Review: INTO THE WOODS Weaves Timeless Tale in Philippine Setting

Manila, Philippines—Once upon a time, Stephen Sondheim's (music and lyrics) and James Lapine's (book) 1986 musical "Into the Woods” was written to appeal like a mashup of The Brothers Grimm's fairy tales—thus, the show's commercial allure. But we all knew Sondheim's creative mind was more complex than that; he dared to ask what happens after "happily ever after."   

A new theater company, Theatre Group Asia (TGA), chose this beloved, yet unapologetically honest, musical as its maiden musical production (the company staged Franz Xaver Kroetz's "Radio Program” last year). Its first foray into musicals stars marquee names, no less: Tony winner Lea Salonga (The Witch), and Broadway leading stars Arielle Jacobs (Cinderella), and Josh Dela Cruz (Cinderella's Prince/The Wolf), among other starry names in the local theater scene.   

Directed by Chari Arespacochaga, TGA's "Into the Woods" reiterates that Sondheim's challenging music and clever use of wordplay spell the show's timelessness. This production's most striking reinterpretation comes from its subtle yet pervasive Filipino touches, evident in the costumes and set pieces. While initially delightful, these stylistic choices—particularly Ohm David's fixed set—sometimes feel more like a stretch than a purposeful narrative push.   

In "Into the Woods," Sondheim and Lapine stay true to the fairy tales' cautionary (pre-Disney) nature, like the old wives’ tales whose original intent was to warn children of potential dangers, especially when they disobey established societal norms. For example, the precocious Little Red Riding Hood wanders in the woods and bumps into a hungry, sensuous wolf. The Witch begs Rapunzel to stay atop the tower and avoid a "dark and wild world."    

Some parts of the show may cause discomfort among the audience, such as the implicit sexualization of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf or the fortuitous adultery committed by the Baker's Wife and Cinderella's Prince. But these narratives make this musical even more thought-provoking: it explores the gray areas between right and wrong, as well as wishes and consequences, especially in Act Two, where the characters face death and grief, and finally take on accountability and parenthood.   

Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante plays the Baker's Wife; Nyoy Volante, The Baker; and Lea Salonga, The Witch.

Outstanding Cast All Around   

This "Into the Woods” boasts a dream cast, led by the chameleon-like Salonga, who completely vanishes in the role of The Witch. She plays the show's often misunderstood villain in an off-beat manner; besides her depiction of Mrs. Lovett in the macabre musical, "Sweeney Todd,” Salonga's take on the Witch is the opposite of her previous leading roles on stage. She's not afraid to look ugly, be extremely funny, and walk across the stage or to the wings stooped, crouching, and wobbling. Although transitioning back to the beautiful Witch makes her powerless and leads a tragic arc in Act Two, her stage presence while singing "The Witch's Lament” and "Last Midnight" is madly exasperated and exhibits her character's emotional core.   

Real-life couple Nyoy Volante and Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante play the Baker and the Baker's Wife, respectively, with just enough doses of humor, heart, and torment. The couple proves they're not just competent singers but also nuanced actors. Bradshaw-Volante's rich, high-powered mezzo-soprano, especially in "Moments in the Woods," is in full display—and what a robust, full-bodied sound she creates.   

Broadway imports Arielle Jacobs, who plays Cinderella, and Josh Dela Cruz, who plays her prince and the Wolf, set the standards high further. Jacobs’ crystalline, creamy singing voice exudes that fairy-tale treatment we're used to in Disney's universe. Like an actual princess, her arms and hands move elegantly, and in an authentic, messed-up fairy tale fashion, she falls from the palace's steps adorably clumsy. Acting in the past four seasons of "Blue's Clues & You!" serves Dela Cruz well. As Cinderella's Prince and the Wolf, he's animatedly gorgeous on stage. His every bodily movement, utterance of Sondheim and Lapine's lyric and text is nuanced, leaving the audience in stitches on several occasions.   

Eugene Domingo plays Jack's Mother; Nic Chien, Jack.

The mother-son casting of Eugene Domingo, who plays Jack's Mother, and Nic Chien, who plays Jack, is delightful, too. Domingo's Mother is weary, yet strong-willed and overprotective of her son. Seeing Domingo in an English-language production—and a Sondheim musical—is a rare treat. Her acting (her forte) and singing are on point. As a seasoned TV-film comedienne, her Mother's punchlines, such as "Only a dolt would exchange a cow for beans,” land on a sweet spot. Chien's Jack is naturally awkward and naive. At 19, he brings this youthful spirit on stage.  He makes "Giants in the Sky” his own; his moment with Milky White, the cow puppet, in "I Guess This is Goodbye,” is saccharine and heartfelt.    

The rest of the cast, Joreen Bautista, who plays Rapunzel; Mark Bautista, Rapunzel's Prince; Teetin Villanueva, Little Red Riding Hood; Rody Vera, the Narrator; Tex Ordonez-De Leon, Sarah Facuri, and Kakki Teodoro, Cinderella's Stepfamily; Jamie Wilson, Cinderella's Stepfather and the Steward; and Carla Guevara Laforteza, The Giant and Granny, are all equally compelling, and ooze with strong vocals and versatile acting.  Those who play multiple roles seamlessly switch from one character to another, which makes the storytelling even more stimulating.   

Straying from the Path   

"Into the Woods" follows familiar fairy tale characters, such as Cinderella, Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk,” Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Lapine's original characters, the Baker and the Baker's Wife, who long for a child of their own. Each character yearns for something, leading them to converge in the thick forest. These misty woods are often confusing to navigate; thus, the unforeseen challenges and moral dilemmas they face along the path—worldly desires, losses, and the need for unity in adversity.   

Broadway has recently been offering musicals of a similar DNA, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Bad Cinderella” and "Once Upon a One More Time," which features Britney Spears' music catalog, but "Into the Woods" remains the most transfixing and profitable in the box office (This show's run, in particular, has been sold out in at least two hours.)   

Josh Dela Cruz plays Cinderella's Prince; Mark Bautista, Rapunzel's Prince.

However, going from Act One to Act Two, there's a clear shift in tone and entirely new conflicts, wildly contrasting that of Act One's enjoyable and whimsical attitude. With the coming of a vengeful Giant's Wife in Act Two, the main characters living the ideal life have been shattered into pieces, their homeland and the famed woods destroyed, and even more deaths occurred.   

Director Arespacochaga effectively manages and balances the musical's contrasting themes: the fairy tale characters on a romp in Act One, and these same characters’ reflective introspections of the consequences of their actions in Act Two. Some of her blocking and staged movements reference the ones in the original Broadway production, such as when The Witch uses her wooden cane to cast a spell on the Baker and his wife, or the stylized accidental death of Jack's Mother.    

With the baton of Maestro Gerard Salonga, he conducts his orchestra, uncomfortably placed on the up center of the stage, with a complete and lush sound.  His percussionists, doubling as sound effect players, claim a crucial role in Sondheim's musical storytelling and thematic reinforcement, which drives the story forward. For instance, the bass drum creates the thunderous, often terrifying footsteps of the Giant's Wife, and the xylophone's glissando accompanies the throwing of the Witch's missing magic beans.   

Far right: Lea Salonga plays the Witch.

The artistic vision, while ambitious, occasionally falters in execution. Steering the story forward doesn't fit David's Spanish colonial era architecture-inspired fixed set. It spans across the whole stage area and the proscenium's arc, but looked more functional from the artist's perspective drawings, with just the right number of columns that doubles as the humongous trees in the woods—think the "Redwood" musical surrounded by Filipino/Spanish ancestral houses. Alas, the number of these columns/trees has diminished on the actual stage. Therefore, the proceedings are less immersive, magical, and interpretative.    

While thoughtfully complemented by Cha See's color-rich lighting, this design choice disassociates from the traditional "Into the Woods" staging where the forest is a central, ever-shifting character.   

The feeling of being lost in the woods is not well realized.   

Creative director Clint Ramos wanted to be proudly and uniquely Filipino from set design (faux capiz windows, machuca tiles, and Maranao wood carvings) to costume design (fabrics, materials, and weaves). Designers Rajo Laurel and Raven Ong collaboratively and creatively showcase Filipino craftsmanship on stage. For the beauty characterization and witchy interpretation, Laurel creates an anahaw-inspired gown to represent the beauty of the Santacruzan festival and an embroidered bahay-kubo-inspired gown with a dramatic cape in a deep shade of green to depict villainy. Laurel's creation resembles a similar costume worn by one of the Ozians in "One Short Day" in "Wicked."

Ong is responsible for incorporating elements and showcasing Philippine textile and fashion weaves for the remaining cast.  As the peasant Cinderella, Jacobs appears in a Filipiniana butterfly sleeves ball gown in her Kantarines-adorned skirt. The princes Dela Cruz and Bautista look dashing in Maguindanao Inaul royal ensembles. Dela Cruz, who also plays the Wolf, is tattooed like a Visayan warrior when he transitions. The Baker Volante in an Abra Binakul vest and the Baker’s Wife Bradshaw-Volante in Ilocos Pinilian is a perfect couple fashion statement. From the Giant's lair, Chien dons a stunning mythical Sarimanok-inspired harp costume, blended with everyone as Jack. As Little Red Riding Hood, Villanueva wears a dress and a hood made from Cordillera fabric, and the weave is complemented by balisong and accentuated with baybayin on her cape. Vera, as the Narrator, and Baker's Father are strikingly pleasing as an ermitaño wearing the traditional ethnic headgear, salakot.  

Josh Dela Cruz plays Cinderella's Prince.

Overall, TGA's first venture into staging musicals is a resounding success, one that's widely recognized and celebrated, and well-marketed, where the Filipino audience savor the experience of having Filipinos, both homegrown or trained abroad, create magic and tell engaging stories on a shared stage. It also merges a classic American musical with Filipino artistry.   

For some in the audience, it's amusing to ponder, "Were the fairy tales they grew up with more terrifying, and grounded in life's realities, than a dreamland from far away that's aspirational and wishful?"--with additional words by Gilbert Kim Sancha  

Photos: Theatre Group Asia