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Into the Woods by Moonlight Amphitheatre 
Once upon a time, the Grimm brothers (Jacob and Wilhelm) traveled throughout Germany collecting folktales that had been orally passed down for centuries. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack and the Beanstalk make up just a sampling of the many familiar stories made known the world over thanks to the work of the Grimms. These delightful tales, full of magic, romance, and severe moral lessons, have been widely popularized for children, especially through the works of Disney. But the Disney versions, as well as most of the edited stories children grow up on, tend to leave out some of the darker aspects of the original Grimm stories. And it is these darker aspects that Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods delights in.
Into the Woods is a much more adult version of the fairy tales. There's a lot of gore, comically portrayed by the cast (the shoe-fitting scene in Cinderella's house is a revolting riot!). The plot is a montage of numerous fairy tales set mostly in the woods, which is where most of the scarier parts of the stories tended to take place. A baker and his wife are childless, and one day they learn that this is the result of a witch's curse. In order to break the spell, they need a blood-red cloak (much like the one adorning Little Red Riding Hood), a cow as white as milk (Jack might sell them his for some magic beans), hair as gold as corn (which Rapunzel has plenty of), and a slipper as pure as gold (courtesy of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother). During Act One we see familiar stories, plus the less familiar gory details, played out as the baker and his wife go on their odd scavenger hunt. By the end of Act One, all is set to right, everyone is together, and we are prepared to go home happy. But in Act Two, set a couple years down the road, we get a glimpse of what happens after "happily ever after," which is not nearly as happy ... When Jack chopped down the beanstalk and killed the giant, he made the giant's wife extremely upset. Now she's having a titanic tantrum, and she won't stop until she has Jack's head. Will the others turn Jack over to the giantess to save their village and their lives, or will they stand together to fight against the common foe? Add to that some royal marital problems between Cinderella, Rapunzel, and their less-than-charming princes, and we get to see the characters we thought we knew so well dealing with some of the more mundane but very serious problems in life. Before this Grimm sequel is finished, many will die, many hearts will be broken, and many more painful but important lessons will be learned. The Moonlight Amphitheatre has brought together an exceptional cast to perform this darkly delightful musical under the excellent direction of Kathy Brombacher. Turning in a truly outstanding performance is Debbie Prutsman as the Witch who, in addition to being wicked, also gets a chance to show off her more motherly virtues to her beloved, but crazy, Rapunzel. As both the ugly, hunched, wicked witch of Act One and the lovely, stately, but still wicked witch of Act Two, Debbie makes a supremely gifted witch. Another hilarious standout is Mindi Metzger as the compulsively overeating "Little" Red Riding Hood. Whether being hounded by a wolf in the woods, getting a little vengeance on the wolf for eating her and Grandma, or screaming to get her red cloak back from the baker, Mindi's childishly obnoxious voice and expressions are a hoot throughout. The Baker (Scott Dreier) and his wife (Jill Van Velzer), as the "normal" people that you can somewhat relate to, were especially good in the final scenes when things go horribly awry. In the amusing but disturbing "adultery" scene, both Jill Van Velzer and Andrew Samonsky (Cinderella's unbearably pompous prince) turn in great performances -- Jill as the woman smitten by Prince Charming and Andrew as the wolfish seducer. Which segues into Andrew's other role as the humorously hungry Wolf seeking to make a two-course meal out of Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandma. Andrew also combined with Christopher Van Etten (Rapunzel's prince) for two great duets, one in which they lament their chasing of Cinderella and Rapunzel, and one in the Second Act when they lament ever catching Cinderella and Rapunzel, now having their eyes set on a couple of new princesses. The Moonlight Amphitheatre seems the perfect setting for a fairy tale. Nestled in the middle of Vista's Brengle Terrace Park, surrounded by trees and the loud chirpings of crickets, we seem to truly be deep inside the forest, in woods brimming with magical spells, cackling witches, and thunderous giants. Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Narrator/Mysterious Man: Nils Anderson Cinderella: Vanessa June Marshall Jack: Erik McEwen Jack's Mother: Patti Goodwin Baker: Scott Dreier Baker's Wife: Jill Van Velzer Cinderella's Stepmother: Gail Wolford-Beall Florinda: Charna Felthous Lucinda: Johanna Unger Cinderella's Father: Ralph Johnson Little Red Riding Hood: Mindi Metzger Witch: Debbie Prutsman Cinderella's Mother/Grandma/Giant: Karen Schooley Rapunzel: Athena Espinoza Rapunzel's Prince: Christopher Van Etten Cinderella's Prince/Wolf: Andrew Samonsky Steward: Justin Robertson Snow White: Sarah Farrell Sleeping Beauty: Kelly Felthous Director: Kathy Brombacher Choreographer: Lee Martino Musical Director: Elan McMahan Orchestra Conductor: Kenneth Gammie Sound Designer: Peter Hashagen Costume Coordinators: Debe Eddo Carol Wanczuk Carlotta Malone Stage Manager: Stanley D. Cohen |
