‘Into the Woods’ Review: A Sparkling Revival of Sondheim’s Musical

“Once upon a time.” With those four words, Narrator (David Patrick Kelly) of “Into the Woods” launches the audience into a well-known story. Directed by Lear Debessonet, with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Lorin Latarro, the national tour of “Into the Woods” on Broadway opened at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on March 21. A masterful take on the beloved Sondheim musical, the award-winning revival manages to make the show — which premiered on Broadway in 1987 — still seem fresh.

“Into the Woods,” a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, follows an ensemble cast of characters from different fairy tales as they journey into the woods, each hoping to fulfill their wish. The show has been revived multiple times, most recently in 2022, with a production that began at New York City Center and transferred to Broadway for a six-week run at the St. James Theatre, which ultimately became a six-month run after multiple extensions due to incredible popularity. The revival is now on tour, with several actors reprising their roles from Broadway.

While some revivals extensively rework the shows they’re based on (such as the recent Broadway production of “Oklahoma!”), the new “Into the Woods” is more of a restaging than a full reinterpretation. Without many changes from the original musical, the show delivers exactly what theatergoers anticipated — the original brilliantly written book and score interpreted by some of the most seasoned artists in the industry.

The entire cast is excellent, each actor bringing a fresh and sincere take on their role. Montego Glover (“Witch”) and Stephanie J. Block (“Baker’s Wife”) are standouts in their respective roles. Glover exudes presence every time she steps onstage; she revels in her villainous power, yet her conflicting goals and human desires still show through. Block, a well-known performer in the theater industry, shines both on her own and alongside her real-life husband Sebastian Arcelus, who plays the Baker. They inhabit their roles with an infectious chemistry, particularly in the upbeat duet “It Takes Two.” And Gavin Creel’s charisma is off the charts in his dual role of Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf.

The show’s minimalist set, designed by David Rockwell, works well to draw the audience’s full attention to the cast’s acting performances. Each scene is accompanied only by three houses suspended over the actors’ heads, or a scattering of organ-like trees, to indicate whether the scene takes place in the town or in the woods. The costumes, designed by Andrea Hood, are similarly minimalist, bringing a modern flavor to the fairytale of “Into the Woods” — the Witch, for example, wears a sequined, purple, spaghetti-strap dress throughout the second act. Given the sleek simplicity of the production as a whole, it works.

The show chooses to forgo elaborate sets in favor of visually highlighting the people that make up its cast, orchestra, and crew. Several moving elements of the show, such as flocks of birds, are operated by onstage puppeteers Kennedy Kanagawa and Josh Breckenridge. Rather than just playing a voiceover or reciting lines from offstage, actress Felicia Curry intones the Giant’s booming lines from a microphone stand at the back of the stage. The orchestra, too, is onstage for the entire show instead of playing from a pit, emphasizing the fact that the conductor and musicians are just as integral to the show as the actors.

The show, which takes a somewhat dark turn during the second act, does well to balance levity and solemnity. Parts of the show, particularly Creel’s scenes alongside Rapunzel’s Prince (Jason Forbach), were riotously funny; other parts, such as the conga line of deaths that occur throughout the second act, brought a much needed seriousness and weight to the show. The result is a musical that effortlessly shifts between humor and tears, anger and tenderness. All of this is supported by Sondheim’s superb score, which still sounds fresh and innovative after 36 years — a testament to the longevity of his work.

“Careful the tale you tell; that is the spell,” the Witch sings in the finale. The tale that “Into the Woods” tells is an utter delight — a three-hour enchantment that will leave the audience feeling as if they’ve woken up from a particularly wondrous spell.

“Into the Woods” runs through April 2 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre.

—Staff writer Samantha H. Chung can be reached at samantha.chung@thecrimson.com.