Review Roundup: THE WOODSMAN Opens Off-Broadway

The critically acclaimed play The Woodsman, a uniquely inventive retelling of the origins of Oz's Tin Woodsman, officially opens tonight, February 8, 2016, at Off-Broadway's New World Stages.

Directed by James Ortiz and Claire Karpen and written by James Ortiz with music composed by Edward W. Hardy and lyrics by Jen Loring, The Woodsman ensemble features Benjamin Bass (Kalidah/Munchkin), Devin Dunne Cannon (understudy), Will Gallacher (Pa/Tinker), Alex J. Gould (Tinker/Munchkin), Amanda A. Lederer (The Witch/Tinker), Aaron McDaniel (understudy), Lauren Nordvig (The Witch/Tinker), James Oritz (Nick Chopper), Eliza Martin Simpson (Nimmee), Meghan St. Thomas (Munchkin) and Sophia Zukoski (The Witch/Munchkin).

Based on the beloved writings of L. Frank Baum, The Woodsman tells the origin story of the Tin Man, the woman he loved, and the witch that would stop at nothing to keep them apart.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter: The Woodsman, like so many great fairy tales, is at once charming and disturbing...The evocative mood is set even before the show begins, with the theater's walls covered in tree branches and tiny lights. And it's sustained beautifully throughout the virtually wordless piece, accompanied by a nearly constant, original folk music score played by an onstage violinist. The excellent nine-person ensemble...operate the puppets, ranging from a nearly life-size, scary Witch to fluttering crows to exotic creatures. Although the narrative is diffusely conveyed at times, many of the individual sequences are vividly rendered, most notably Chopper's gruesome transformation into the Tin Man. While lacking overt gore, it's truly the stuff of nightmares.

Marilyn Stasio, Variety: There's a haunting beauty about this dark puppet show...Words have literally become dangerous in the kingdom, so everyone stops talking and now communicate in non-verbal grunts, groans, squeaks, squeals and whistles. They laugh, they cry, they clap their hands, and make all kinds of weird noises -- but they truly do not speak. The only other sound is the expressive but rather hectic violin playing of musician Naomi Florin. The music is not unpleasant, just relentless. Even at 70 minutes, this cacophony of non-speech could drive a person crazy, a reminder that one of the joys of puppetry is its eloquent silences...The puppeteers are proficient and the effects are exquisite...the life-sized tin puppet of the woodsman (tenderly manipulated by Ortiz) is heartbreaking.

Robert Kahn, NBC New York: There's precious little speaking in "The Woodsman," an achingly beautiful play combining puppetry and music that purports to explain how the Tin Man, from the Land of Oz, lost his heart..."The Woodsman" leaves us wondering if Nick will ever experience affection, but there's no doubt he can feel pain. His guttural anguish after being reunited with Nimmee is full of humanity. The charismatic James Ortiz, who is also writer and co-director (with Claire Karpen), stars as Nick. Will Gallacher and Lauren Nordvig are excellent as his parents. Eliza Martin Simpson, with her expressive eyes, makes for a soulful Nimmee.

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