“Into the Woods” is a favorite of actors. Not only is it a Sondheim musical with lots of characters and storylines, but it pictures real life using a fairy tale setting by showing what happens after “they lived happily ever after.”
When the Icehouse Theatre opens a three-weekend run of the show this Friday, it puts a new take on the story. Oh, all the fairy tale characters are there—Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc. But instead of being set in “the woods,” director Charlotte Garcia Da Rosa has moved the story to New York’s Central Park.
The woods just represents a space where life happens, and the new setting modernizes it a bit.
“I love the idea of reimagining the time and place where all of these characters could intersect and become mixed up in each other’s lives,” Garcia Da Rosa said. “The material written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine has so many themes and lessons that the human experience teaches, no matter what decade or location.”
For instance, Alyson Cook (The Witch) says her role has become a post-Covid germophobic, always wearing a face mask.
“Char has a very clear idea for the show, very different,” Cook said. “She’s trying to make it a little more relatable to young people.”
Act I of “Into the Woods” is the predictable fairy tale. Everyone gets what they want. But in Act II, things fall apart.
“We all have these wishes and things we hope for,” said Ali Janusiewicz (Jack in the Beanstalk’s Mother). “Then you wonder, did I really get what I wanted?”
Does Cinderella really want that shallow and unfaithful prince? Can the Baker handle the responsibility of finally getting the baby he and his wife wanted so badly? Do riches really make Jack happy?
By the end of the show, things aren’t back to “happily ever after,” but Antony Lotenero (The Baker) calls the characters “hopeful.”
Lotenero has always wanted to play The Baker.
“The Baker and his wife are sort of the heart of the show. You can’t find The Baker and his wife in any fairy tale. He’s the everyman who just wants an ordinary life. He just wants to get his wish [a baby] and get on with life. He is very changed by the end of the story.”
Gloriann Arnett (The Baker’s Wife) loves being in the show.
“I like the music, the different story lines, the way Sondheim writes his characters,” Arnett said. “The music is so intense and so specific.”
All the cast admit Sondheim’s music is hard to sing. Characters often jump in and out of a song with just a few words. It’s especially hard to mesh with the music track. Miss your cue, and everyone else is thrown off.
“I’ve done this show with a live orchestra, and doing it with tracks is harder,” Rick Lotenero (The Wolf) said.
He’s having fun with The Wolf.
“The Wolf is the predator. He has this friendly and carefree façade, but then you get a glimpse of his real character. That split character shows up in his song.”
One character to watch is Milky-White (the cow) played by Megan James. Actually James is the puppeteer for the very limber cow. Her facial expressions (and occasional grunts and moo’s) perfectly match the cow’s mood. (James gets to adlib the moo’s.)
“I love doing physical acting,” James said. “My goal is for people to have an emotional attachment to the cow.”
Garcia Da Rosa has been involved with “Into the Woods” six times. She’s choreographed it, directed it, vocal directed it and played The Witch. Now she’s directing again.
“Finding truth, inspiration, chances to learn and grow in lyrics, dialogue, dance—and all of the forms that we get to storytell in musical theater—is what I enjoy,” she said
“When it comes to working on anything from the world of Stephen Sondheim, I think that we are called to dive in deep to the realities of the characters’ journeys. These characters are flawed, complicated, vulnerable, naive, guarded, misunderstood, emotional and so, so much more. They force you to look in the mirror and see what’s in front of you for what it is. I love the discovery and revelation that you can find time and time again with Sondheim’s musicals.”
Garcia Da Rosa is especially proud that three generations of her music and theater students are in the show, including her youngest son, Joseph Da Rosa, who plays the Narrator.
As is true for a number of recent Icehouse shows, the understudies all get a chance to perform. In this case the understudies have other parts in the show and will switch parts for various shows. You can follow the cast on social media @visaliaplayers.
“Into the Woods”
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: ‘Into the Woods’ reimagined for Icehouse Theatre stage
Reporting by Donna Orozco, Special to Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
