There are very valid reasons why Stephen Sondheim’s classic Into the Woods isn't presented more in
local theater circles across the country.. First and foremost, San Antonio
has never been a big Sondheim town, sadly to say. Sondheim’s music and lyrics are for the
thinking person, and while shows like
Evita and even the classical crossover Sweeney
Todd draw good houses, most of his library of hit musicals go
not produced. Another reason, is the difficulty
in finding accomplished singers and actors that must lyrically spit out the rapid
fire dialogue while still leaving room for vocal expression. Lastly, the very few productions of Into the Woods produced in San Antonio in the past 20
years will always be compared to the almost flawless Alamo City Theatre’s
production, under the direction of legendary director Jerry Pollock.
That being said, The Woodlawn Theatre’s production is superb. Once again, director Greg Hinojosa has raised
the bar of musical theater in San Antonio by staging a fast-paced, well sung,
sharply executed production.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm
fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters'
wishes and quests. The characters are taken from Grimm and other fairy tale
adaptations such as “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”,
“Rapunzel” and “Cinderella”. The musical is tied together by an original story
involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, and their
interaction with a Witch and her curse on them.
The Baker (Ben Scharff) and his Wife (Amanda Golden) lead
the ensemble of characters with strong vocal interpretations of each song and a
very believable relationship. Golden’s
last few moments in the show are some of the finest in all of theatre, sung
with beauty and caring. Certainly Jack
(Trevor Chauvin), is the most hilarious role in the show. His perfect comical timing made every moment
on stage a delight. His Mother (Rebecca
Trinidad) again shows her veteran experience and bright soprano in building
much of the sympathy for her son, who is stealing from the giants at the top of
his beanstalk. The role of the princes
were both wonderfully arrogant and cowardly selfish as they search, find and
very quickly tire of their female conquests.
Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf (Joseph Urick), an excellent actor, delivered his
comedy wonderfully, but lacked the same quality in his singing pitch, which
went from sharp to extremely off key in his devilishly seductive duet with
Little Red (Carlye Gossen). Strangely
enough, his voice was right on for the Agony duets with the other Prince
(Travis Trevino). Trevino was an
exceptional comic force and a great part of this memorable supporting
ensemble. Cinderella (Melissa Zarb-Cousin) played the
role with great sensitivity and comedy.
She displayed a rich instrument, with strong presence in the higher
soprano voice. It was a great pleasure
to hear some of the best of our city’s vocal talent, none more gifted than The
Witch (Megan DeYoung). The entire story
revolved around The Witch and she must possess a heightened dramatic quality to
her acting, a powerful darkly hued voice and a comic flair to pull of the
ensemble scenes. De Young was explosive,
and accented her performance with some of the finest most beautifully sung
pieces in the show. The rest of the cast
all did great jobs, rounded out by Rachel Pena as Rapunzel and Darren Dalton
playing the role of Narrator.
The set, designed by Kurt Wehner and Benjamin Grabill was
gorgeous, utilizing three separate sectional pieces downstage of a lush forest
of greenery, trees and objects that cast spooky shadows during the
performance. Matt Smith’s lighting design was effective and
attractive. Kudos to Music Director
Darrin Newhardt for both conducting a very clean, up tempo musical score and
keeping the diction as precise as it was.
This is usually one of the most important factors in producing a
Sondheim masterpiece. There were times
when the music could have taken a small breath to give the one-lined comedy
zingers a chance, but on whole it made a lively, brisk take on what is already
a fast show.
Into the Woods plays until March 16. A Must See! www.woodlawntheatre.org
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