Musical review: Into the Woods
Beloved folk yarns jump off the page as Hugh Sheridan and Johanna Allen lead State Opera South Australia’s take on the Grimm-inspired Sondheim masterpiece.
The interlocking storylines of Into the Woods make it one of the hardest musicals to produce, but in Adelaide right now we have a most brilliant production of Sondheim’s masterpiece. Greek Cypriot-Australian director Constantine Costi gives it huge vivacity, and musical direction is first rate under conductor Anthony Hunt. Theatregoers are guaranteed to love it.
First to the work itself: Into the Woods belongs right up there with Sweeney Todd, Company, and Sunday in the Park with George as one of Sondheim’s finest musicals. However, its pacing and complexity make it probably the toughest to perform. This is due to an intricate storyline by writer James Lapine that weaves together no less than four fairytales by the Brothers Grimm.
In addition, Lapine creates a framing narrative in which a baker and his wife wander off into the forest in search of ways to break a witch’s spell that prevents them from having a child.
As the couple navigate a fantasy land in search of the ‘normal’ life, we see Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel all parading colourfully across the stage. But the baker and his wife’s search proves illusory: the Giant tramples on one of them, and the other is left to raise their baby in what ends up as a modern blended family of survivors from these fairytales.
If all this sounds a bit deconstructed, don’t be put off. Instead, enjoy all the craziness. There’s little choice anyway: this production whizzes along at such a speed that trying to digest what’s happening soon becomes a lost cause. This superb new version of Into the Woods sweeps the mind like a dream a series of wild, phantasmagorical experiences. For sure one thinks this is Sondheim’s intent.
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We have an extremely well picked cast, and they give it everything. Headed by Hugh Sheridan as the Baker and Johanna Allen as his Wife, vocal and acting talent is top shelf. Both these singers project a palpable human dimension into their characters, and around them is a team of real distinction. Jessica Dean is Cinderella, Eliza Brill Reed is Little Red Riding Hood, and Rosie Hosking is the formidable claw-fingered Witch. Each excels in their characterisation and vocal delivery.
Meanwhile, Joey Haenen makes a great impression as Jack, a forlorn character who struggles against naïve innocence to gain manliness as he overcomes his mother’s death and helps raise the Baker’s infant son. Nicholas Lester contributes superbly to the important dual roles of narrator and the mysterious forest man who dispenses wisdom to all who need it. Truly, Lester possesses the most impressive elocution of anyone currently on the Australian stage.
Casting strength continues right down the list. Catherine Campbell contributes a brilliant cameo role as Jack’s mother, Jessica Mills wails wonderfully as an emotionally wayward Rapunzel, and we have two excellent princes in Nicholas Cannon as Cinderella’s vainglorious saviour (obligatorily he doubles as the wolf), and Andrew Crispe as Rapunzel’s suitor. Playing right up to the mark, they make a great impression.
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Smaller parts are all memorable. These include Cherie Boogaart as Cinderella’ stepmother, Eleanor Brasted and Michaela Burger as her histrionic stepsisters, and the beguiling non-speaking roles of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, respectively taken by Millicent Brake and Gianna Guttilla.
Fabulous costume design by Jonathon Oxlade helps. Just to note: his rather ingenious set design is the same one used in State Opera’s Hansel & Gretel, which is running concurrently this week, so you’ll immediately notice similarities if you go to both shows.
There was just one small hesitation on opening night when action momentarily dropped a beat. Otherwise, all flowed faultlessly.
Under Costi’s direction, these beloved Grimm folk yarns jump vividly off the page as they steadily gain in seriousness. In the second act, arguments break out and tempers flare in the fast-paced, ensemble piece ‘Your Fault’ – at which point the Giant booms down with a terrorising voice, and thunderclaps shake the theatre. Just wait till you see how well they do it.
Which brings us to the music. Anthony Hunt excels in Sondheim and delivers this score to the highest standard. In the pit are a dedicated little group of 19 musicians from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra who play with terrific rhythmic precision and verve. Sondheim’s taut, sinewy sonorities feel propulsive. And when things get scary, layered sound effects from a pair of electronic keyboards reverberate loudly around the auditorium.
Suffice to say that the whole team under Costi and Hunt are fully in harness. Don’t worry about this musical’s complicated story: there are no heavy intellectual messages to decode, no complex stuff to understand – only a night of wonderful theatre to enjoy.
Just know that Into the Woods is an absolute hit. Cancel all trips to Broadway: it is all here in Adelaide.
State Opera South Australia’s production of Into the Woods continues until August 29 at Her Majesty’s Theatre
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