Review: Houston's Theater Under the Stars Ventures INTO THE WOODS
By: Gary Laird Dec. 09, 2016
TUTS has done the seemingly impossible. They've made Sondheim cute.
INTO THE WOODS is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals. As usually produced, the story is dark and edgy, with a sharp satiric bite. As in the original Grimm's fairy tales upon which it is based, it's a story of a motley crew of familiar characters who lie, cheat, steal, kill and commit adultery, mostly without compunction. This is not Disney's Cinderella.
The score is composed of some of Sondheim's most memorable lyrics, and the music can tear at the heart, but there is nothing maudlin or sentimental about it.
Let's start with the sets. I found them unnecessarily busy and distracting, especially a sort of gigantic rococo scrollwork floating above the stage. I assume they were supposed to be whimsical, but they kept catching my eye. Then there were the three vignettes representing Cinderella's house, the Baker's shop, and the cottage where Jack and his mother live. Represented individually in elaborate picture frames, they made a cramped space even more cramped. The woods were represented by a changing row of trees, maneuvered by a sextet of lederhosen-clad supernumeraries, adding still more distraction. And finally the backdrop, in a kind of abstract paisley pattern which added more clutter, and a full moon above that. It's all just too much, especially when Cinderella's dead mother is rear-projected on the moon, giving advice to Cinderella and the gang in an unsynchronized otherworldly voice. In this case, less would have been decidedly more.
The first act opens with the principals all onstage in their street clothes. A wardrobe rack is lowered, and each takes his or her costume from it and walks off. My question is, why? It adds nothing to the show, and detracts from the fairytale atmosphere.
From here on things go more or less as they should, laying out the story of each group in turn, until they get to the Witch (Emily Skinner), who enters fully equipped with a stock nose and drastically-applied makeup. We get it; she's unattractive. And totally devoid of any recognizable human quality. I simply couldn't relate. However fine an actress Ms. Skinner may be, she couldn't penetrate through that get-up.
Cinderella (Britney Coleman), properly put-upon by her family, is lovely but vague. She wants something, but what is not clear. She is not helped by the advice a flock of stuffed birds suspended by a branch and dangled overhead by the tree movers. Another unnecessarily complicated bit of business.
Jack (Tyler Jones) is a dimmer bulb than usual, and you wish his mother (Lauren Cohn) would just leave him alone. Their cow, Milky White, is a scaled-up pull-toy that somehow has grown a handle, for easier portability, I guess.
Little Red Riding Hood (Kally Duling) is pretty much annoying, while the Wolf (Jeremy Hays) is saddled with a full prosthetic head, making it impossible to project any sort of real personality. You kind of just want him to put a stop to Red's whining, which he does, in good time. At least for a while.
The Baker (Jim Stanek) and his Wife (Stephanie Gibson) are meant to be the most sympathetic of the characters, but there isn't much conviction.
Gibson's encounter with Cinderella's prince in the forest has always been a favorite of mine, and she dithers just enough to make her point, that life seems always to be "either/or," never "and."
The Princes Charming (Nick Bailey and Jeremy Hays) are stalwart and handsome. Their duet, "Agony" is a highlight, and very well sung.
Rapunzel (Jillian Gottleib) Is given little to do except to run distractedly hither and yon, blubbering. It's no wonder her prince leaves her.
In Act II, there is a bit with an avenging giantess, whose projected shadow is supposed to be menacing, but comes off as cartoonish. Again, too much. Then there is a rather clumsy "transformation" scene wherein the Witch disappears in a cloud of stage smoke and reappears a ravishing blonde in a Jessica Rabbit outfit.
Finally, comes the finale, like nothing I've ever seen in a production of this show, and I don't mean that as a compliment. The principles are joined by what seem to be copies in miniature, played by children in identical costumes, Again, why? I don't really know, except that it makes it more "family-friendly" which seems to be the idea.
The wardrobe rack comes back down, they change into their street clothes again, and exit.
Curtain call, followed by an annoying Houston audience specialty, the standing ovation, which also facilitates an early run for the parking garage.
The cast is talented, and sing beautifully, but they're hampered at every turn by the sets, costumes, make-up and concept, and, as a devotee of Sondheim, I was disappointed.
INTO THE WOODS, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. Through December 18, 2016. Theater Under the Stars, Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For tickets and information, visit tuts.com.
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