Review: Theater West End's Reimagined INTO THE WOODS Finds Magic in a Forest without Trees

At Theater West End, INTO THE WOODS is more like into the attic, which works because if any place is as fearsome as the forest, it's the dark and dingy rafters 'neath our roofs.

Sanford's imaginatively staged production takes its cue from Fiasco Theatre's stripped-down reimagining of the classic Sondheim musical - one of Broadway's most enduring and frequently licensed works. It's set inside an attic, with nearly every actor taking on two parts and playing an instrument to boot. But director Derek Critzer takes liberties of his own. Whereas Fiasco dispensed with the original show's narrator, Theater West End's version has two: an omniscient pianist and a young girl with a storybook.

Those who haven't encountered INTO THE WOODS before won't miss anything at Theater West End. It's still the story of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Jack the giant chaser, a baker and his wife, and the witch that cursed them heading into the same woods at the same time for very different reasons. Their journeys intersect in song and scandal as Sondheim spins the yarn of didactic fantasy into the gold of complex moral quandry. The result is a work as nuanced and astute in its reflection on the human condition as any that music theatre has ever had to offer.

It's also legitimately funny as hell.

Critzer and his cast lean into the hilarious irony already wrapped up in Sondheim's lyrics and James Lapine's libretto with a quickly paced production that accentuates the comedy but still slows down for poignant moments like "It Takes Two" and "No One Is Alone."

The laughs arrive early thanks to Maeghin Mueller's uproarious entrance as the evil stepmother, flanked on either side by Lucinda and Florinda, Cinderella's stepsisters who here (as at Fiasco) are gender-swapped and infused with Millennial malaise. Phillip Edwards and Ethan Lolley hysterically alternate between those sisters, the show's two princes, and its wolves. The double-casting is intentional - in one way or another, they are predators all.

That pattern of purposeful duality continues across all the double casting, adding a level of intrigue to an already layered narrative. The original Broadway production featured deliberate double-casting to a lesser extent, so it's both fitting and impressive that Theater West End finds its own way to expand on that tradition while taking a different approach than either Fiasco or Broadway.

Quinn Roberts (along with Critzer, co-founder at Theater West End) earns authentic sympathy as The Baker. Christine Brandt joins him in that regard as The Baker's Wife, both of them in strong voice throughout. Kate Stenzel's singing is especially lovely as Cinderella and her princess poise is ever on point. Evan Alexander Jones's Jack is boyishly ardent but gives big life to "Giants in the Sky." In a bonus role, Edwards plays Jack's crummy cow and really milks it. Camryn Chiriboga capably navigates Red Riding Hood's journey from naïve and innocent to punchy, vengeful, and wise. Chase Williams is a Grimm-worthy Mysterious Man with delicious theatrical flourish and, briefly, a hilarious Granny to Red. Shout-out too to Williams's whistling in a recurring bit as books that stand in for birds.

Julian Bond and Milan Madison offer contrast in style as co-narrators. Bond is a traditional orator of fairy tales in classical fashion, lending a sense of convention to this otherwise reshaped adaptation. Madison, meanwhile, is remarkably grounded at her young age, stoic to strong dramatic effect, as if she and Critzer are determined to eschew the cloying tendency of child actors in roles of this type.

All eyes are on Marquise Hillman anytime they take the stage, lending The Witch the undeniable presence this role demands. Hillman's voice handles big vocal moments like "Last Midnight" with ease. Their comic timing and dramatic bearing are both strong and well aligned, and Hillman works that Witch's staff with wicked command.

Each time Hillman lifts their staff to cast a spell, stage lights flash to imply magic power. Critzer's lighting design is clever in other ways too, like when colors shift to match each ingredient in The Witch's famous curse-reversing recipe. It's all part of Critzer's wondrous stagecraft, which includes a multi-colored turntable built into the wood-plank attic floor, grandfather clocks that hang on the walls in Wonderlandian whimsy, and ladders that double as towers and trees. There's a patchwork sensibility to it all, a complement to the attic quilt that becomes The Witch's shawl and the rainbow of colored lights that wash the stage in medieval hues.

People and instruments appear in the unlikeliest places, little surprises that keep the audience on its toes, as any adventure in the woods should. Only one of those surprises was sour: an occasional audio issue that lost a line or two on the night of review.

Fiasco said its attic adaptation of Sondheim's classic was built around the idea of inheritance. INTO THE WOODS is a show about things that one generation can impart to another, not unlike the hand-me-downs and antiques that end up in a barren loft. Theater West End approaches INTO THE WOODS like an heirloom of its own, treasured but repurposed as something crafty and distinctive. For Central Florida, it's a chance to see one of the all-time greats in a creative and poetic new light.

INTO THE WOODS runs through February 13th. Tickets are available from Theater West End, where face masks are required for all patrons. Performers are unmasked but fully vaccinated and undergo routine covid testing prior to performance. Returning patrons who sometimes lamented the stiff furnishings here will be thrilled to find all-new seating with comfortable plush cushioning in every single chair, a blend of auditorium-style seats and cabaret-style tables and chairs - a "best of both worlds" approach that combines the enhanced seating capacity of the venue's pre-pandemic floor plan with the intimate aesthetic that came with its switch to social distancing last year. (The plexiglass shields that were once in place between sections have been removed.) Learn more and get tickets at www.theaterwestend.com.

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What did you think of INTO THE WOODS at Theater West End? Let me know on Twitter @AaronWallace.

Photos courtesy of Theater West End, 2022.

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