And another one in the back of the net!
With Guys and Dolls the Bridge Theatre showed it could do big ‘Broadway’ productions rather better than most, using a very flexible promenade setting and now, with Sondheim’s Into the Woods – with a more traditional thrust stage into 3 sides - it cracks that other half of US musicals, occupied almost exclusively by Sondheim and Bernstein.
This is, of course, very much an ensemble piece, but Jennifer Hepburn as The Witch, Katie Brayben as the Baker’s Wife and Jamie Parker as The Baker, Jacob Fowler as Jack, Gracie McGonigal as Little Red Riding Hood, Chumisa Dornford-May as Cinderella and Oliver Saville as Cinderella’s Prince were all outstanding on our night.
If you know the show you will know that the first half ends at the ‘happy ever after’ stage, the second introducing the reality of the consequences if fairy stories are inhabited by real people.
To work you need the musicality enforced by a Sondheim score, great ensemble acting and impressive singing, an imaginative set and tight direction (so tight you don’t actually notice it – the blocking almost looking like the actors’ choices).
And here you get it. Together with a superb lighting plot and a wood which justifies both the title and the opening scene’s extensive ‘Into the wood’ theme.
If you add an immensely impressive giant (well, effects) and some great additional imaginings you get a great evening’s entertainment. Well, we got a great evening’s entertainment. And no point where we could think of a better way of doing it.
It’s had great crits – and this is another.