By Kathryn Olsen
Into the Woods is the most ambitious crossover of all time and Murray City Cultural Arts’ current production doesn’t let you forget it. This Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine epic was first produced in 1986 and has been produced for stage and film alike, but the messages are classic and deeply philosophical. As I have been a fan of the musical for two decades, I rounded up a friend who reads as much into the storyline as I do and headed to the Amphitheater with high hopes.
Three-quarters of the story is managed by the narrator and this is typically played by the same actor who fills the role of a mysterious old man. In this production, however, Director Will Saxton segues seamlessly from his welcoming remarks into taking on the mantle of storyteller. I found this to be an ingenious device, as it then implies that this man-behind-the-curtain orchestrated the entire mess rather than merely breaking a fourth wall to share bits of irony with the watching audience. Act II gets away from him by an uprising of the characters and it’s understandable that without the insider knowledge of their fearless leader, they have to stumble blindly through escalating dramatics.
To understand the rest of the cast, I must take a moment to explain that Into the Woods is the story of four wishes and a motivation. Cinderella longs to escape the subservient drudgery of her life with stepfamily. Jack wishes he could save his family from starvation without having to sell his best friend. Little Red Riding Hood wishes to come to her ailing granny’s rescue. Most important of all, the baker and his wife wish desperately to start a family, but they are hindered by a curse placed by the witch-next-door, who is trying to free herself from a curse of her own through magical means. Because the baker and his wife need to create a curse-breaking potion, they must trick Jack into selling his cow for magic beans. They are called upon to help Little Red Riding Hood slaughter the wolf so she will hand over her cape as a sign of her gratitude. The wife tracks down Rapunzel to steal some of her hair. And over the course of three nights, the baker and his wife chase Cinderella all over a forest trying to get her shoe. The big, bad wolf gets involved, but also plays the role of Prince Charming. Granny (Victoria Pfeffer) later voices a vengeful and marauding giant. The witch is an antagonist to both the oracle-like mysterious old man (Adam Wilkins) as well as the fools who can’t be left alone for five minutes.
Into the Woods in all of its intricacies demands an ensemble cast of characters who initially have no reason to trust each other. They take advantage of weaknesses and naivete and make many missteps because they are often incapable of thinking a few steps ahead of their current position.
The baker’s wife, played by Amy Garrard, has the most striking character development in this production. In most adaptations that I’ve seen, she has been a commanding and decisive person from the start, while her husband fails to understand how invaluable her resourcefulness is. In this version, Garrard wisely chooses to start with less self-assurance and finds her purpose and path as the story continues. She effectively conveys both the woman who is determined to reach her goal of becoming a mother and a woman who wishes she was still in the throes of new love.
Her husband, desperate and bumbling as he sometimes is, is set against this character evolution as someone who, by force of will, is a commanding presence. As the play progresses, he must discover his own ability to both compromise and improvise. His journey takes him through the fear that any misstep will cause him to be a failure. Kirby Saxton’s greatest strength lies in effectively portraying the Baker’s realization that he has to trust his own instincts in a way that puts faith in his vulnerability.
Cinderella (Maren Abercrombie) says toward the end that she lived a nightmare, then married into a dream, and needs to live the rest of her life in-between. Her part in the first act is little more than that of “a beautiful young maiden in a ballgown,” but her journey of standing on her own two feet starts with an epiphany while stuck in a tar trap on the steps of the palace. The audience in the Amphitheater is fortunate to see where she goes once she gets her prince. Cinderella is played with both strength and empathy, which is very true to the person she was at the beginning of the story, but is unforgettable in the end.
Jack, put in the capable hands of Benjamin Standford, has the least character development until the end. He is impulsive and reactionary, but this is vital to the plot. Stanford is certainly one of the youngest people on stage, but has some of the greatest moments of stage presence and his rendition of the life-changing and theatrically-iconic “Giants in the Sky” got one of the greatest and most well-deserved rounds of applause of the entire night. His mother, played by Joanna Noall, is more of a minor character, but the family dynamic is well-done.
Little Red Riding Hood is amusingly portrayed as brazen from the start, while the actress (Emily Voorhees) is darling and optimistic. Her impulsiveness makes you wonder why she doesn’t get killed along the way while recognizing that she could probably talk her way out of any tragedy that should befall her. Voorhees also plays up Red’s more skeptical and sarcastic moment and suggests that she’s gotten this far because she’s the only one with a good head on her shoulders. When robbed, she screams until she gets her way. When attacked by a wolf, she helps slaughter him. It’s no wonder in this version that she helps orchestrate the heroic ending.
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The witch, who is fantastically portrayed by Cari DeCoursey, is the mastermind behind it all, notwithstanding the interference of the narrator and the mysterious old man. DeCoursey is well-cast and has a wonderful voice, but her dramatic and humorous cues alike are somewhat familiar to anyone who has seen take on the role in the DVD of the original cast. DeCoursey’s best and most human moments are visible during the “Witch’s Lament” and “Children Will Listen,” when she stands on her own merits. It made me wish that she had infused the rest of the play with more of what made her bare her soul as an actress.
The stand-out actor in this production of Into the Woods is one who doesn’t typically appear at all. Milky White, Jack’s best friend and plot device, is normally a prop cow being wheeled or bodily hauled around the set. Instead, Rebecca Smith in frilly costume and using walking canes to simulate a four-legged existence stands in. This creates a more believable dynamic with Jack and the cow he can’t part with, but she also interacts with members in ways that steal the show.
For me, one of the best departures from the norm is that the wolf, who only appears in a couple of scenes, is robbed of the predatory sexuality that has been a standard for every other production. When Shelby Saxton entices Little Red Riding Hood with his song, “Hello, Little Girl,” you expect it to have undertones of both lust and bloodlust. This wolf makes it only about the bloodlust and his only objective is filling his belly.
The Amphitheater itself is the perfect venue. The production staff, headed by Set Design and Construction crewmember Gaby DesVaux-Saxton, manages to spread the set not only across the stage, but up various aisles and across the top row. Jack sings the song about his journey into the wondrous kingdom of the giants and his return to the mundane while literally descending from the sky scaffolding to the stage where no one else can relate to his extraordinary journey. The lighting enhances the witch’s mysterious actions and sometimes acts as a filter. The costumes designed by Madison Howell are simple, but appropriate to the characters themselves.
Murray City Cultural Arts’ Into the Woods is a wonderful interpretation of a classic that finds real talent across a broad range of actors. Director Kirby Saxton and his merry company have made it a show that was appropriate for elementary-school children in the audience, but spoke to their elders on a personal level as well. Tear yourself away from your Grimm reading before closing night and bring a box of Kleenex.
Murray City Cultural Arts Presents Into the Woods, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine
Murray Park Amphitheater, 495 5300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84107
July 26-28, 30-31, August 1 8:00 PM
Tickets: $8-35
Contact: 801-264-2614
Murray City Cultural Arts Facebook Page
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