By Peter Thomas Ricci<\/p>\n
One of the marque pleasures of theater-going is experiencing new talent for the first time. As enjoyable as it is seeing veteran actors tackle new roles \u2013 and indeed, it\u2019s a blast watching such artists take risks and upend expectations \u2013 there is a unique joy in seeing fresh performers leave their mark on the stage, and in Writers Theatre\u2019s production of Stephen Sondheim\u2019s \u201cInto the Woods,\u201d I experienced such a jolt from Ximone Rose, who portrayed Cinderella in the fairy tale-inspired musical. With expert comedic timing and one of the most soaring, effortlessly beautiful singing voices I have ever heard on a stage, Rose is a true talent, and I eagerly anticipate seeing her perform in future productions throughout the city.<\/p>\n
That said, \u201cInto the Woods\u201d is a musical that incorporates several classic fairy tales into a genre-defying narrative of magic and morality, and in a musical of such complexity and ambition, one role does not make the whole musical; and thankfully, Writers Theatre continued its history of excellence with a cast and crew that did Sondheim proud. Under the direction of Gary Griffin, the actors \u2013 who include such talents as Bethany Thomas (a sensational Witch), Michael Mahler (a terrific Baker), Lucy God\u00ednez (a wonderfully bratty Little Rid Riding Hood), and Brianna Borger (a nuanced Baker\u2019s Wife) \u2013 handle Sondheim\u2019s demanding music with aplomb, as they breeze through his complex melodies and linguistically intimidating lyrical feats. \u201cInto the Woods\u201d is a musical with two distinct acts \u2013 a riveting, rollicking first act, and an extraordinarily dark, bloody second act \u2013 and it is a further testament to these actors that they do not merely excel at one of those acts, but rather, that they thrive in both settings.<\/p>\n
And what a setting! I expect superb work from the Writers team each time I am there, but the phantasmagorical sets of \u201cInto the Woods\u201d set a new standard for musicals in the company\u2019s space. Scott Davis\u2019 scenic design is an expert example of \u201cless is more\u201d \u2013 various greenery hung from the rafters to capture the density of the woods, while a large, mangled tree not only encompassed the show\u2019s first-rate band, but also complemented the musical\u2019s themes; Sondheim does not merely adapt fairy tales, but rather, contorts and interrogates them through the medium of musical theater. And it is through Lee Fiskness\u2019 astonishing lighting that the show really shines. With strategically placed lights to the sides of the main performing space, Fiskness brings out a greater depth in Davis\u2019 sets that initially meets the eye; in other words, what begins as a performing space for reimagined fairy tales becomes something far more dense and horrifying.<\/p>\n
It is always a joy seeing Sondheim performed, but Sondheim performed well<\/i> is unlike any other theatrical experience, and Writers Theatre has provided a most fine testament to the master\u2019s musical ingenuity.<\/p>\n
Musical Numbers:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Act One<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Prologue: Into the Woods<\/span><\/p>\n Hello, Little Girl<\/span><\/p>\n I Guess This Is Goodbye<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe They\u2019re Magic<\/span><\/p>\n I Know Things Now<\/span><\/p>\n A Very Nice Prince<\/span><\/p>\n Giants in the Sky<\/span><\/p>\n Agony<\/span><\/p>\n It Takes Two<\/span><\/p>\n Stay With Me<\/span><\/p>\n On the Steps of the Palace<\/span><\/p>\n Ever After<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Act Two<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Prologue: So Happy<\/span><\/p>\n Agony<\/span><\/p>\n Lament<\/span><\/p>\n Any Moment<\/span><\/p>\n Moments in the Woods<\/span><\/p>\n Your Fault<\/span><\/p>\n Last Midnight<\/span><\/p>\n No More<\/span><\/p>\n No One Is Alone<\/span><\/p>\n Finale: Children Will Listen<\/span><\/p>\n Highly Recommended<\/b><\/p>\n Playing through September 22 at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe IL, 60022<\/b><\/p>\n Tickets are available at writerstheatre.org, or by calling 847-242-6000<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Peter Thomas Ricci One of the marque pleasures of theater-going is experiencing new talent for the first time. As enjoyable as it is seeing veteran actors tackle new roles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,41,245,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-features","category-musical-theatre","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}