Into the Woods at OPPA

The musical Into the Woods is one of my very favorites because the story is incredibly clever, the music is beautiful, and the messages are both thought-provoking and poignant. I always try to see any production that I can find and last night I found one at On Pitch Performing Arts (I have recently become a fan of this theatre company). It was so much fun to see a different take on a familiar favorite! Several fairy tale characters must go into the woods to make their wishes come true: a Witch (Caitlin Olsen) wishes to reverse a curse, a Baker (John Wright) and his Wife (Heather Ann Jackson) wish to have a child, Cinderella (Cassie Hurt-McLarty) wishes to attend the festival and meet a prince, Jack (KJ Weidner) wishes to save his cow Milky White (Madison Tate) from being sold at market, and Red Riding Hood (Harriett Bauer) wishes to visit her Grandmother (Rachel Glad). However, having a wish come true does not always result in a happily ever after and actions can sometimes have unintended consequences. This production is unique in that the setting has been changed to an urban area (depicted with images on a large screen and minimal props) during the 1950s (including fun costumes such as the poodle skirts worn by the Stepsisters and the motorcycle jacket worn by Cinderella's Prince). In the many different productions of this show that I have seen I don't remember a change to the setting like this before but I think it is a really effective way to make the themes of team work, resilience, and acceptance more accessible to the audience through this modern sensibility. I especially liked the characterization of Rapunzel (Lauralye Anderson) as a young woman who is judged by her appearance and feels the need to be perfect (with 1950s era ads shown on the screen during her scenes). The entire cast is really fun to watch and I especially loved Olsen's dramatic facial expressions, Wright's nervous energy, Tate's physicality in manipulating the puppet for Milky White, and Bauer's sass. However, Preston Fullmer, as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince (characters who are very similar if you think about it), absolutely steals the show with all of his over-the-top preening. I think I laughed at every single thing he did on stage (my favorite bit of business is when he winks at the Baker's Wife before continuing to chase Cinderella) and his version of "Agony" with Gage Andersen as Rapunzel's Prince is a highlight! I have always loved the songs "It Takes Two," because it is such a turning point in the relationship between the Baker and his Wife, and "No One Is Alone," because it is a very emotional moment of understanding between the Baker, Jack, Cinderella, and Red, and the performances by this cast gave me goosebumps. The choreography is very well suited to the small and intimate space and I was particularly impressed with "Into the Woods," "So Happy," "Ever After," and "Children Will Listen" because of the large number of people on stage and the intricate patterns they are able to create. I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of Into the Woods and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 13.