Into the Woods

Into the Woods
CU Presents
University Theater
Boulder, CO
February 24, 2019

Into the Woods has become one of the most popular works of Stephen Sondheim in region theatre. Despite it's fairy tale appeal, it is a dark and complex piece to produce. But this has not diminished its popularity. The run at the CU Presents was sold out before it began.

The focus of the production was clearly on the humor. The funny moments stood out although they occasionally went too far and even interfered with characters.

While each role was cast with talented performers, some of the choices were perplexing. It was hard to get around that Little Red looked far older than Jack’s mother. The narrator never found his place in the cast and the princes, while funny, were a bit too foppish to be charming. The use of “dryads” to move set pieces and bring on the cow were alternately clever and annoying.

The set was beautiful to look at with many playing levels to allow for Rapunzel’s tower and climbing a beanstalk. In Act 2 it even lit up for breathtaking atmosphere. It allowed a character to cross the stage above the main action without disturbing it. Unfortunately it wasn’t always used to its full potential. Cinderella’s family was relegated to an awkward staircase for their playing space and it created slow exits at several points.

The costumes were confusing. The main characters were dressed like fairytale characters. However, the two princes had on bland looking smoking jackets while Jack’s mother and Cinderella’s stepmother wore modern couture. And it was disappointing that every ball gown was calf length. Both of Little Red's costumes were fierce (in a good way).

The biggest issue with the production was the pace. Act 1 is the lighter and more entertaining of the two but in this production it dragged. Several of the songs were slower in tempo than usual which added to the feeling that it would never end. The darker Act 2, however, was paced much better. It flew by easily.

The CU Presents production demonstrated how complex this work by Sondheim truly is. The characterizations, the music and the tempo all have to work.