Into the Woods
Great Lakes Theater Festival - Hanna Theatre
Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
Once upon a time . . . used to end with 'and they lived happily ever after'. Didn't it? Maybe once upon a time, they did. These days, there's no guarantees. Well, maybe one. If you go see "Into the Woods" at the Hanna Theatre between now and November 8, you'll be happy you did. Once upon a time, Stephen Sondheim wrote lyrics for the music composed by others-"West Side Story" and "Gypsy" being the most notable examples. But then, he started composing his own songs, and used words written by others, although there are some brilliant shows for which he wrote both words and music! Among these musical theatre classics are "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Company", "Follies", "A Little Night Music" and "Sweeney Todd". In collaboration with James Lapine are "Sunday in the Park with George", "Into the Woods", and "Assassins". 
"Into the Woods" starts with four of the most popular fairy tales and mixes them all up in a stew, slightly fracturing them along the way. "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Little Red Riding Hood," and "Rapunzel," are woven around a previously unknown tale - that of a baker and his wife, who long to have a family of their own. During the first act, we meet all these characters, plus their companions. Cinderella (Emily Krieger), of course has a wicked step-mother (Laura Perotta in a wig, the color of which never existed in nature) and two step-sisters, Cathy Prince and Paige Neal. Jack (Tim Try) has a mother-and what a mother she is, too! Maryann Nagel comes close to stealing the show, as she pushes Jack out to explore the world, then reels him back in again, along with his cow! 
Jack's Mother (Maryann Nagel) keeps a watchful, protective eye over her son Jack (Tim Try).
Erin Childs as Little Red Riding Hood is terrific, both vocally and visually, while Granny (Nanette Canfield) is convincing in her minor role. The wolf? Now, he's a different type of wolf than we're accustomed to seeing, but fun with it all. Derrick Cobey does double duty as wolf and Cinderella's prince. (More about that later.)
'Hello Little Girl' sings the Wolf (played by Derrick Cobey) to a frightened Little Red Ridinghood (Erin Childs)
Rapunzel, for some reason, isn't a major factor, although Alyssa Weldon is more than capable. At least her story provides great scenery-chewing options for the witch, and Jessica Cope takes advantage of every bite! Rapunzel's Prince is Phil Carroll. The Steward is M. A. Taylor, while the Narrator and Mysterious Man are neatly delineated by the one Marc Moritz. There are brief appearances at the very end by Laura Welsh Berg as Snow White (minus dwarves) and Sara Bruner as Sleeping Beauty. The glue that holds all these stories together (should we say flour and water?) is provided by the baker of Tom Ford and his wife--Jodi Dominick. They're a very normal, almost ordinary couple who just happen to live in the woods. The only blight on their horizon is the lack of children, and once the witch hears that-look out! She devises a plan whereby the baker must finagle something of value from each of the characters: Cinderella, Jack, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. If they are successful, and bring her their treasures, she will provide a baby. 
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. From left to right are actors Emily Kreiger (Cinderella), Tim Try (Jack), Marann Nagel (Jack's Mother), Jodi Dominick (The Baker's Wife) and Tom Ford (The Baker)
The first act is the telling of this larger story, wound around and through the familiar fairy tales. It's bright and colorful, with great songs and singing and a good bit of dance. Director Victoria Bussert keeps a brisk pace throughout, while still allowing breathing space between the vignettes, so one is never confused by what is happening. The second act demonstrates how easily everything can fall apart once you have what you thought you wanted. Jack has slain the giant, and now his widow demands Jack's life in exchange. Some of the forest's inhabitants are in favor of turning him over, others resist, with varying degrees of success. All of them lose something of personal value along the way. 
Cinderella (Emily Kreiger) and The Baker's Wife (Jodi Dominick) discuss 'A Very Nice Prince'.
Nothing is as it seems, and when the two princes (Cinderella's and Rapunzel's) do their reprise of the first act's 'Agony' it's all too believable. They're adept at dancing and posturing, but the latter is somewhat distracting from the otherwise believable characterizations. All of the actors sing really well, and while I usually rail against amplification, I must admit this theatre did it right! It's not overloud, and doesn't create shrieks when the singer hits his or her power range. The music director, John Jan Espino put together a small scale orchestra that sounded terrific! 
Tom Ford as The Baker and
Jodi Dominick as The Baker's Wife
Even though the musicians were hidden behind the forest (and these were some HUGE trees!) their sound was exactly right, never over-powering the voices. Choreography was by Martin Céspedes. The set is awesome. Four huge multi-storied trees are spaced evenly across the stage, providing the housing for the four vignettes. Jeff Herrmann cleverly created faces amidst the branches and leaves, and it's fun to try to pick them out. Little Red Riding Hood's tree is especially witty. 
The Witch (actor Jessica L. Cope) casts her spell
The costumes of Charlotte Yetman are mostly bright colored and beautiful - especially Cinderella's ball gown, which gets very hard usage! Lighting is by Norman Coates and sound by Stan Kozak. Stage Manager Corrie E. Purdom kept everything moving smoothly. 
Next up for Great Lakes is their traditional Holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. This production only is at the Ohio Theatre, from November 28 through December 23. The spring repertory is Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors" and Chekov's "The Seagull". These two plays run in the Hanna Theatre from March 25 to May 3. For tickets or other information, call 216.241.6000 or go to the web-site: www.greatlakestheater.org Photos bt Roger Mastroianni
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