The Show

Into the Woods ®

Into the Woods combines fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Ridinghood with a Baker and his Wife desperately wanting a baby. The Baker and his Wife have been cursed by a witch and she cannot conceive a baby. They must perform various tasks involving the characters of the fairy tales to break the curse. They must bring the witch, a cow white as milk, a cape red as blood, and hair yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. After several failed attempts, they finally are able to do the tasks necessary to break the curse. After the characters have completed their tasks, however, they learn the pitfalls of greed and gluttony. Finally, they learn the need to work together as a family, to fight the wife of the giant that Jack killed, as she decided to come back for her revenge.

Into the Woods is not one of Sondheim's greatest shows, with no memorable songs to talk about, so any cast has to work hard to make the most of a mere pantomime of a score and script.

Paula Gosnell (Director and Choreographer) took her well chosen cast, and worked them hard, even down to the actors playing Trees, Birds, and Toadstools moving them around this small stage and set with 4 entrances, this Into the Woods was a true ensemble piece,every actor bringing out the best of his or her characters. While the ensemble worked well together, several performances were outstanding. Anna Nicolaus handled the (Witch) with a Good blend of humour and sensitivity, while Claire J Frewin made the (Baker's Wife) a sensitive loving wife. Ben Wells as the young (Jack) offered some show-stealing moments. David Clark turned in a delightful performance as the less than charming (Prince). As the (Baker), David Banfield gave a leading performance. Brenda Best and Lynne Murphy were fabulous as Cinderella's (Stepsisters) they looked like drag queens and it worked !!!!. Ginnie Alcindor (Musical Director) had a massive job on her hands with this score of Sondheim's, which, is not an easy one, …and along with her pianists Jane Noakes and Mark Andrew, Ginnie brought the whole thing together, we could see she had put a massive amount of energy into the cast singing, and her talent as a musical director was more than adequate. With such a small stage, which I believe has to be struck each night, Jeff Howard and Colin Goldberg as stage and lighting managers, had obviously worked hard as the unsung hero's ,their lighting for this Into the Woods was very mood setting.

Thank you GEMS for a entertaining evening.