VALDOSTA —
Theatre Guild Valdosta creates an epic stage production with its season-opening musical “Into the Woods.”
Through a visually exciting set, stunning “steam punk” costumes, flashy pyrotechnics, special effects and smart acting, “Into the Woods” creates the illusion of magic around every corner. For example, though never seen, audiences will believe a giant is bellowing at the cast and shaking the scenery just off-stage.
Director Patti Cook has invested tremendous energy and imagination into this Stephen Sondheim musical which takes a unique look at familiar fairy tale characters while turning the concept of happily ever after on its head. Like many fairy tales, “Into the Woods” carries a moral: Your actions have consequences.
Cook does a brilliant job of showcasing her cast as it plays well-known characters: Jack of Beanstalk fame, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood. Yet, it is the less-known Baker and his wife who are at the heart of this musical.
She keeps all of the action and songs moving at a steady pace, but this show is long with a three-hour running time including intermission. This length is no fault of Cook or her talented cast. That’s simply the running time of the show as well as the way Sondheim and James Lapine created it.
The first act runs 90 minutes and concludes in a way which can lead an audience to think the show has ended without an intermission. Had one character not yelled, “To be continued ...,” many in the audience may have believed the show at an end. The second act puts the grim in Grimm through an almost existentialist take on the hard consequences of the “happily ever afters” from the first act. The second act inserts a bit of Jean-Paul Sartre into Once Upon a Time. This act gives “Into the Woods” its emotional center but it is also a far more serious section than the first act’s collected romps.
Still, “Into the Woods” gathers one of Theatre Guild Valdosta’s most memorable casts. There are no slipshod performances. Each performer is on game for this show, in individual performances and as an ensemble. The cast creates a lively, textured world, filled with laughs and pathos.
It is such a brilliant cast that it’s a tough call deciding who to single out for accolades. Molly Nemecek is cunning, charming, soulful, and hilarious as the Baker’s Wife, but how can you mention her without noting Leah Power’s strong performance as a fragile Cinderella? Can you mention Joshua Robertson’s versatile, textured and believable performance as the Baker, without noting Andy Conerly’s dual comic roles as the Big Bad Wolf and Prince Charming?
You can’t, but space insists we must. The entire cast deserves applause. The cast is Stephenie Austin, Michael Brogdon, Brenda Brunston, Andy Conerly, Aubree Cooper, Karen Cutler, Deanna Dyal, Mike Etheridge, Abigail Harris, Victoriana Harris, Dexter Holiday Jr., Christie Jo Mayo, Autumn Miller, Molly Nemecek, Reatha Pavey, Leah Powers, Joshua Robertson, Ryan Swaims, Andrew Thomas, Brittany Trudell.
That said, one more person must also receive special attention due to both the performance and the character. That is Karen Cutler as the Witch. Surprisingly, the Witch is the beating heart of this show, and Cutler pulls out all of the stops portraying her. She spends the majority of the first act wearing robes and a heavy mask. Even through the mask, she sings one of the show’s most heart-breaking songs, “Stay with Me,” of a mother singing to her grown daughter; yes, the Witch is a mother. Cutler spends the majority of the second act dressed in considerably less which never detracts from the power, humor and talent she invests in the Witch.
Again, this show is a triumph for Patti Cook’s debut as a director, and for the Theatre Guild as a whole. If it were about a half-hour shorter, it may well be the most stunning Theatre Guild production in years.
This review is based on Thursday’s opening night performance.
Theatre Guild Valdosta’s “Into the Woods” continues 7:30 p.m. today, Aug. 11; 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12; 7:30 p.m., Aug. 16-18, The Dosta Playhouse, 122 N. Ashley St. Reservations, more information: Call (229) 24-STAGE; or visit www.theatreguildvaldosta.com.
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