There’s something particularly magical about Knot Free Productions’ intimate revival of Into The Woods at the Greenway Court Theatre, and as someone who’s seen 22 different live productions of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine classic, I know what I’m talking about.

The tale that Sondheim and Lapine have to tell is the same one that has enchanted audiences in the nearly four decades since the musical’s pre-Broadway World Premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe way back in 1986.

Lapine’s book takes well-known Grimm’s Fairy Tale characters from Cinderella, Jack and The Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, adds an original pair of his own (a childless Baker and his wife) and a Witch to boot, then has them meet and interact while on a variety of missions that have sent them Into The Woods.

 Cinderella attends a royal ball, Jack goes off to sell his beloved cow Milky White, Red Riding Hood leaves to visit Grandma’s house, and the Baker and his wife take off in search of four magic ingredients which the Witch says will allow them to conceive a child.

By the end of Act One, these characters have not only all become acquainted, they’ve achieved their fairy tale Happily Ever After, or at least so it seems until a curtain line alerts us that there is more, much more, to come.

Sondheim’s songs range from signature “where did that note come from” ditties (“On The Steps Of The Palace”) to instantly hummable ballads (“Children Will Listen”) to the infectious title song, and his lyrics are both clever and profound.

All of this adds up to a musical I fell in love with when its First National Tour played the Ahmanson way back in 1989 and have adored again and again and again since then, though by the time the number of productions I’d seen reached the double digits, my excitement at seeing yet another Into The Woods began to wane.

Fortunately for me, revisiting the musical a mere four months after seeing it for the 21st time turned out to be nearly three hours of musical theater bliss thanks to an almost entirely perfect cast and director Mary Jo DuPrey’s astute decision not to impose a “concept” on a show that doesn’t need reinvention.

Performers leave playing musical instruments to music director Anthony Zediker and his four-piece orchestra*, Michael Mullen’s fanciful costumes suit each character to a fairy-tale T, and scenic designer Ian Geatz doesn’t attempt anything revolutionary or revisionist, keeping things simple and allowing our imaginations to do the rest.

Most significantly, DuPrey and casting director Tal Fox have brought together a virtual dream cast of L.A.-based musical theater stars both established and up-and-coming.

Trance Thompson’s salt-of-the-earth Baker earns bonus points on opening weekend by doing it all on crutches, Kailyn Leilani makes for the most enchanting of Cinderellas, and Emily Jenda is a fierce and fabulous Witch whose transformation from nightmare crone to Dreamgirl is a dazzler.

Christian McCleary is baby-faced perfection as Jack, Aaron Camitses’s onesie-sporting Milky White is quite possibly the most scene-stealing Milky White ever, and SoCal musical theater treasure Lisa Dyson is a daffy delight as Jack’s patience-worn Mom.

Peyton Crim does sensational double duty as Cinderella’s Prince and The Big Bad Wolf, and when matched tenor for tenor with charismatic newcomer Stephen L. Wilson, he and Rapunzel’s Prince duet a showstopping “Agony” that is hilarious bliss.

Zachary Harris does fine work as both Narrator and a Mysterious Man who is more than he would initially appear to be and Roni Paige plays Rapunzel with such zing, I’d love to see her understudy turn as Little Red, a role usually played by Emma Rose Lutsky minus the sass and spunk that should make the role a scene-stealer.

Smaller parts are in the more than capable hands of Osher Fine (Lucinda), Ian Gibson (Steward), Kathryn Madigan (Granny, Cinderella’s Mother), Brandon Schumann (Florinda), Clare Snodgrass (Stepmother), and David Gueriera (stepping in for Timothy Hearl as Cinderella’s Father).

As to why I haven’t yet mentioned Sarah Wolter’s incandescent, touching, adorable, comedically brilliant, gorgeously sung star turn as The Baker’s Wife, it’s simply because I have saved the absolute best for last.

Matt Richter’s expert lighting takes us from a sunny Act One to a darker, more dramatic Act Two though his sound design could do more to amplify voices and vocals, especially when performers are upstage.

Krys Fehervari’s hair and makeup designs and Jenine MacDonald’s props complete the production design to fairy tale fanciful effect.

Jesse Durant, Andrea Lara, Kathryn Madigan, and Max Nzone are understudies. Vicente Ditto is assistant music director, Hayden Kirschbaum is assistant lighting designer, and Camitses is fight choreographer.

Into The Woods is produced by Knot Free Productions. Elana Luo is co-producer. Ruthie Geronimo is stage manager and Abe Ezra is assistant stage manager. Ken Werther is publicist.

With a score as gorgeous as Sondheim’s, a book as brilliantly conceived and executed as Lapine’s, and one dream role after another, it’s no wonder Into The Woods keeps returning production after production and I keep going back for more, albeit with a tad less enthusiasm after 21 journeys into the woods.

My initial reaction to hearing about its latest revival may have been, “What!? I have to see Into The Woods again for the 22nd time?!” but it took only seconds for me to fall under its magic spell as I rarely have in recent years. Whether this is your first time going Into The Woods or you’ve been there, done that as often as I have, Into The Woods 22.0 is just about as good as it gets.

*Ernie Carbajal, Carlos Herrera, Kevin Sakai, and Zediker

Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Blvd., Los Angeles.
www.bit.ly/ITWLA

–Steven Stanley
July 21, 2024
Photos: Bryan Carpender

Tags: Greenway Court Theatre, James Lapine, Knot Free Productions, Los Angeles Theater Review, Stephen Sondheim