BWW Reviews: Glorious INTO THE WOODS at freeFall

Stephen Sondheim has tackled almost every subject in his 50+ years of composing some of the most iconic musicals. There's farce (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum); marriage (Company); show business (Follies); romance (A Little Night Music); the Westernization of Japan (Pacific Overtures); murder and revenge (Sweeney Todd); disillusionment told backwards (Merrily We Roll Along); art and the act of creation (Sunday in the Park with George); assassinations (Assassins); and so on.

You could add fairy tales to that with INTO THE WOODS, but that's unfair and rather short-sighted. Saying INTO THE WOODS is about fairy tales carries about as much depth as saying that Citizen Kane is only about newspaper reporting or that Vertigo is solely about the fear of heights. It's so much more than that, which is obviously the point in the hands of the very clever Mr. Sondheim and James Lapine.

I must give total disclosure and admit that Stephen Sondheim is my favorite composer; yes, I proudly drink the Kool-Aid poured by his many acolytes. Still, I am the first to admit that he can be overrated, darling, irritatingly taciturn, middlebrow-in-disguise-of-being-highbrow and of course dispassionate; then again, he can also be underrated, sensitive, penetrating, astonishingly brilliant and full of robust. Listen to "Being Alive" from Company or "Our Time" from Merrily We Roll Along if anyone ever thrusts around the old Sondheim-is-cold-and-distant argument.

INTO THE WOODS is on everyone's minds these days, with the film version coming out in a couple of months. But before you even think of that, you need to rush over to freeFall in St. Petersburg to see one of the great musical theatre experiences I have ever had. They have taken a show that is far from my favorite and turned it upside down, reimagining it, and now it is as if I have witnessed it with new eyes. Unless the film has some award-winning surprises, this is the definitive version of INTO THE WOODS.

Now, I am not always a fan of re-imagining shows. Even freeFall's highly successful Cabaret suffered, in my eyes, due to the re-imagining (I just can't get over the changed ending, with the post-war Emcee tackling the Nazi flag screaming "No!!!" Although audiences loved it, it took the fangs away and left us feeling safe and comfortable, all things Cabaret should not be.) INTO THE WOODS is not safe and comfortable; it's as edgy and creative as the brilliant freeFall team have ever been. I was left speechless and tearful at the show's end, and I realized that INTO THE WOODS is a wonderful show; it just hadn't been rightfully realized as of yet. And now it has. Because of freeFall's production, I have a newfound appreciation of it.

For years, I have heard the droning debate about Sondheim and his muddy second acts. I'll admit Sunday in the Park with George has some Act 2 issues, but I'm one of the few who appreciates INTO THE WOODS' Act 2 far more than its highly entertaining Act 1. The reason is simple: Act 1 is Fairyland and Act 2 is Sondheimland. Act 1 is the exhilaration of childhood, and Act 2 is adulthood and the consequences of the choices made in Act 1. Act 1 is a gleeful merry-go-round; Act 2 is a somber madhouse that hits you in your gut.

The freeFall set is like a Grimm Brothers playroom, a madman's den. It turns out to be an old-style psychiatrist office, underlining the Freudian aspects of the show (with pictures of the various fairy tale characters and a wolf's head mounted on the wall). In such a small space, we are given more than just woods....we are granted a peek into another world. The show starts with a scream, and Jack and Little Red are in the doctor's den, where they are hypnotized. And then the Victorian specialist, who also acts as narrator, begins with those four magic words, "Once upon a time..." And the show begins, a unique, deliciously creative version of this beloved musical.

The performances are first-rate in what has to be one of the strongest ensembles in recent years.

I first saw Matt McGee in freeFall's 2011 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and he was the ideal Bottom. I realized then that I could watch him read the "V" section of an old Encyclopedia Britannica and be totally entertained. As the narrator of INTO THE WOODS, McGee is filled with surprises at every turn. His voice booms as he commands the stage, and he, like the rest of the cast, has amazing diction that should be studied by all performing arts students. He is a stoic, yet calming presence, telling the tale strongly, and moving the show forward. He is equally good as the Mysterious Man who sells Jack the beans and carries a secret or two.

I first heard Ann Morrison as Mary Flynn in the Merrily We Roll Along original Broadway cast album over 30 years ago. Her witch in INTO THE WOODS is a stunning creation (and yes, I could hear moments of Mary seep through; it was like hearing the voice of an old friend from long ago). The witch is all things, part creepy creature, part broken-hearted mother. Morrison's Act 2 rendition of "Last Midnight" is the best I have ever heard. She sings the hell out of it. And in a single day, it has become one of my favorite Sondheim numbers, all thanks to Morrison's glorious interpretation.

Nick Lerew, so good in Burnt Part Boys, is even better here. His Cinderella's Prince is an arrogant goof, and he sneaks in so many tidbits that the audience winds up in convulsive laughter. He oftentimes changes from Prince to stepsister before our eyes, and even plays the menacing wolf, and anyone in the area interested in seeing versatility personified, needs to see Lerew in this show-stopping role. And yet, when he has to be poignant in Act 2, he certainly rises to the occasion. It's a tour de force and my favorite performance in a show with so much outstanding work.

Equally as good is Katie Berger as Little Red Ridinghood. Her fine work in Burnt Part Boys is only a prelude to her exquisite job here. She gives Red so many shades, from lost little girl to wannabe giant killer. In Act 2, when in danger, she holds a dagger ready to slaughter and her face is almost maniacal in determination; she would make a fabulous Squeaky Fromme if freeFall ever decides to do Sondheim's Assassins.

Act 2 actually belongs to the Baker, and T. Robert Pigott is splendid in the role. His post-Ever After story becomes truly heartbreaking. When he sings "No One Is Alone" with Jack, Little Red Ridinghood and Cinderella, the audience's collective tears flow. Just beautiful. As his wife, Lee Anne Mathews is marvelous. I liked her Kost in freeFall's Cabaret a few years back, but I love her work here even more. (Then again it's a lot easier to adore the one real woman in WOODS who feels like she's stuck in the wrong story versus Cabaret's Nazi-leaning prostitute.)

The rest of the cast does fine work as well. Griffith Whitehurst matches Lerew's goofball energy as Rapunzel's Prince, and he's an absolute hoot as one of the ugly stepsisters. Susan Haldeman is quite strong in a variety of roles. Some of the performers fit their part well and do quality work (like Taylor Simmons as Jack and Donna Delonay as Jack's mom), while others rise to an even higher level of performance with absolutely stunning singing voices (the radiant Joanna Mandel as Rapunzel and the pulchritudinous Kelly Pekar as Cinderella). There is not a bad, or so-so, performance in the lot. Everyone is in top form, and everyone gets his or her chance to be the hero of the fable, to keep the story moving.

But the true hero here is director Eric Davis. His show is brilliantly staged, a maze of bodies, key props and set pieces, moving about in a high adrenaline labyrinth, and yet it never loses us or let's us get lost. Imagine the Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" come to life with fairy tales instead of Alice's journey. There is a giant on the loose, and we see its eyes through picture frame windows (the effect is mesmerizing). Flapping books represent flying birds; secret passageways open and close; and there's a jaw-droppingly creative shadow box rendition of the story of Red Ridinghood, proving that the genius of Eric Davis and his associates knows no bounds. And the moment Little Red and her grandma erupt out of the wolf's stomach (which must be seen to be believed) is an effect that had the audience in stitches; this easily has become one of my favorite scenes of the year.

Mike Wood has outdone himself with an incredible lighting design that perfectly captures the mood of Sondheim/Lapine's tale.

The music is superb. The onstage four-piece orchestra, led by musical magician/pianist Michael Raabe and featuring Burt Rushing's percussion, Mary-Cathryn Zimmer's cello and Diane M. Volpe's violin, is stellar. Michael Foley's choreography adds flavor without losing sight of the story being told.

Sadly, there is no song list in the program. I know that sometimes adding the song titles may be difficult with a show like INTO THE WOODS, but it always helps the audience when they want to remember a special moment from, say, "Agony" or "Children Will Listen." Also, not everyone knows the song titles, and it's just good practice to include one.

I have sat through plenty of bad productions of some of my favorite Sondheim shows (Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along). The score and story of INTO THE WOODS has never ranked high up there for me before now, and my last sentence may anger purists who like their WOODS untouched and filled with pure pageantry. But make no mistake, freeFall's INTO THE WOODS is the finest production of a Sondheim musical I have had the pleasure of seeing on the stage.

INTO THE WOODS plays at freeFall thru November 9th. For tickets, please call (727) 498-5205.

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