Into the Woods at CPT

My sisters and I became huge fans of the musical Into the Woods after we attended a production at PTC together many years ago so we have been looking forward to seeing it at CPT ever since the 2024 season was announced. We had to wait a little longer than we expected because our original performance was canceled because of a power outage. Thankfully, CPT added another one to the end of the run in order to accommodate us last night and it was definitely worth the wait! My sisters and I agree that it was one of the best versions of the show that we have seen (and we have seen it many times). The story incorporates well known fairy-tales, such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and "Rapunzel," the music by Stephen Sondheim is incredibly beautiful, and the messages that actions can sometimes have unintended consequences and wishes do not always turn out happily ever after are both though-provoking and poignant. This cast is one of the strongest I have seen at CPT but I especially enjoyed Claire Glaittli as the Baker's Wife because her voice was incredible but she also added a lot of comedy to the role with her facial expressions and physicality, particularly during her interactions with Josh Egbert as Cinderella's Prince. Other standouts were Emily Sparks as Little Red Riding Hood because she was so sassy, Emma Murdock as Cinderella because her voice was also very beautiful, Drew Dunshee as Jack because his characterization was a bit bolder than I have seen before, and Brandon Barton because his manipulation of the puppet for Milky White (which was fantastic) was really fun and dynamic. My favorite songs are "Agony" because it is so funny as Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince (Dan Frederickson) try to one-up each other, "It Takes Two" because it is a turning point in the relationship between the Baker (Jake Heywood) and his Wife, and "No One Is Alone" because it is an emotional moment of understanding between the Baker, Jack, Cinderella, and Red and I was very impressed with both the performances and staging of all three. I also really loved the staging of Cinderella at her mother's grave because her transformation into the ball gown was magical (it happened right in front of me and it gave me goosebumps) and the slaying of the giantess because the use of shadows and sound design was very dramatic. This production had the narrator (Rick Murdock) read the story to a young boy (Sam Akerlow) as the show progressed and I thought this was a really clever idea but I absolutely loved it when he was revealed to be the Baker's son at the end of the show! It was an incredibly powerful moment and it made the final song, "Children Will Listen," so much more impactful. The set was absolutely spectacular (it may be my favorite at CPT), with giant trees that moved on tracks across the stage, Rapunzel's tower on one side of the stage, and Cinderella's mother's grave on the other (her mother's appearance was another magical moment in the show), and the costumes were gorgeous, especially the ball gowns. My sisters and I loved this production and we are sad that the run is over because we want to see it again! A huge thank you to CPT and the MWF cast for arranging this show after having to cancel the original one through no fault of their own!