Arts & Entertainment
Review: 'Into the Woods' by Connecticut Shakespeare Festival
Like the previous production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the show is performed live and in person inside the Playhouse on Park theatre.
WEST HARTFORD - The Connecticut Shakespeare Festival continues as part of Playhouse on Park’s twelfth Mainstage season with an un-Shakespeare production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods.” The theme of the Connecticut Shakespeare Festival’s inaugural season is “Shakespeare and Sondheim.”
Like the previous production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the show is performed live and in person inside the Playhouse on Park theatre. The actors are unmasked and audience members are asked to keep their mask on throughout the performance for their safety.
“Into the Woods,” with music by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, is directed by Sean Harris, the co-founder and co-artistic director of Playhouse Theatre Group, Inc. and Playhouse On Park, with musical direction by Melanie Guerin and delightful choreography by Darlene Zoller.
“Anything can happen in the woods.” This is the promise, and premise, of the much-loved funny and poignant Tony-Award winning epic fairytale about wishes, family, and the choices we make, “the woulds.” The stories of many classic fairytale characters become entangled and reveal what happens after the “happily ever after” that ends the first act. Wishes do indeed come true here, but clearly at a price.
The director notes that “Each one of us goes on our own quest through our own woods, and that quest is full of tragedy and comedy, sorrow and joy. The woods that we travel through are fearful, seductive and exciting and you come out a different person than when you entered.” The performance brings out all of the dark comedy that is laced through the tragic elements.
The cast includes many of the actors that appeared in the recent production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and it was interesting to see them perform their very musical roles in the second production in this festival.
Robert Denzel Edwards takes on the role of The Baker, with Laurel Anderson as The Baker’s Wife. Tania Kass commands the stage as The Witch and gives a heartfelt rendition of “Children Will Listen,” as well as the added song “Our Little World” from the London production.
Olivia Rose Barresi does double duty as Cinderella’s Mom in a magical tree in the woods and her Stepmother; she effectively quick-changes between both roles. The actor also voices the puppet that is Cinderella’s Father.
As the stepmother, Barresi must pretend to carve her daughters’ feet to fit into the left-behind slipper; when no member of the cast was available to take away the second slice, the actress pretended to hand it to this reviewer sitting in the front row, much to the delight of the opening night audience. Kara Arena is lovely as Cinderella.
Chris Bellinger often enters and exits the stage as the musical’s Narrator/Mysterious Man. Jack Dillion is scary as The Wolf and is charming as Cinderella’s Prince, who “was raised to be charming, not sincere.” Isaac Kueber portrays Rapunzel’s Prince; both actors bring out all of the humor in their performances.
The director notes that “Each one of us goes on our own quest through our own woods, and that quest is full of tragedy and comedy, sorrow and joy. The woods that we travel through are fearful, seductive and exciting and you come out a different person than when you entered.”
Squeezing the frightening woods into the low-ceilinged Playhouse on Park proved more difficult than for the first show in the festival. Although it was easy to feel that we had entered the magical forest of “Midsummer,” it was hard to maintain the feel of a heavily wooded area for the Sondheim musical. Actors worked together to become scary trees for the scenes with the Big Bad Wolf; they never returned as such, although some did remain near the audience listening in on the action of the first act. The restrictions of the indoor space became most glaring when the Giant in the Sky enters the story in the darker second act.
Thankfully, the costumes designed by Kate Bunce fit perfectly in every way. The traditional fairytale glamour is toned down just a bit, but there are some lush, patchwork-inspired pieces that set the scene beautifully. The subtle similarities of the wigs worn by Rapunzel and The Witch who raised her were a telling touch. The set designed by Jeffrey Salerno features the cottage of The Baker and a unique curtain; Eileen Oconnor did fine work as the props master/set dresser. The nine pieces of the offstage band did very well with the Sondheim score.
“Into the Woods,” presented with one intermission, runs through August 22. For tickets: www.PlayhouseOnPark.org and www.ConnecticutShakespeareFestival.org, over the phone at 860-523-5900 x10, or in person at the Box Office at 244 Park Rd. West Hartford, CT 06119.
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Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.
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