Dallas Theater Center presents Into The Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Directed and Choreographed by Joel Ferrell
Music Direction by Gary Adler
Scenic Design Yu-Hsuan Chen
Costume, Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design Yvonne Miranda
Lighting Design Seth Reiser
Sound Design Joanna Lynne Staub
Intimacy and Fight Dir. Ashley White
Stage Manager Laura Elaine Berrios
My thoughts on Into The Woods or …happy now and happy hence and happy ever after!
If I had to choose a favorite musical, it would be Into The Woods. I saw the original casts of The Phantom of the Opera and Into The Woods on the same day. I enjoyed Phantom, but I fell in love with Into The Woods. Sondheim’s beautiful melodies and clever lyrics became part of me. Most of the productions I have seen since have not strayed far from the original. Leave it to Dallas Theater Center to bring a fresh new take to the musical and make Sondheim’s score sound as good as it did back at the Martin Beck Theater in 1988. Wishes, Giants, Witches, and Consequences are newly explored. It’s all very Grimm, but never grim.
I admit to being a skeptic when I entered the Wyly and saw the multi-level green set that looks as if a preschooler designed a putt-putt course. However, once the play starts the genius of Yu-Hsuan Chen’s set becomes apparent and provides the actors with all sorts of spaces to tell the story and even take a pratfall or two.
Director and choreographer Joel Ferrell takes full advantage of the set and the entire space of the Wyly. Characters appear and disappear on every level of the theater and every moment in the woods is enhanced by Ferrell’s choreographer’s eye for movement. Ferrell is an excellent storyteller and his pacing and timing keep the musical lively and always visually exciting. Also adding to the visuals here are Yvonne Miranda’s wigs and costumes that look just right on peasants and royals alike and Seth Reiser’s dramatic lighting, especially when combined with Joanna Lynne Staub’s sound design that let’s us hear all those giant steps.
Music Director Gary Adler and his remarkable musicians make every note of Sondheim’s demanding score clear and precise. Scores like ITW make me appreciate the work of music directors. There are so many instances in the score that require synchronizing with the action on stage and Adler and the musicians make that magic happen even though they are located beneath the stage and must cue the actors on monitors. I do wish there was a way for the musicians to take a bow and be recognized for their work.
And those actors with the beautiful voices…lyrically speaking…
“A servant is not just a dog, to a Prince” The Steward of Cinderella’s Prince doesn’t really sing much but Braxton O. Johnson makes him an imposing, authoritative figure and captures all of his arrogance.
”Look at your nails! Look at your dress! People would laugh at you…” Cinderella’s stepmother played by Olivia De Guzman and her stepsisters Florinda and Lucinda played by Rachel Nicole Poole and Amber Marie Flores are all leading women in character parts and are splendidly fwicked (fun and wicked simultaneously).
“I am no longer a child. I wish to see the world!” Taylor Nash’s Rapunzel does not have many lyrics, but her “ah-ah-ah -ahs” are heavenly and she wins our sympathy for all the nasty things her witch mama does to her.
“Look at that flesh, pink and plump. Hello little girl” Alex Organ is comically menacing as the lean and hungry wolf.
“We’ve no time to sit and dither while her withers wither with her and no one keeps a cow for a friend!” Sally Nystuen Vahle as the beleaguered, frustrated mother of Jack is such a great actor, I forgot that she has also has a lovely voice.
“There are giants in the sky! There are big, tall, terrible giants in the sky!” Zachary J. Willis with his soaring vocals and soulful eyes is quite possibly the best Jack I have ever seen.
“Isn’t it nice to know a lot? And a little bit…not” Hollyn Gayle’s as the self-absorbed Little Red Riding Hood has a terrific voice and an awesome comic delivery.
“Agony that can cut like a knife! Ah, well back to my wife.” Alex Organ as the arrogant, philandering Cinderella’s prince and Christopher Llewyn Ramirez as the dashing, unlucky in love Rapunzel’s prince are both powerhouse vocalists and superb comic actors.
“And then out of the blue, and without any guide, you know what your decision is, which is not to decide.” Christina Austin Lopez is a beyond lovely and angelic voiced Cinderella who is stunning as both a royal and a peasant and, to quote my grandmother, “she could charm the horns off a billy goat.” Or perhaps here I should say the horns off of Milky White.
“Let’s hope the changes last. Beyond woods, beyond witches and slippers and hoods, just the two of us.” Blake Hackler and Tiffany Solano, dressed a bit like they came to the woods from Anatevka, are the central characters of the Baker and his wife who want a child more than anything. These two are a sensational pairing. Hackler, who kept me laughing in DTC’s Clue last year, proves here that he is equally as good in finding the pathos in a character and quite a good singer. Solano, one of DFW’s finest singer/actors, brings warmth and humanity to the wife and I don’t blame her for enjoying her “moment in the woods.”
“I’m not good. I’m not nice. I’m just right. I’m the witch! You’re the world.” That’s right Cherish Love Robinson, you ARE the witch! Whether giving curse reversal instructions, lamenting her daughter, or trying to deter a giant, Robinson’s witch rules the stage. Her dynamic vocals fill the Wyly, and she sings “Last Midnight” with so much power that I was surprised the scenery was left standing.
“Where are we to go? Where are we ever to go?’ Well, if you’re Bob Hess and play the Narrator, Mysterious Man, Cinderella’s Father, Cinderella’s Mother, and Granny, the answer to that question is probably home for a long rest. Hess, looking like a more dapper Mr. Rogers in red sweater and red bowtie, gives a bravura performance as all those characters. Hess is a wonder as all the characters and is rarely off stage during the play. Having one man play all those parts was a directorial decision that turns out to be genius. It was also genius to cast the appealingly avuncular Hess in the role. Hess becomes the soul of the play, and we see all the characters through his lens. Director Ferrell took a huge chance making this change to Into The Woods, but it works wonderfully.
“I Wish!” Last, but far from least are two adorable youngsters. Jaelle Duff and Skylar Johnson, who play the role of Child at alternate performances. This is another addition that Director Ferrell makes to the play and it is one that ties the evening together with a final note of hope and childhood wonder.
This Into The Woods is, to paraphrase the Witch, “a play as perfect as a play can be.” I’ve already been twice and have my tickets for a third visit. You can’t possibly live happily ever after without seeing Dallas Theater Center’s Into The Woods.
***My first visit to the woods was the second preview performance and there were three understudies on who gave excellent performances as Cinderella’s Prince, Jack and the Steward. Esteban Vilchez, Kevin Solis, and Alejandro Saucedo I salute you!
