May 27, 2023
Review by Neal Newman
All photos by John Daggett
These days, theater tickets for professional productions can range from over $100 to much higher. Steel River Playhouse’s INTO THE WOODS is professional: technical, musical, direction, singing, and acting—all at community theater prices. Buy tickets.
First, a bit about the show: Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine tell the story of a modern couple whose greatest wish is to have a child. A witch gives them a fairy tale quest to find magical objects in “the woods.” They meet familiar characters such as Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel on their journey. Much humor ensues as Act One concludes with a fairy tale ending. Act two deconstructs all this with Cinderella’s prince having several affairs, Red Riding wearing a hood made from a wolf, and half of the characters ending up dead.
The authors’ themes are twofold. First, the complex relationships of parent and child, and, in the second act, the need for a community to come together in times of trouble where “no one is alone.”
The disturbance in Act Two is a cruel giant who ravages the woods. Since the giant never appears, we must imagine the authors’ purpose. Is it about a pandemic? Climate change? You must decide.
The Steel River Arts Center is a lovely two-theater multi-use complex that is well worth a visit. Director Deborah Stimson-Snow uses the dark black box as the natural woods. We are the trees as the characters scurry among us. Her staging and imaginative stage pictures are a continual delight.
The setting is simple. Hugh Abbot creates an upper level with scaffolding surrounded by selected greenery and a spiral staircase. (Abbot also appears effectively as the steward.) This ambiance is abetted by the yeoman lighting design of Dakota Adams, which bathes the stage in a shadowy mist and features multi-color-changing backgrounds along with many striking special effects. Teal Knight’s charming costumes suggest a long past era but tastefully avoid the garish cliches associated with cartoon fairy tales. Madison Devlin’s sound design creates some “Sensurround” effects for the never seen giant and ensures that all the words can be understood.
Cheyenne Malfaro as Red Riding Hood, Ally Borgstrom as Cinderella, Pat Festa as Jack, Leena Devlin as the Witch, and Rob Tilly as the Baker.
Understanding the words of INTO THE WOODS is vital because Sondheim’s lyrics are dense and assault the audience with their rapidity. Director Snow must be credited for a cast that enunciates through all this verbiage. Sondheim’s music is equally complex and formidable, so credit Musical Director Julie Eurillo for guiding the thespians as they easily conquer the opaque verbosity. She also conducts, splendidly, a reduced but professional orchestra.
Everything comes together cohesively with an excellent cast of singer/actors who are, for once, all in the same show: slightly overripe acting that is still truthful. Standout Ally Borgstrom as Cinderella is sublime in her singing and stage deportment.
Ally Borgstrom as Cinderella
Laura Watson is striking as the hard-edged but vulnerable Baker’s wife. As the Baker, Rob Tilly skillfully carries much of the show’s complex plot.
Laura Watson and Tyreese Kadle as the Baker’s Wife and Cinderella’s Prince
Cheyenne Malfaro as Red Riding Hood
The always scampering Red Riding Hood of Cheyenne Malfaro somehow manages to be obnoxious and adorable simultaneously. The two fairy tale princes, Tyreese Kadle and David Williams, score an act one coup with Agony which perfectly defines Sondheim’s famed ambiguity.
Tyreese Kadle and David Williams as the princes
Leena Devlin’s powerhouse Witch is dominating the entire evening with a stunning Last Midnight and a beautifully sung Stay with Me. Madeline Snyder, Tyler Macready, Allen Puy, Kellie Tully, and Denise Webb are equally memorable in smaller roles, as are Alessandra Fanelli, Amanda Morell, Lauren Kerstetter, Pat Festa, and Betsy Chapman. Obviously, with so many juicy parts, the actors run a terrific romp that spills pleasurably into the audience.
Leena Devlin, center as the witch with Rob Tilly and Laura Watson as the Baker and his wife.
Theatergoers should be aware that INTO THE WOODS is a challenging experience. The authors are more interested in the ideas than the people or the story. This makes many scenes overlong and extremely discursive, with quite a bit of second-act lecturing. It is not a “musical play” like A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC or THE KING AND I, but a “concept musical” that is more an essay than a drama. Many fans adore INTO THE WOODS, but I prefer the non- “concept” NIGHT MUSIC and SWEENEY TODD. Sondheim shares a unique musical gift with Mozart and Wagner that personalizes the individual characters unforgettably. Each character has his unique music, yet it’s all Sondheim. The troupe of INTO THE WOODS are archetypes who lack this delineation. Wonderful, but it cannot be easy to invest in the characters. I find it admirable but not as involving.
It is rare to find a production of such a complex show that is consistently excellent in all departments. Oh, and the curtain call ends with the narrator, Eric Crist, closing the storybook.
Bravo!
Running Time Three hours, including intermission.
SPECIAL NOTE: All evening performances begin at 7 PM. This is for this production only.
INTO THE WOODS runs through June 11—2023, at Steel River Playhouse, 245 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA. Tickets can be obtained at www.steelriver.org or by calling 610-970-1199.