BWW Reviews: Stephen Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS at Camp IDS Musical Theatre

It's always exciting to see a director add a twist to an iconic show. This is done with Shakespeare all the time; in the past two years, I've seen a production of Julius Caesar with a gender-bending Caesar (played as a Hillary Clinton doppelganger) and a Twelfth Night set in Ybor City. We don't see these theatrical twists in musicals as much, except at freeFall Theatre. Last November, in their production of Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS, they set it in a psychiatrist office and brought out the Freudian undercurrents of the show. INTO THE WOODS was performed again this past weekend, thanks to director Seth Travaglino and the teenage folks at Camp IDS at Corbett Preparatory School, and they added their own twist: The part of the narrator was expanded from one character to four--a family (father, mother, son, daughter) reading the famous stories and ultimately facing their own loss at the same time the fairy tale characters also suffer tragedy.

Is this twist successful or even necessary? It didn't detract from the show, and I love when a director like Travaglino pushes the envelope, turning his back on the ho-hum obvious and rejecting the stale status quo. But INTO THE WOODS is so vibrant and alive without having to add a twist, and songs like "It Takes Two" and "No One Is Alone" are emotionally charged no matter how many singers you add in them, so my final verdict on the success of this device is up in the air. What I am assured of are the performances in this production, which are overall first rate.

This INTO THE WOODS cast featured some of the most talented teens in the area. Leading the pack is the indomitable Mary Olive Gauthier as the witch, a part made famous by Bernadette Peters (Gauthier sometimes reminds the audience of her, especially in Act 1, which for a performer is a compliment to end all compliments). In Act 1, her witch is a scary-looking, craggily-skinned creature, made up to resemble a weathered old lady--Ozzy Osbourne meets The Phantom of the Opera. Her singing voice is so powerful and her acting chops deliver consistent emotional homeruns. Her versions of "Stay With Me" (heartbreaking) and Act 2's "Witch's Lament" (earthshaking) were positively stellar. Although her make-up was quite successful, her teeth looked too nice, too Pepsodent-white; I would have preferred a darkening of some of the teeth to match the witch's facial hideousness.

It would have been stronger to stage the transformation scene in front of the audience, so we could see that this is the same mega-talented actress. Garthier's Act 2 is strong too, if not as strong, and her "Last Midnight" remains one of my favorite songs. She is astonishing, and she's such a seasoned performer that it's hard to believe that she will only be starting her senior year this coming year. Which is good news for us locals, because we will get to see her performances for another year. But after then, she can go anywhere and do anything--she has a star quality that few in the area possess. Keep an eye out for this young lady.

As Jack, of Jack and the Beanstalk fame, Cameron Schrader is the find of the year. I've seen this young man in Thespian competitions before (his rendition of "Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun" from A Christmas Story is still the best version I've heard of the song), and he is another talented young person to keep on your radar. His Jack is multi-dimensional, and we feel his sorrow and anguish when his cow, Milky White, dies or when he learns of his mother's death. His "Giants in the Sky," as well as all of his vocals, can be summed up in a single word: fantastic.

Two characters are outsiders of the story--the Baker and his wife. David Friedman is sensational as the Baker. His underplayed acting style sometimes seems more suitable for the movies than for the stage, but it works just right in this role. We need a real human being at the center of the action, and Friedman provides an entirely compassionate performance. He is so good, in fact, that we almost forgive him for unforgivably mixing up some of Sondheim's famous lyrics. As his wife, Victoria deRosa has her moments. She has a great look and there was one instance where she shows an inkling of a Joanna Gleason-type dry humor. She sings her key song ("Moments in the Woods") well, but she seems to be missing some of the much-needed levels and humor for the part, which may be due to the short rehearsal period (one week...yes, one week).

One of my favorites in the show is Cinderella's Prince, played with flamboyant gusto by Kenan Roten. I saw Roten as Charlemagne in Pippin last year, and that didn't prepare me for his excellence here. He owns the role, resembling a royal Draco Malfoy, squeezing out every atom of quirky humor. His "Agony" duet with a very funny Alex Rivera (as Rapunzel's Prince) is a showstopper. He even pulls a Chris Pine and tries to rip open his shirt (mirrored by Rivera's inability to do so), and the result is a comedy classic.

Cameron LaVine plays two parts with equal brilliance. His Cinderella's father is a drunken stooge (LeVine rightly plays inebriation as someone trying but failing to act sober instead of the usual "someone playing it drunk" routine). He makes some of the quickest costume changes imaginable to play the Mystery Man, who resembles the melding of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. His is a comedy presence to be reckoned with.

As the lecherous wolf, Cameron's brother, Justin LeVine, brings out all of the oozing sexuality to the role; he's a muscular, Elvis pelvis-swaying beast. In his wolf garb, he looks like a hairy Creature from the Black Lagoon, and he brilliantly brings out the disquieting predator aspect of the part. But there are two wolves in this pack (Rivera is the other one), and this seemed unnecessary even though it's in the script. freeFall did it this way, but that was because there weren't many actors. I'm unsure why they did it here. And I could have done without the Three Little Pigs cameo (reminded me too much of Shrek).

Noa Friedman (David's sister) is a feisty, scene-stealing Little Red; it's not everyone who can sing on pitch with their mouth filled with food. Emma Friedman (David and Noa's sister) hits just the right note in her performance of Rapunzel. Julia Peacock makes for a beautiful, effective Cinderella, and Alanna Gonzalez sounds good as Jack's mother, but she needs to be made to look older. As the family of narrators, Andrew van Wert, Emily Hoerbelt, Catie Clark and Sebastian Hagelstein perform quite well in the show's big twist. Cinderella's Stepmother (Daniela Silva) and stepsisters (Shayna Goodman and Katie Tawzer) are good but always seem to get the short end of the show. Still, the audience loved seeing the actual toe dismemberment of the stepsisters (yes, it's gross, but it's also darkly funny in a Sweeney Todd sort of way).

The set is workmanlike, and Ben Peacock's and Scott Donovan's lightning is quite effective at times. Costumes by Laura Gauthier, Gina Schrader and Billie Valloreo were appropriate. As for the music, you would never know only two people were responsible for the whole thing: Music Director Jeremy Silverman (doing the accompaniment) and Brooke Stuart on percussion; the two of them sounded like a dozen musicians. They helped to make this one of the fastest paced INTO THE WOODS I've ever seen.

There were some minor microphone issues in the Sunday performance, and some choices that didn't work as well as they should have (such as the underwhelming scene where Little Red and her Grandma emerge from the wolf's belly). But there were some moments that were nothing short of astounding--the concept of a row of green umbrellas acting as a beanstalk, for instance, was sheer genius.

But the biggest kudos must go to director Travaglino. He had a remarkable group of young people to work with and, even with just a week of preparation (you would never know watching the quality onstage), he has brought out the best of each performer. It's a thrilling show, stunning at times and, yes, tear-inducing. (It's difficult to hear "Stay with Me," "No More" or "No One Is Alone" without getting misty-eyed.) The cast received a deserved standing ovation, but there's just one problem--the show closed on Sunday. The cast was so good that we wish that this venture INTO THE WOODS would have had a longer run!

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