![\"Anthony](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/04_ITW.jpg\")
<\/a>Anthony Chatmon II, Darick Pead, Laurie Veldheer, and Bonne Kramer. Photo by Joan Marcus, as is the big one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
But this is a whole new crazy production now, brought to us by Fiasco Theater, which is an ensemble theatre company created by graduates of the Brown University\/Trinity Rep MFA acting program, which I\u2019m impressed with, especially because I\u2019ve had glancing relationships with both Brown and Trinity Rep. (When I was still a teen-ager, I actually left my beloved Los Angeles, where I was a dance major at UCLA, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island, because my boyfriend at the time was a student at Brown. So, I was at that school and in the area a lot. And then an old pal from my first college theatre department wound-up running<\/em> Trinity Square Reporatory, so I helped paint sets whenever I could, and saw all the shows there for years. I still love that whole city!)<\/p>\n And Fiasco made Into The Woods<\/em> a wild new-fangled show. This schticky production actually makes the now-iconic musical more interesting. You can\u2019t look away for even one second or you\u2019ll miss some clever visual.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t remember why I didn\u2019t like it the first time I saw it; I should have loved<\/em> it because Vanessa Williams starred, and I always support former Miss Americas. (Stop laughing–I\u2019m not kidding.) But I think I\u2019m just not a Sondheim fan. His music is perhaps a bit too scattered for me. And each ditty seems to go on and on. But I wound-up loving this show\u2019s song Children<\/em> Will Listen<\/em> when I saw Meryl Streep sing it in the movie a few years ago. [Note: It\u2019s not listed in the program at the Ahmanson, but I know I heard it. I did a lot of research, but couldn\u2019t find that it really has a different title. So, perhaps it\u2019s listed as Witch’s Lament<\/em>. Wow\u2014aren\u2019t you glad to have just received this crucial information?]<\/p>\n I think this<\/em> version of the musical veers from the original narrative a little bit, although I am far from being an Into The Woods<\/em> expert. But I feel like I remember a narrator, which this one doesn\u2019t have, and I don\u2019t remember any of the songs being performed as sort-of a rap. And I certainly don\u2019t remember it being this entertaining!<\/p>\n Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n In case you\u2019re not familiar with the crazy story…look it up yourselves! Why do I<\/em> have to do all the work for you?! But really, it\u2019s a melange of fairy tales, and, if you haven\u2019t seen the film or show before, you may be confused for a while. (That\u2019s actually why I stopped watching the television show\u00a0Once Upon a Time<\/em>\u2014I don\u2019t like my fairy tale characters meeting each other.)<\/p>\n In this production, there are ten actor\/singers who stay visible pretty much the whole time, and one on-stage piano player, Evan Rees, who works his fingers to the bone! Seriously, I don\u2019t think he stopped playing for even one second! (Okay, he did<\/em>; for literally a few seconds, to play a quick visual character.) The auxiliary instruments, (cello, trumpet, bassoon, percussion, and I think I saw a guitar in there, too,) are all played by the actors. (Really, what did these casting calls look like? \u201cWe\u2019re seeking an grown-up actress who looks like a kid, is funny, can sing, and has the ability to quickly learn to play the trumpet.\u201d How many people showed-up for that<\/em> one?!) (The one who does all that here is Lisa Helmi Johanson, by the way.)<\/p>\n And that\u2019s just one example of this uber-talented cast. They are all<\/em> blessed with fabulous voices, and comedy chops, to boot. I\u2019m always amazed that there are so many talented people in this world, such as these<\/em> singers, who are not<\/em> famous, yet idiots like the Kardashians and the Housewives are<\/em>! How screwy is that<\/em>?!<\/p>\n Anthony Chatmon II and Lisa Helmi Johanson. I adore her boots! \u00a0Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n If I have to choose a favorite amongst the cast, (but who said that I do<\/em>?,) it would be Anthony Chatmon II, who played, among many other characters, Cinderella\u2019s Prince. (We all know that character\u2019s name is really<\/em> Prince Charming, but, probably because this is a skewed tale, they don\u2019t use it in this show.) I\u2019d love to hear him sing in other styles sometime, because I have a feeling that he can really wail. He and Darick Pead, (as Rapunzel\u2019s Prince,) sing my two favorite numbers, which are the same song, Agony<\/em>, but with different, clever lyrics. And attitudes. The one in Act II, about fairy tale princesses other than their own, is priceless.<\/p>\n And I have to say, with shows like this one, (and actually, all<\/em> Sondheim musicals,) lyrics are of paramount importance, so I love that we can understand each and every word this cast sings.<\/p>\n The set looks<\/em> simple, as do the mostly ecru costumes, the only real<\/em> color of which is little Red Riding Hood\u2019s\u2014guess what?–red riding hood, of course!!! Duh. (Perhaps I should have eaten before I started writing this review. My brain appears to be a tad punchy right now.) That color scheme reminded me too much of Schindler\u2019s List<\/em>, which was shot in black and white except for one little girl\u2019s red coat.<\/p>\n (L to R) Eleasha Gamble, Laurie Veldheer, and Anthony Chatmon II. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n But I do admire the thought that went into it by costume designer Whitney Locher, and the deceptively complicated set design, too, which is by Derek McLane. I loved the assorted chandeliers that hover mysteriously over the proceedings, (though apropos of nothing,) and even the sides<\/em> of the stage frame are interesting. (I<\/em> could never be in this show, though, because the actors all keep walking under a ladder! That would have let me out on Day 1 of rehearsal. Oh, and also the fact that I can\u2019t sing or play an instrument. Unless you count Put Put Put Goes<\/em> the Flashy Speedboat<\/em> with one hand on piano. Then I\u2019m your gal.)<\/p>\n I have only two small complaints, and they\u2019re with the script<\/em>, not this production<\/em>. First, it could have been a heck of a lot shorter! You always want to leave them wanting more, as opposed to looking at their watches, praying it will be over soon, so they can get on with their lives. (My friend Lucia, who\u2019s even a young-ish hip chick, commented as we left that she would have rathered seen it in a matinee<\/em>, so that she wouldn\u2019t be getting home at midnight!)<\/p>\n The actors tell you up-front to please not leave after the first act, because that curtain could really be mistaken as the ending. And a happy one at that. (There is no physical<\/em> curtain, but I\u2019m sure you know what I mean.) But I noticed that several people did<\/em> leave, I\u2019m sure due to the late hour. And just as I was thinking that the second act was perhaps a bit more fun than the first, it got very plodding and repetitive. And went on and on and on, about the same things! And then characters started getting killed off, so maybe you should<\/em> leave at halftime. And Act I is really a complete show unto itself.<\/p>\n Secondly, what is up with all those deaths??? This is supposed to be a musical comedy<\/em>, not a musical leave-em-bummed-out<\/em>! I try to not be bothered by senseless on-stage killings if the depressing parts of a show teach us some wonderful life lesson, but these deaths really do not serve that purpose. (Unless it\u2019s that, if you cheat on your husband for a one night stand, it\u2019s curtains for you. And again, not of the physical variety.) [Note: I do understand that some people think<\/em> that there\u2019s some kind of lesson at the end of this show, but I feel that they\u2019re just trying to cheer themselves up.] Since the scenario of Into The Woods<\/em> is basically a fractured fairy tale to begin with, why can\u2019t someone just wave a magic wand to bring everyone back to life, and let it end happily??? What happened in Sondheim\u2019s childhood to make him want to foist such sadness on his audience?! (If I had more time, I\u2019d delve into it for him, but a healer recently told me that I have to take off my \u201cbackpack of other people\u2019s problems,\u201d so I guess Stephen\u2019s on his own for now. Yeah\u2014I\u2019m sure he\u2019s really busted up about that.)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>