‘Into the Woods’ @ Upright Theatre Co.
Photos by Delaney Rain Photography
—Jan Farrington
Small (ish) and smart Upright Theatre Company consistently turns out work that feels bigger and better than expected—though by now, I do expect it. Housed in a modest store-front space in the mid-Cities between D and FW, Upright puts every inch of the place to work, and makes the intimate scale an advantage, not a limitation.
Upright’s current run of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (directed by Natalie Burkhart with music direction by Noël Clark) shows off the company’s experience and skill, with strong voices all around and actors who carry off both the comedy and darkness of this fractured fairy tale.
In such an intimate setting, it’s hard to resist the sense that we’re in the woods, too—following The Baker, The Baker’s Wife, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, The Witch, the Princes, and the rest on their journeys. Yet we never lose our delighted awareness of theater being made. Whether the whole ensemble (only feet away) crowds close together to deliver a tune almost in our faces, or forms a spot-lit singing circle as big as the theater, we feel the impact of their collective sound—and the magic of let’s pretend.
The show’s songs and lyrics have a nursery-rhyme simplicity, but the closer you listen, the more you hear the exciting complexity of Sondheim’s music: one “ditty” leading into a two, four, six-part interweaving of harmonies and counterpoint, patter songs and raps, with lyrics being traded and repeated and transformed among the singers. It’s a bit like hearing Mozart play his “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” melody and then turn it into brain-tickling variations. Great fun—but serious composing, too.
Sondheim and story writer James Lapine put a handful of fairy tales together for this 1987 musical…and they stick closer to Grimm than Disney. Odd, strange, hard, even bloody things happen in these stories. In the sunnier, more upbeat first act of Woods, each character has a wish, pursues it, and sees it come true (in some way or another) for a group “happy ever after” just before intermission. But this is Sondheim—and the second act finds all our characters wish-fulfilled, but not really happier. Post-fairy tale life is complicated, challenging, scary. There are big tall terrible giants. Your Prince is a playboy.
And that’s life. Mother won’t always be there (“Sometimes people leave you/Halfway through the woods.”…), and the path won’t always be clear. You “are not alone” (that helps, a bit). But in the end, you will need to learn, think, and decide about your own life.
Each member of the ensemble cast gets a high five; together, they’re terrific. In the critical, anchoring roles of The Baker and The Baker’s Wife, Devon Watkins and Rebecca Miller (in addition to being fine singers) are engaging, down-to-earth, and heart-touching. Brandy Raper makes a glam, scary Witch, and has the rich voice needed to carry off a crazy quilt of songs, from “Greens” to “Stay With Me” to “Last Midnight” to “No One is Alone.” (It always feel strange that along with The Baker’s Wife, The Witch is the “other” Mom we feel empathy for.)
Josephine Williams’ Little Red Riding Hood is dryly funny (oh, the side eye she gives Jonah Hardt’s handsy Wolf) and a bit intimidating as she grows (in the woods) from naive to knife-wielding. As Jack, Nathanael Clark has a sweet face and voice (his forceful Mother, played by Stacey Calvert, is sure the world’s going to take him for all he’s got) Rapunzel (Jacy Schoening) wants out of that tower, and sad Cinderella (Megan Guerra) talks to birds and dreams of a chance to meet The Prince. There are two smooth-talking princes, in fact (Hardt and Thomas Powderly), prancing and posing in the woods on an endless quest (what “Agony” they feel!) for maidens they’ve yet to meet.
The production scoots along under Burkharts’s energetic direction. If there’s a mild complaint, it’s that the volume of the prerecorded soundtrack is allowed to overwhelm the singers at some intense moments—when the lyrics can be especially important. Fortunately, it’s a here-and-there thing, not a problem throughout.
Is this a fairy story for kids? Not the little ones. But pre-teens and up can handle this, especially if they’re already experienced theatregoers. A few small extremities go flying, and (as the witch says) there are some mostly off-stage “boom squish” moments. But young people are tough—and Into the Woods will leave them with ideas about growing up, going after what you want, being responsible in the world…and how life-changing it is when you find your people, your community.
And it’s never too soon to meet a genius like Sondheim.
WHEN: February 16-March 17, 2024
WHERE: 2501 N. Euless Main Street, Euless TX
WEB: uprighttheatre.org
