Lost In the Woods

Late in the second act of Into the Woods, the Sondheim musical that is this season’s Mainstage, the lead character of the Baker shares a touching duet with his long-lost father. The song, which is lovely and of major dramatic importance, is rendered beautifully by Matt V. Anderson ’03 and Jim C. Augustine ’01. However, despite their best efforts, the only thought echoing in the head of this reviewer was the song’s title—“No More.”

This is not to say that the production is terrible. It isn’t. But it does drag, and a show which should be vibrant comes across as lifeless. The talent of the cast is overwhelming, the production values are first-rate and the musical elements are finely tuned. Yet somehow the total effect of the production is far less than the sum of its parts.

The plot of Into the Woods weaves together well-known fairy tales—including those of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk—with an original plot involving the attempts of a Baker and his Wife to beget a child. The brilliance of the show is its ability to use the fairy tales as a starting point and dig deeper, questioning the value and durability of happiness won too easily. As the lyrics of the finale attest, “Wishes come true, not free.”

The greatest problem with this production is its shallowness; it never attempts to go beyond the fairy tale. Whereas Sondheim puts a complex show with complex characters and meaningful themes in the style of a children’s entertainment, this production, under the direction of Sara B. Heller ’02, captures none of the sophistication or moral ambiguity of the material. It is children’s entertainment. Clear choices about characters’ motivations and rationality don’t register. Instead, the audience is left with gimmicks and inappropriately one-note performances.

Some actors rise above the monotony of the production. Augustine in the dual role of Narrator and Mysterious Man (the Baker’s father), props up the show with his mega-watt personality and nearly walks off with it in his pocket. The witch of Vered A. Metsen ’01 hits the right notes, handling the character’s difficult numbers and especially shining in “Stay With Me.” Joe F. Keefe ’04 surprises no one with his fantastic singing, but also shows excellent timing and genuine vulnerability in the role of Jack. He also goes on to develop one of the most effective relationships in the show, especially impressive because his partner is a cow. The best performance in the show, though, is delivered by Jaclyn A. Huberman ’01, who is perfection as the Baker’s Wife. Her character actually seems to grow on stage, becoming more mature, loving and trusting. “Moments in the Woods,” her second act soliloquy, is not only vocally accomplished, but of greater intensity and emotional caliber than many performances I’ve seen on a Broadway stage.

The rest of the cast is far more hit-or-miss, suffering not because of weak voices or poor acting, but because of odd choices (and in many cases, a complete absence of choices). As the Princes, Christian E.K. Lerch ’04 and Dan P. Berwick ’01, lack chemistry and play so clueless and foppish that the obvious comedy of their duets, “Agony,” is undercut and their overall characterizations suffer. When Berwick, though, shares the stage with the Baker’s Wife or Cinderella he is on the exact right pitch. Karoun A. Demirjian ’03 is clear-voiced as Cinderella, but bland. Though she sounds especially lovely in “No One is Alone,” no sense of the character’s modern or independent spirit comes across. As the Baker, Anderson possesses one of the most thrilling tenors I’ve ever heard, yet he is cast in a baritone role which requires the most emotional versatility of any character in the show. This is problematic because Anderson exhibits little change in mood or tone, and the only time the audience is made aware of the character’s ongoing metamorphosis is when they are directly told he’s changed. It would, of course, be better if these changes were conveyed as well. (Exiting after a line doesn’t count, and walking stage left is not an emotion.)

Sadly, most of the problems in the end seem to come down to the direction. It is no small feat assembling a cast and crew like this, putting up a technically difficult show in a short timespan. But the extra elements that make a show not just functional, but truly great (or even involving) are absent. The characters don’t appear to have relationships with one another. And while fairy-tale characters don’t have to be too deeply etched, their actions need to be believable given their personalities, and their bittersweet solo numbers need to register with the provocativeness with which their lyrics are imbued.

Watching this production, I have no idea why Vivian W. Lien’s ’03 Little Red Riding Hood sings “I Know Things Now” or why the incredibly lusty wolf slipps into Fred Astaire mode for a verse.

The show’s shortcomings are especially apparent in the second act, which is far darker than the first, but has not been treated with a greater sense of urgency. As a result, there is no tension, and the general dullness becomes almost palpable. The song, “Your Fault,” a high energy series of accusations amongst the main characters, plays like an argument over who forgot to walk the dog rather than a passionate dispute with life-or-death consequences. The fact that the characters stand in a straight line for most of the song certainly doesn’t add to the drama. Even small details are overlooked—when the Baker exits the stage, deserting his child, he comments that his son “will be happier in the arms of a princess.” While it would be nice if there seemed to be a sense of importance in that scene, how hard would it have been to actually put the infant in the hands of Cinderella? Forget actually having the princess develop a relationship with the child by rocking him back or forth or protecting him somewhat. It just would have been nice to at least have the Baker’s line make sense.

It’s clear a lot of hard work went into producing a musical such as this; music director Michael D. McNabb ’02 along with vocal director Stephen B. Anderson ’01 have created a show that is musically adept and aurally appealing. This is why the experience of watching Into the Woods is so incredibly frustrating. There’s a lot of hard work and there’s a lot of talent. It just appears that there wasn’t a lot of thought. A few simple questions about what artistic points were being attempted, what the themes of the show are, and what each character wants and learns, could have clarified the show’s unintentional murkiness and eliminated the pervasive dullness. As is, this flat production, despite its appealing visuals, vocals and occasional boffo performances, fails to provide an ending that could be described as “happy ever after.”

Into the Woods will be performed tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. on the Loeb Mainstage.

Into the woods

written by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine

directed by Sara Heller

Through May 5

Loeb Mainstage