Teri Brown as Jack’s mother; Bebe Browning in the role Cinderella; Cedric Lamar as the Baker; Kjerstine Rose Anderson as the Baker’s wife; Rhea Bradley as Little Red Riding Hood, Royer Bockus as Rapunzel, and Miriam A. Laube as the Witch. Other players include: Kiki deLohr, Linda Alper, Michael J. Hume, Ellen Soraya Nikbakht and Daniel T. Parker.
There’s even a larger-than-life appearance by a beloved OSF actor, who almost steals the show.
Ironically, missing from the set of “Into the Woods” are the actual woods. For this production, the staging is minimal, with more of the feel of a concert performance, accompanied by a well-positioned, balanced orchestra.
This writer, on occasion, has pondered whether it was necessary to rewrite these cautionary stories, already packed with life lessons. Yes, there are some “happily-ever-afters” in the original fairy tales, but there is tragedy, too. In the original version, Cinderella’s stepsisters go blind. In some versions of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf gets her. One could argue merging the stories to convey universal themes was admirable, but unnecessary.
Amanda Dehnert’s direction and Ellenore Scott’s choreography make for a thought-provoking evening in the theater. And there are some beautiful and haunting musical numbers, such as “Agony” sung by Jaysen Wright (Rapunzel’s prince) and Eddie Lopez (Cinderella’s prince). There is also the heartbreaking “Stay with Me,” with heart-tugging violins; the regal “Ever After” and the hauntingly beautiful “Children Will Listen.”
Celebrating its 90th year, OSF has dared to revive “Into the Woods,” last presented in 2014. So in a sense it is “twice upon a time” — and once again, it succeeds.
Performances of “Into the Woods” at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 15 S. Pioneer St., Ashland, are scheduled to run through Oct. 11 in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Tickets start at $36; group discounts available. Showtimes, ticket prices and information are available at osfashland.org or call 800-219-8161.
Ashland resident Lucie K. Scheuer is a former copy editor and staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, where her work included features, reviews and a column on films in production. Email her at [email protected]. This review first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
