Into the Woods first premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Book. It has since been produced throughout the world and was adapted into a major motion picture in 2014. This production marks its first time on Broadway in 20 years.
Where to begin? There’s glamorous Montego Glover as the witch who literally transforms in the woods and who delivers a heartstopping, chilling and beautiful rendition of the late-hour anthem “Last Midnight.” And the lessons she imparts in “Children Will Listen”—echoing the simple dulcet version delivered by Cinderella earlier—are equally powerful. Katy Geraghty takes on the always hungry, always cross but ultimately touching Little Red Ridinghood and who with hilarity and song and some gazelle-like skipping raises the worth of mirth with girth. In so doing, Geraghty reinvents a role which is usually played by pixie-like cuties. Then there’s those audience favorites, the two vain princes, played by Gavin Creel and Jason Forbach, both of whom add endless and enchanting, perfectly choreographed comic touches to every moment they have on stage. There’s the dear puppeteer, Kennedy Kanagawa, who, though wordless, creates one of the productions most original characters whom the audience actually cheers for. I should mention everyone else, but, in the words of the show, “then again no.”
Unfortunately, Block’s performance seemed to be the exception rather than the rule in this production. Despite director Lear deBessonet’s stripped-back production that aimed to make the show feel less mystical and more human, the show felt more intellectually stimulating than emotional.
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