Review Roundup: INTO THE WOODS Opens on Broadway- What Did the Critics Think?

The star-studded New York City Center Encores! production of James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical, Into the Woods, has officially opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Directed by Lear deBessonet, music direction by Rob Berman with The Encores! Orchestra, and choreographed by Lorin Latarro, the revival is the first production of the 2022-23 Broadway season.

The cast includes Sara Bareilles as the Baker's Wife, Brian d'Arcy James as the Baker, Tony Award® winner Patina Miller as the Witch, Phillipa Soo as Cinderella, Tony Award winner Gavin Creel as the Wolf/Cinderella's Prince, Joshua Henry as Rapunzel's Prince, Aymee Garcia as Jack's Mother, Ta'Nika Gibson as Lucinda, Annie Golden as Cinderella's Mother/Grandmother/Giant's Wife, Albert Guerzon as Cinderella's Father, Brooke Ishibashi as Florinda, Kennedy Kanagawa as Milky White, David Patrick Kelly as the Narrator/Mysterious Man, Julia Lester as Little Red Riding Hood, Nancy Opel as Cinderella's Stepmother, Cole Thompson as Jack, David Turner as the Steward, Alysia Velez as Rapunzel. With Delphi Borich, Felicia Curry, Jason Forbach, Alex Joseph Grayson, Cameron Johnson, Paul Kreppel, Mary Kate Moore, Diane Phelan, and Lucia Spina as understudies.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Alexis Soloski, New York Times: Lear deBessonet's superb production of the Sondheim and James Lapine modern classic "Into the Woods," which originated at Encores! in May, has made the journey west and south to Broadway. Despite some cast changes, its humor, wonder and humanity have arrived intact. Indeed, they may glimmer even more brightly at the St. James Theater than they did at City Center. So if you saw that recent staging, should you go into the woods again? Unless your budget doesn't run to Broadway prices, of course you should. To put it another way: Wishes come true, not free.

Adam Feldman, TimeOut New York: DeBessonet hits these serious points movingly and gracefully at the end of the show, without sacrificing the many pleasures that the musical offers along the way. Into the Woods's legion fans are well-served by this revival, and at both the Encores! performance and the Broadway press performance that I attended, the audience response was overwhelming. The show, for all its thorniness, engenders the bliss of re-encountering an old friend who is holding up great. What more, in the end, could you wish?

Matt Windman, amNY: As much as I liked it at City Center, it was still coming together at the time, which was not surprising in light of the complexity of the score, shaded characters, and limited rehearsal time. On Broadway, the production is much sharper and the performances are more nuanced. It's hard to pick and choose favorites among the cast because everyone is so damn good, including Julia Lester's sly and confident Little Red, Patina Miller's striking and sexy Witch, Phillipa Soo's heartfelt Cinderella, Cole Thompson's bright Jack, Brian d'Arcy James' well-meaning Baker, Sara Bareilles' improvisational Baker's Wife, Gavin Creel's foppish Cinderella's Prince and hammy Wolf, and Joshua Henry's exuberant Rapunzel's Prince. Even the cow Milky White (now a full-size, hand-operated puppet operated in full view of the audience) is a standout.

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Into the Woods is arguably the most humorous of Sondheim's shows, and this ensemble of some of New York's finest musical-theater talents has a ball playing up the comedy. But the merriment is never at the expense of the characters' fragile humanity or the material's poignancy.

Chris Jones, Daily News: There is an alternate way to do this show, which is to say in a less stylized and less comic way than deBessonet chooses. It can be played as if these characters were realistic humans and I'd like to see it done that way again someday on Broadway, for I have it seen work a different kind of spell that way. More than once. But this is a legitimate way to go and deBessonet and her supremely talented cast certainly deepen their vulnerability as the material darkens and the winds of agony and change swirl around the forests of life.

Greg Evans, Deadline: Originally staged at New York City Center Encores!, Lear deBessonet's magnificent, starry Into The Woods all but demanded a Broadway transfer, with sold-out crowds packing City Center and those left out wanting in. Last week at a Broadway preview, the audience was so stoked for this show and this cast that a loud and prolonged cacophony of applause greeted the rise of the curtain. Clearly, this Into The Woods preceded itself. To say it delivers on its promise is an understatement.

Thom Geier, The Wrap: All that talent is put to very good use in this pencil-sharp, fast-paced production - whose high points are many and often beanstalk-high. They help to disguise some of the shortcomings of the musical, from Sondheim's unfortunate and awkward attempts to re-create 1980s rap to a second act that forgets to leave breadcrumbs of relatability as it meanders into a thicket of philosophical abstractions. But even as the story turns darker, and Miller abandons her raps for some of Sondheim's best ballads ("Children Will Listen,") deBessonet keeps the pacing brisk and the focus clear. There's good reason why we continue to be drawn to this show, and these grim Grimm tales, after all this time.

Naveen Kumar, Variety: The revival that opened on Broadway Sunday night is not just a glorious lifeline for fans reawakening to the wonders of live performance after a long, dark hiatus. It's a crystalline showcase for sensational performances from an all-star cast of marquee veterans, and a testament to the enduring genius of the beloved musical, now in its fourth Broadway incarnation since premiering in 1987. The biggest giant in the sky this time around is Sondheim himself, and exalting his legacy is the production's unmistakable guiding principle.

Peter Marks, Washington Post: The scintillating new revival of "Into the Woods" is rendered so harmoniously and meticulously, you'll swear you even hear the punctuation marks in the lyrics. Here at the St. James Theatre, where the musical had its official Broadway opening Sunday night, the memory of the late Stephen Sondheim is honored in the best way possible: by actors who really know how to sing, and singers who really know how to act.

Christopher Bonanos, Vulture: Let me just say it plainly: There's no weak link in the cast, all night. Bareilles has a light tinkly playfulness in the funny moments-I'm thinking of that line that Joanna Gleason reportedly gave Sondheim, "This is ridiculous, what I am I doing here, I'm in the wrong story"-that almost suggests that she's taking it easy up there, and then her big mezzo-soprano voice comes around the corner and knocks you back in your chair. Miller as the Witch occasionally seems a little distanced from the rest of the cast-her "Stay With Me" feels discrete, a showy solo concert turn rather than a part fully blended into the whole. But it's a good concert turn.

Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post: The razor sharp focus here, instead, is on a divinely cast, crystal clear staging of the fairytale musical that intertwines the tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel into a lesson about how adulthood has no happy ending. You won't soon forget Sara Bareilles' perfect rendition of "Moments in the Woods," a notoriously tricky song in which the Baker's Wife tries to rationalize some taboo forest frolicking. The actress is so warm and thoughtful during the number, but also flies by the seat of her pants. I've never seen such a relatable interpretation - she's the Baker's Wife of Park Slope.

Joey Sims, Theatrely: In striping Woods down to its bare essentials, the very brilliant DeBessonet has crafted a near-perfect revival that breathes intoxicating new life into a masterpiece we barely realized needed new life at all. It is a remarkable evening, as effortlessly comforting as it is staggeringly heartbreaking. Honestly, the production is so good that it's oddly hard to review. That's largely because there is no concept to analyze, no take to unpack. DeBessonet just does the show, as matter-of-factly as you've ever seen it done. No frills; no fuss: all heart.

David Finkle, New York Stage Review: This Into the Woods revival is eminently worth seeing, for perhaps an unusual additional reason. When I attended, the audience cheered every first-act song long and loud. Why such jubilation? Perhaps because the fave-rave musical is one of the most popular high schools attractions going. Could be the packed St. James auditorium is chockablock with former Into the Woods schooldays players who know the score backwards and forwards and are cheering it for old time's sake. There are worse recommendations for joining them.

Joe Dziemianowitz, New York Theatre Guide: Into the Woods, which became a Meryl Streep movie in 2014, is one of Sondheim's most popular shows. This new production follows previous Broadway runs in 1987 and 2002. They say three's a charm - and this revival has it to spare.

David Cote, The Observer: Judging by the waves of screaming and applause that greeted every character entrance, and which followed every number, people who encountered Into the Woods as young adults are already flocking to the St. James Theatre to unite their inner child with their outer show queen. I'm right there with them. A Sondheim revival with vocally superior, perfectly cast performers, intelligent direction and design, and a sizable orchestra? Sometimes wishes do come true.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made