REVIEW: Into the Woods (National Tour, Kennedy Center)
Preview: Let it be known that I, Drew Morris, are a noted Into the Woods hater. The last production I saw, at Ford’s in 2019, I found terribly midgrade. And I LOVE Sondheim. Company was one of the first shows I ever had to sit and watch in my sophomore year theatre classes and I was instantly hooked; I’ve only grown ever fonder of Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and plenty of his other hits. Once he died in 2021, I knew a deluge of revivals would be soon to follow, the question was only what was going to come along with the very hyped gender-swapped West End Company revival once theatres were back on their feet. This original NYCC concert production of Woods in 2022 got rave reviews due to its stacked cast. As did the almost-immediately-after Broadway limited run, which quickly evolved into the hottest ticket of the summer and ran into January 2023. It even won the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album against the likes of pop smash SIX and Pulitzer winner A Strange Loop! Needless to say this had a LOT riding on it when it was announced it would be hitting the road with nearly all of its current Broadway cast. But would it convert the nay-sayers? I got opening night tickets at the KC to find out.
Acting: Stephanie J. Block (nice to see you again!), Gavin Creel, Montego Glover, I’m just naming names at this point….but this production has never NOT had a killer, highly marketable cast. There’s 5 Tony nominations and 2 wins among the names I just listed alone. I would have killed to see Joshua Henry and Creels’ “Agony”, as well as Patina Miller as the Witch, on Broadway, but this cast on tour was no joke. Every single performer was on top of their game, delivering the emotional swings demanded of characters like Jack and Red Ridinghood (Cole Thompson, Katy Geraghty) as well as the power-induced chromatic rage of the Witch (Glover). SJB was, honestly, outshined most of the show, though she did deliver when The Baker’s Wife had her moments. Glover stole every scene as the Witch, delivering powerhouse numbers and acting with a chaotic urgency that kept everyone on their toes. I’m a huge Gavin Creel fan so I am proud to report he delivered the sort of princely (and wolfy) charm I expected. Something interesting for this show was the mid-show swap of Sebastian Arcelus for Jason Arbach for the Baker/Rapunzel’s Prince for an unknown reason. I cannot report any noticeable difference in quality, though I did think that Christian Borle would probably murder this role, if he were ever to do it. Of course, the real reason everyone is here to see the show is the masterful puppetry of Kennedy Kanagawa’s Milky White. I’m always in favor of practical effects on stage but I LOVE me some puppetry!! Tell the Wing to give that cow a Tony RIGHT now, so help me god. 10/10
Production: I did not know, going into this that it was basically a concert production. Everyone was hyping this production SO much, I thought they were going to have a giant, robotic giant on-stage. Alas, Lear deBessonet’s direction is very minimal. A platformed black box at most, there’s a center pit for the on-stage orchestra, a colorful lit-up plain background, a number of birch trunks that rise up and down as needed, a rising and setting moon, and that’s mostly it. This is especially annoying in Act I, which I found bland and not even reminiscent of Woods of yore, which would have baroque fairytale designs. Nothing really changes up until the very last number when a beanstalk slithers up the backdrop (never to be seen again, unfortunately). Act II contains some spectacular use of lighting and props, though! The bright colors and contrasts used with the major character deaths by Tyler Micoleau are dramatic, stark, and engaging. Colors swell and flush as the stakes of the plot rapidly shift. The Giantess is cleverly represented by two mobile wireframe boots that stomp around the stage. The climactic death scene of the Witch, she disappears under the crushing embrace of two large, bony hands that fly in from the wings. Costumes were cartoonishly colorful and contained so many great details about the characters, so much kudos to Andrea Hood. The way everything in this show becomes more engaging after an hour and a half is almost frustrating, given how no crumbs about the second act conflict are dropped until the literal dying moments of the first act. 7/10
Book/Music: Let’s get the music out of the way. This is a quintessential Sondheim show through-and-through. Rapped verse, non-hummable rhyme and alliteration, and great use of storytelling through prose. This being said, like above, not my favorite of his. For a guy who’s known for not having the “catchiest” songs, this is a pretty big offender, in my opinion, beyond the title motif that occurs throughout the show. There’s not much you can do to fix that without his estate’s permission, and given his recent death, likely never will be. But what you can do is give this music to a ton of talented actors and have them move it along, which they definitely do- to the point where plenty of songs I used to not like at all get new life with this cast. Glover’s Witch particularly has some of my favorite alliterative lines of any Sondheim piece. If the music may not be my cup of tea all of the time, the lyrics certainly are an interesting read. As for the plot, I’ve never fully discounted ever seeing another Woods production since I really do like how all of the fairy tale plots come together. I think Act I is much too flat, though, given how much happens in Act II. It just feels like we’re all sitting there waiting for them to get their wishes granted, which they’re obviously going to, so that we can get to the good part of when it goes awry. Part of me thinks this show could be a lot shorter, and still remain a 2-act certified Sondheim classic. 7/10
VisDev: It’s not quite sure what you’re getting into from first glance, unless you’ve seen some previous materials about this production specifically. The advertising relies on the blood-red curtain/tree MC Escher illusion, which is fun, but not descriptive; I personally wished it reflected more of the birch trees, or surprising array of vibrant colors used therein. Pre-show staging is a curtain with three homes dangling above three elements that describe the themes of the main groups: a homestead for Cinderella, a baking station for the Bakers, and a milking stool for Jack. The home props are very cutesy and old-timey, which is fitting for the setting. Intermission changes this to a blue and yellow curtain, solely. 4/10
Verdict: An all-star Broadway cast breathes some new life into this Sondheim classic in entertaining, if not limited, style.
