Review: PREVIEW: INTO THE WOODS, Launch Event
Special reception to celebrate the West End transfer of Jordan Fein's award-winning fairy-tale musical
|
|
If you’ve been wishing for Jordan Fein's award-winning Into the Woods to magically appear in the West End, then your yearning has been granted. The dazzling reimagining of Stephen Sondheim's mash-up fairy tale musical transfers from The Bridge Theatre to the Noël Coward Theatre, as celebrated at a launch event in London. Previews start on September 22, and the show runs until January 9, 2027.
Having garnered several awards while at The Bridge Theatre – Oliviers for Best Musical Revival and Best Lighting Design; and Best Ensemble or Cast and Best Designer at the Critics' Circle Awards – there's an added freshness to the production. New actors join original cast members, including Kate Fleetwood who's returning as Witch, Gracie McGonigal reprising her role as Little Red Riding Hood and Julie Jupp appearing again as Jack's mother.
Photo credit: Justine Mitchell
Newbies delighted to be part of the updated cast are: Simbi Akande (Hamilton, The Prince of Egypt) as Cinderella, Laura Pitt-Pulford (Aspects of Love, Standing at the Sky's Edge) as Baker's Wife, John Dagleish (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Baker, Simbi Akande (Hamilton, The Prince of Egypt) as Cinderella, Fiona Finsbury (The Phantom of the Opera) as Rapunzel, Lucas Koch (Evita, Cabaret) as Rapunzel's Prince, Keith Ramsay (The Play That Goes Wrong) as Jack, Matthew Seadon-Young (Shucked, The Baker's Wife) as Cinderella's Prince/Wolf and Matthew S. Siegel (Fidler on the Roof) as Narrator.
Photo credit: Justine Mitchell
Matt Hemley, editor of The Stage, hosts a fabled line-up at the event. James Lapine, who wrote the book for Into the Woods, has jetted in from New York to link up with director Jordan Fein, set and Costume Designer Tom Scutt and leading actress Kate Fleetwood – recently nominated for a Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical Olivier Award. It's a privilege to hear Fleetwood sing a live rendition of "Last Midnight".
James Lapine, who wrote the book, says the idea of combining fairy tales came about when he was "spitballing" (coming up with raw ideas) with Sondheim. Lapine fancied bringing together TV characters they'd watched in America as kids into a production, which led to the genius idea of blending together four well-known fairy tales. He wanted to write about "the real ever after and what happens when your wishes do come true".
Photo credit: Justine Mitchell
Lapine contends "this is the best Into the Woods I've seen – and there's been a zillion of them. This goes deeper into the show visually." He admires how Fein and Scutt have worked closely together to make the woods so real.
Scutt says: "My challenge was to open a portal and take you to an imaginative place where you discover the truth of the forest, which becomes a character you live with."
Is it difficult balancing realism with the fantastical, so the cast and audiences understand what you're trying to do? "You just have to take everyone along with you on the ride," says Fein, adding that he literally took his team Into the Woods by spending time in a Devon forest.
This is the first time Into the Woods has been in the West End since 1991. Fein notes that after the show's success at The Bridge Theatre, "we thought, why not take it to the West End? Also, we're part of the generation that grew up with it and now we want to share it with our kids."
Passing lessons on to the next generation and communicating are big themes in the production. Fleetwood says a performer's "biggest tool is listening," so having incoming cast members on board who you listen to offers a new experience to find new things. The irony is, she says, "we love each other, but can't speak too much backstage in order to preserve our voices".
Photo credit: Justine Mitchell
Lapine sums up that the show's about community and people coming together to create a world – a very strong message we can relate to today. He reminds us "there are giants all around us and we have to defeat them all of the time."
Fein is proud of his new winning cast – an extraordinary troupe that not only conquers giants, but one that will encourage Sondheim supporters and new audiences to delight in the magic of Into the Woods in its new West End home.
Previews for Into the Woods at the Noël Coward Theatre start from 22 September, and the show runs until 9 January, 2027.
Photo credit: Justine Mitchell
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
Reader Reviews
To post a comment, you must register and login.