BWW Reviews: Otterbein's INTO THE WOODS Offers a Darker Take on Fairy Tales

Most fairy tales end with the words "Happily Ever After."

INTO THE WOODS is not one of those fairy tales. While it may not be your traditional fairy tale, Otterbein University's presentation of Stephen Sondheim's somewhat dark musical teaches its audience some important life lessons. Mainly not all witches are inherently evil and princes aren't always good.

Get past that and then you'll most likely enjoy the two-act, three-hour musical. The show opens April 9th and runs through April 19 at Cowan Hall's Fritsche Theatre (30 S. Grove St. in Westerville). Set on a lavish stage created by Rob Johnson and backed by a lush 13-piece orchestra conducted by Lori Kay Harvey, a terrific ensemble cast delivers a impressive performance of this classic musical.

At its core, INTO THE WOODS is a story about relationships: the ones between parents and their children, husbands and their wives, and of course a boy and his cow.

Erin Ulman (who plays The Witch) and Natalie Szczerba (Rapunzel) bring to the stage the dynamics of the ultimate overprotective parent. To keep her daughter from experiencing the dangers of the woods, the witch locks Rapunzel in a tower with no windows or doors. After Rapunzel expounds how her mother isolated her, blinded her boyfriend and banished her to a desert island, the Witch explains "I was just trying to be a good mother." Ulman delivers stirring renditions of showstoppers "The Last Minute" and "Children Will Listen" as well as some of Sondheim's best oneliners.

INTO THE WOODS has plenty of love triangles with Jordan Donica being in the center of two of them. In the first act, he plays the wolf who seduces Little Riding Hood (Monica Brown) in the delightfully uncomfortable "Hello Little Girl." Later, Donica slips into the role of Prince Charming. He woos Cinderella (Melanie Sierra), only to have affairs with Sleeping Beauty and the Baker's Wife in the second act. "I was raised to be charming, not sincere," the prince explains.

Even the seemingly most happy of couples seem to have their troubles. The Baker (Kevin Thiel) and his wife (Jenna Miller) spend most of the first act trying to have a child and show off their harmonies in songs like "It Takes Two." In the second, the baker's wife falls under the beguiling spell of a prince for "a moment in the woods."

Ironically, one of the most loyal of the relationships in INTO THE WOODS is that of Jack (Tommy Betz) and his cow (Quinn Lazenby). After he is forced to sell Milky White for five magic beans, Jack vows to buy the animal back. The rapid fire exchanges between Betz, Thiel, Sierra and Brown in "Your Fault" is one of the highlights of the show.

Connor Allston (Rapunzel's Prince), Alex Armesto (The Mysterious Man/Narrator) and Aubree Tally (Jack's Mother) also add to their unique touches to the show while J.T. Wood (Steward), Christopher Marth (Cinderella's Father), Lottie Prenevost (Granny/Cinderella's Mother), Caroline Kane (Snow White), Leah Windahl (Sleeping Beauty), Alison Schiller (Cinderella's Stepmother), Dana Cullinane (Lucinda) and Lauren Kent (Florinda) make the show complete.

Perhaps the biggest difference between INTO THE WOODS and other fairy tale musicals, however, is an unusually the former's rather large body count. More people die in this musical (at least 10 if you figure Milky White) than in the first HALLOWEEN movie (seven) and very few of the cast are left standing at the end.

Still without its darkness, INTO THE WOODS wouldn't be as colorful as a musical. The talented Otterbein cast makes this version of the fairy tales well worth revisiting.

INTO THE WOODS will be performed 8 p.m. April 10-11 and 16-18 at Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall (30 S. Grove St.). The show will also have a 2 p.m. matinee on April 12 and a 10 a.m. matinee April 15 for high school students.

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