Review: St. Petersburg College Theater Department's INTO THE WOODS

It’s safe to say that Into the Woods is Stephen Sondheim’s most produced and most popular work. Schools, community theaters, and probably even psychiatric hospitals have taken a stab at it.  It offers something for everyone: For the kiddos, it’s a cool retelling of the classic stories and fairy tales that have been around for ages.  For adults, it’s a plaintive examination of grief and loss and a reminder that not every story has a “happily ever after” at the end.  Actually, no story does, at least in terms of mortality, since to quote Joanne in Sondheim’s Company, “Everybody dies!”

With music and lyrics by Mr. Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, Into the Woods masquerades as a fun and frothy musical in Act 1 right from the start, with those iconic four words: “Once Upon a Time…”  We have a barren Baker and his wife, both of whom want kids, and a witch who grants them a wish for a child if they can gather up the following items: A cow as white as milk (think Jack and the Beanstalk); a cape as red as blood (think Little Red Riding hood); hair as yellow as corn (think Rapunzel); and a slipper pure as gold (think Cinderella).  Act 1 is like a scavenger hunt featuring all of the beloved stories of our youth; it’s like a fairy tale version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World but with a killer score.

Act 1 is vastly entertaining and lots of fun.  Act 2, however,  changes things; it’s the hangover caused by Act 1’s giddy highs. 

Audiences have been cold toward Act 2 since the show’s highly successful Broadway run nearly 40 years ago.  Many people dislike the direction that the musical takes; they want their sweet and simple endings to be happy and this one leaves "happily ever after" far behind.  They don’t want to deal with death in a musical about Little Red and Jack and the Beanstalk; they don’t want pain or reality pushing its way into the work.  But a forced happy ending is worse than a dire one, and this is where Into the Woods shines.  I am in the unpopular camp that prefers the darkness of Act 2 (Sondheim Land) to the bouncy delights of Act 1 (Fantasy Land). 

Act 2 features a giantess who is terrorizing the kingdom and several characters die.  In the 1980s, some people took this as a direct mirror of the AIDS crisis, something Sondheim vehemently denied.  Since then it seems to mirror all of our tragedies, from 9/11 to the pandemic.  (I think of our current crazy world when Cinderella's stepmother says the line, "When are things going to return to normal?")  While several of the characters surprisingly die at the hands, or rather the foot, of the giantess, the survivors are left to pick up the pieces and find a way to defeat the big meany.  Into the Woods is about loss and grief and change, about having the inner strength to move on after terrible tragedies, and about the joy of art and storytelling to make sure that we remember those who perished for a greater good. 

I had the pleasure of attending the SPC production of Into the Woods last evening, and although I have seen the show literally dozens of times, have reviewed it often and even have directed it, I can state without hesitation that this is one of the best productions of it that I have ever seen.  When you do Into the Woods two things can happen: It succeeds swimmingly or it fails miserably.  There is rarely an in-between, a somewhat tepid or meh version of the show.  I’ve seen some that were stellar (a freeFall production of it ten years ago set in a psychiatrist office) and others that were stinkers, including one production with a flushing toilet, goofy droopy glasses and beach balls acting as the giant’s gouged-out eyeballs. 

The SPC version is in the stellar grouping; it is an absolute joy from top to bottom, start to finish.  There is nary a missed note in the whole thing.  It ranks with SPC’s past winners like Urinetown as one of the best productions they have tackled.  As many times as I’ve seen the show, I still get quite emotional at the end.  If it’s done right, we should still get that emotional wallop no matter how many times we have ventured into the woods.  And SPC surely has done it right here.

The cast is splendid. 

As the witch, Taliya Smart is a revelation.  She’s fine in the early moments and gets the job done, but she really comes into her own in Act 2.  Her best song—“Lament”—gave me chills.  In the show, a loved one of the witch’s perishes and she grapples with the meaning of such a loss, going through the stages of grief—depression, anger, denial--in a single song.  It was so heartbreaking and passionate, a plea of sorts, and I was left spellbound with my mouth agape.  It was like having Mahalia Jackson tackle one of Sondheim’s most underrated numbers.  Ms. Smart is that good here.

Elizabeth Daley is equally strong as Cinderella, hitting outrageous notes and making the most of her character.  Her “On the Steps of the Palace” was outstanding.

Matt Kosinski plays Jack just right—with a child-like arrogance and foolishness (and when the time comes, bravery).  He reminded me of a young Anthony Rapp, and his “Giants in the Sky” remains an audience favorite. His quick goodbye song to his beloved cow, Milky White, was heartbreaking and real, as if saying farewell to a favorite pet. Leyla-Jade Curbelo is solid as Jack’s annoying mom who, it turns out, will do anything to protect her son…including die.  

As Milky White, Josue Maldonado brings to life a cool cow puppet; I like how he disguises himself with sunglasses and a fake stache when a powdered faux cow is in use. 

Kristin Brazzell is a fierce Little Red; her “I Know Things Now” was beautifully realized, becoming one of the best (and strangest) coming of age songs ever written.  There is a moment in Act 2 where she wields a knife and suddenly this girl turns into a warrior, or a killer, like the murderous Susan Atkins as a fairy tale character.

As the leads of the show, the Baker and his wife—two realistic characters who, according to one of them, are “in the wrong story”--Charlie Lane and Madison Abrams shine.  We see them detached at first and then, as they fumble through the woods, get closer, finding their true love for one another, and being granted their wish for a baby.  But in Act 2, when things grow dark for both of them, they really get to display their acting and vocal chops.  Ms. Madison’s “Moments in the Woods,” sung after her surprising affair with royalty, is a stunner.  And Mr. Lane brings so much heart to the show, especially in songs like “No More” and “No One is Alone.”  The ending with the Baker and another character, which I won’t divulge, had me in tears.

Troy Ochoa-Rowland and Farrell Nuon play the princes to tip-top fop perfection. They do double-duty as two menacing but very entertaining wolves who hound Little Red.  Even their secret handshake is a hoot.   And Griffin Adams knows how to properly steal a scene as the prince’s steward.  I like how, at one point in Act 2, Mr. Adams looks at his cane, looks at the person in front of him who is likely going to have them all killed, and makes the decision to bop her on the head.  We see all this on his face before the violent act so that it makes sense in the scene. 

Kyndall Small has a sensational voice as Rapunzel, and Julia Stertz, Gabrielle Boffil and Marie Perez are comic and tragic standouts as Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters.

Dominic Ehlich owns the stage as the Mysterious Man.  Other actors take this show to amazing heights, including Mileena Ruiz, Valentino Martone, Hollis Rutkoski, and Jacob Pastorini. Abby Littleton makes her mark as Jack’s golden harp. 

The cast consists of high school and college aged students, but one cast member is a heck of a lot younger than the others.  Yon Mason Kizilelma plays the part of Boy/Narrator, and he does an outstanding job.  First of all, he has the most lines to memorize and, secondly, he’s an equal delight as a singer in “Ever After.”  Third, he’s onstage for virtually the entire show, and it’s a labyrinth of a production, bodies moving all over the place, through the audience and through the woods, and Mr. Kizilelma is there, in the right spot always, always in the moment, listening and reacting.  At one point, he was about to speak his narration but the audience’s extended applause kept going and the young actor knew enough to wait; not all performing youths are canny enough to do this so smoothly.  This young man is only 11 years old and, after spending his elementary years at Gulf Trace, will be starting middle school at Paul R. Smith in August. He should be very proud of what he has accomplished here at such a young age.

Musical Director Latoya McCormick has gotten amazing harmonies from her cast.  This is one sensational-sounding show!  The set is a Scott Cooper masterpiece, with gigantic storybooks that open up on the apron and a massive set consisting of mammoth-sized books with key words and character’s names written on them. There's not a tree in sight, but we still get a sense of being in the woods.  It’s an astonishing playground of sorts, and when the giant makes herself known in Act 2, and the back drapes drop to the pounding of her Goliath foot, I held my breath.

Katrina Stevenson’s costumes are a marvel and Celeste Mannerud’s lighting design captures the soul of the show.  This is one gorgeous production, full of life and love, but also filled with passion and despair.  That’s where Into the Woods mirrors life—the good, the bad and the very strange.  Speaking of very strange, it’s not everyday when you see a show where a chicken makes an entrance on a skateboard and a prince bounces around on an inflatable horsey. 

Director Scott Cooper keeps outdoing himself.  He picked a doozy of a show to mount in just four weeks, and his hard work and his creative vision pay off.  This is one fine show—the acting, the singing, the staging, the set and the tech (who, thankfully, get to bow during the curtain call).  And the ending of this version--which I predicted but that knowledge didn’t take away any of its power--was the cherry on top of this tasty concoction. 

If you haven’t seen one of the SPC summer musicals, this is one that you must attend.  And if you have, then you already know what I’m talking about.  They do things right, even with a show that I’ve experienced numerous times; seeing it here was like seeing it for the first time.

INTO THE WOODS plays at the St. Petersburg College Theater in Clearwater on Saturday, June 28 at 2:00 and 7:00 PM, and Sunday, June 29 at 2:00 PM. 

Photo Credit: Celeste Silsby-Mannerud

Tampa Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. INTO THE WOODS (St. Petersburg College Theater)

16.6% of votes

2. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL (USF Theatre)

9% of votes

3. ANYTHING GOES (The Missing Piece Theatre)

7.6% of votes

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