By Alayna Een
The brightly colored lights of the towering Empress Theatre illuminate the narrow street in the city of Magna, Utah ten minutes before the opening performance of Into the Woods. A cast member shows you to your seat and welcomes you into a fairytale world. A charming cartoon-style set cleverly blends the trees of the forest with brightly colored tomes, adding a subtle emphasis to the “tale” part of this fairytale mashup.
Into the Woods combines the characters and plots of some of the world’s most beloved fairytales. The first act shows the characters pursuing their wishes and ends with a happily ever after for almost everyone. The second act explores the consequences of those wishes, spinning the fairytale world into a chaos. This well-loved musical combines the dreams and disappointments of life to share complex and startlingly real ideas.
Director Beth Bruner really embraced the spirit of the musical both in her directing and in her director’s note. On opening night, she was in the audience, laughing and enjoying the performance along with the rest of us. Choreographer Amy Bodily works wonders within the relatively small space as actors seamlessly move along different levels and create an organized chaos in the group numbers. Music Director Amanda Maloy never missed a beat, providing the music in a subtle, dependable way that allows the actors to shine. As costume designer, Katrina DeKarver helped highlight the rise and fall of the characters in the play and to capture the fairytale magic. Jacob Bruner’s clever set with several levels and rotating doors expands the fairytale world and David Bruner’s light design is an integral part of the storytelling.
I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of community theatre, and I have to say that I was genuinely, and pleasantly, surprised by the high caliber of vocal and theatrical performance in this cast. Stephen Sondheim’s music is among the most difficult in the entire repertoire of musical theatre, but this cast sings it all with scarcely a sour note in the entire extended performance.
Josh Adams plays the Baker, and his good comedic timing and energetic gestures keeps the audience laughing throughout the performance. But he also powerfully bears the emotional weight of his complex character and captures the nuances of the relationship with the Baker’s Wife (Katelyn Johnson). Johnson and Adams work together well and Johnson brings real grit and longing to the role.
Chelsea Lindsay’s Cinderella is the perfect mix of sweetness, uncertainty, and strength. She navigates through demanding vocal parts with the grace of the princess she portrays. Bethany Rasmussen proves that true power can come in small packages. As Little Red Riding Hood, she delivers her blunt lines in the perfect deadpan and carries her treat-loving character through the chaos of the wood and the world, coming out on top. Milo Marsden is a very believable Jack, and his interactions with Cheryl Cripps (Jack’s Mother) are a both humorous and genuine. Cripps is the quintessential worried and overprotective mother and I have to say that seeing her scream and carry on about Jack and the giant at the end of Act One was a highlight of the year 2020 for me.
The character of the Witch (Sara McFarland) is powerful and glamorous and somehow still humorous and genuine when the moment demands. Brandon Welch is the straight-arrow Narrator who, dressed in graduation-style robes, matter-of factly lays out the story. But as the Mysterious Man, Welch dons steam-punk style clothing and brings a fun and futuristic mystique to the role. Lydia Vance is a picture-perfect Rapunzel with the vibrato to match, and her antics in the second act leave the audience laughing.
The royal family is a hilarious blend of frazzled selfishness (with the Stepmother and Stepsisters Robbi O’Kelley, Alyvia Thulin, and Stephanie Benson), self-indulgence (Cinderella’s Stepfather Jason McFarland), and cunning narcissism (Steward, Richard Mitchell). The princes are all of these (Jacob Maxfield and Alexander Richardson) and more. Maxfield captures the haughty self-importance of Cinderella’s prince as a master of hair-flips, but also portrays the prince’s darker side. Emily Jameson tackles three different roles in the production and brings life and energy to Granny, ethereal goodness to Cinderella’s Mother, and a greatness to the Giant.
Every time I step “Into the Woods” I find that there is, to quote the finale, “more to learn of what you know.” The mark of a truly marvelous production is being able to take a familiar play and present some part of it in a new way. I loved the fresh reality and playful back-and-forth of the sibling relationships in this play. I’ve never seen another production pick up on that aspect of the characters of the princes (Jacob Maxfield and Alexander Richardson) and the stepsisters (Stephanie Benson and Alyvia Thulin). I know that any attentive viewer will leave this play not just entertained but enlightened by the personal meaning that can be gleaned from the nuances of the performance. The Empress Theater in Magna Utah lets us wander Into the Woods with them—and we’re all the better for it.
Empress Theatre presents Into the Woods, by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.
Empress Theatre, 9104 W 2700 S, Magna, UT 84044
January 24-February 28, 2020, 7:30 PM
Tickets: Monday, Thursday: $10, Friday-Saturday: $15
Contact: 801-347-7373, empress@empresstheatre.com
The Empress Theatre Facebook Page
Into the Woods Facebook Event
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