Of all the canonical musicals left by Stephen Sondheim† In the woods perhaps more than any other, it lends itself to an extensive design treatment, with its accumulation of fairytale characters, both high- and low-born, and the wooded setting providing as much enchantment as disillusionment. Recent productions in New York have painstakingly conjured up that storybook environment with: scenic beauty or crafty propswhile that of Rob Marshall star movie 2014 was a luscious blend of Brothers Grimm and Disney aesthetic. But the 1987 show about the awkward awakening that follows “happily ever after” works just as well in a stripped-down presentation, emphasizing the questioning revisionism of James RabbitSondheim’s libretto and lyrics.
Such is the case with Lear deBessonet’s wonderful production, which began as a semi-staged concert at the Encores! series this spring and now moves to Broadway for a limited run of 8 weeks, featuring a blend of superlative original cast and sparkling new additions. In the woods is arguably Sondheim’s most humorous show, and this ensemble of some of New York’s best musicaltheater talents has a ball that plays the comedy. But the cheerfulness is never at the expense of the fragile humanity of the characters or the poignancy of the material.
The musical brings together characters from Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, with not one but two princes seeking to marry, a witch seeking to break a curse, and a baker and his wife desperate for a child. They express their desires and see them fulfilled in the first act, before the harsh reality collapses in the second act to shatter their luck as they are forced to reevaluate their choices and consider not only their own destiny, but that of their community. It asks what happens when we get what we want, yet want more; when fantasy dissolves, leaving disappointment behind; and whether the costs of our dreams outweigh the rewards.
Questions of love and justice, courage and cunning, freedom and loss are addressed, echoing the ways in which we all venture “into the woods” and occasionally “stray off the path” at some point in life. “, pursuing danger to ourselves and others. If that sounds like 80s postmodern deconstruction or something from Bruno Bettelheim’s? Using enchantmentup to a point, but deBessonet and her cast balance the light and dark, the playful and thoughtful sides of the material with pleasing delicacy, ultimately offering restorative evidence of how we take tragedy on board and grow from it by learning to forgive ourselves and take care of each other.
Much of that humanistic core comes from the ideal casting of the Baker and his Wife, played with winning chemistry by the stalwart Brian d’Arcy James and singer-songwriter Sara Bareilleswho has shown her music theater bona fide in her own show, Waitressas well as in the role of Mary Magdalene in NBC’s 2018 live TV presentation of jesus christ superstar† And her considerable comedic skills seem to have been honed by her work on girls5eva†
There is real soulfulness in their connection and in the shared desire for a child that makes them so sad that it forces them to make questionable moral decisions. Their Act I song, “It Takes Two”, is a moving affirmation of a couple rediscovering each other. But even when their hopes are answered, they remain incomplete, their conflicting feelings explored in two of the standout songs in the second act of the production – the Baker’s Wife’s “Moments in the Woods,” which explore the limited opportunities of a lifetime. that always “or ,” too rarely “and”; and the Baker’s “No More,” a broken rejection of eternal need. Bareilles and d’Arcy James dig into the existential questions of those introspective songs with vulnerability that cuts deeper because they’ve been giddy for so long with the excitement of what magic can bring.
Their quest — the central journey between a handful of arcs that give this show its brisk forward momentum — is a series of challenges posed before them by their whimsical neighbor, the witch (Patina Miller). To break the spell of their childlessness, she sends them into the forest to fetch “a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold”, and gives them beans from her garden to bargain with. The witch’s hidden motive is to break her own curse and turn her back from a withered witch to her former youth and beauty.
Miller, who has been absent from Broadway since her Tony-winning lead role in pepijn, spends much of the first act in a grotesque mask, scare wig, frowning cloak, and claws, enjoying her character’s gleeful ferocity without completely hiding her underlying despair. Her transformation is a fabulous diva makeover that puts her in a purple dress and cape (with pantsuit option), making her sleek black hair and toned physique match her glam wardrobe. But in a cautionary tale that warns to be careful what you wish for, the external enhancements come at the cost of her powers, meaning when the fairy tale sours, she’s no better off than anyone else in the woods to face disaster. offer.
That cohort includes Cinderella (Phillipa Soo), eager to escape her rut and go to the palace festival, then changes her mind when her prince (Gavin Creel) appears strong, but she marries him anyway. Little Red (Julia Lester) goes to stay with her grandmother (Annie Golden), both look like easy prey for a lascivious Wolf (Creel again) until the Baker shows up on the scene. Friendly boy Jack (Cole Thompson) is ordered by his tired mother (Aymee Garcia) to sell his beloved Milky White, as the wretched-looking cow is no longer producing milk. And Rapunzel (Alysia Velez), locked in a tower, has shared her lilting song and her long golden braid with the witch alone until her own prince (Joshua Henry) wanders by.
The mashup generates plenty of broad comedy, funny jokes, and running gags to echo the recurring musical motifs of “I Wish” and “Into the Woods,” so deftly arranged in the multi-stranded prologue.
Comedic highlights include the dandified Wolf’s “Hello, Little Girl,” where Creel made a perverted first impression before masking his unhealthy appetite behind a smooth soft-shoe routine. The actor is even more glorious as the vain and unapologetically shallow prince (“I was raised to be charming, not sincere,” he later admits), hilariously teaming with Henry as his somewhat reverent brother in their attitude declaration duet, “Emergency .” Henry is best known for his dramatic roles, but his wacky nobility here makes you hope he strays into comedy more often. And that voice is beautiful.
Two gifted young newcomers, Lester and Thompson, both do their part in stealing scenes. Lester’s Little Red is an unabashed millennial right and eagerly helps itself to sweet pastries no one thinks are grandma’s. Her “I Know Things Now” never sounded so amusingly smug, and her deadpan response to the grown-ups is priceless. Thompson’s Jack is her perfect counterpoint – a tender, admirably unsuspecting boy, even when he accidentally causes chaos; his genuine awe when he sings “Giants in the Sky” is infectious, as is his devotion to Milky White.
The cow is one of a handful of captivating doll designs by James Ortiz. You watch his sad eyes and expressive body movements with equal attention to all the major characters, while Cameron Johnson (who defended Kennedy Kanagawa during the judged performance) deftly handles his physical and vocal requirements. The challenge to animate this wordless main character has been taken with any number of concepts in In the woods productions over the years, and this is perhaps the most disarming way I’ve ever seen the cow come to life. The public likes every pretense.
The other lead is Soo’s Cinderella, one of her best roles since her crushing performance as the original Eliza in Hamilton† Pure at heart but endearingly mad, she talks to birds (more fine work by Ortiz), frantically stumbles through the woods on a golden slipper and stops to empathize with the baker’s wife on her quest, even as she refuses to put on the shoe to give. Soo’s crystal-clear soprano sounds lighter than air on Cinderella’s ambivalent self-examination, “On the Steps of the Palace,” and her vocals on “No One is Alone” make that solemn reminder of the comforts of solidarity deeply moving.
The approaching shadow of what is to come pierces the glee everywhere, and the destruction wrought by the vengeful wife of a slain giant – voiced by the priceless Golden and visualized with tremendous ingenuity best left as a surprise – is matched by the individual settlements of each character. Those experiences also become a collective awakening, channeled into the emotionally charged closing track, “Children Will Listen,” Commander led by Miller’s Witch. The character’s other big songs, “Stay with Me,” “Witch’s Lament,” and “Last Midnight,” are all performed by Miller with a similarly rousing feel.
David Rockwell’s simple yet effective design consists initially of dollhouse versions of the houses of Cinderella, the Baker and Jack, suspended above their respective identification props – a bucket, a pastry cart and a milking stool. But even those minimal elements disappear and are replaced by birch trunks and a changing moon in the back of conductor Rob Berman’s 14-piece orchestra, seated on the stage behind the performance space. Hearing Jonathan Tunick’s glittering orchestrations so exquisitely played and sung serves as a beautiful tribute to Sondheim, whose death last November left Broadway with an inconsolable sense of loss, echoed in this show’s somber moments.
Location: St. James Theatre, New York
Cast: Sara Bareilles, Brian d’Arcy James, Patina Miller, Phillipa Soo, Gavin Creel, Joshua Henry, Julia Lester, Cole Thompson, David Patrick Kelly, Annie Golden, Nancy Opel, Aymee Garcia, Ta’Nika Gibson, Albert Guerzon, Brooke Ishibashi, Kennedy Kanagawa, David Turner, Alysia Velez
Director: Lear deBessonet
Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: James Lapine
Set Designer: David Rockwell
Costume designer: Andrea Hood
Lighting designer: Tyler Micoleau
Sound designers: Scott Lehrer, Alex Neumann
Puppet Designer: James Ortiz
Music Director: Rob Berman
Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick
Choreographer: Lorin Latarro
Executive Producer: Nicole Kastrinos
Presented by Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth, New York City Center, Daryl Roth, Hunter Arnold, Concord Theatricals, Nicole Eisenberg, Jessica R. Jenen, Michael Cassel Group, ShowTown Productions, Armstrong, Gold & Ross