“Into the Woods” a gigantic success

The moment you enter the theater at Lyric Stage Boston for “Into the Woods”,  you know you’re in for a treat.

The intimate space, in which seating wraps around three sides of the stage, allows the viewer to easily connect with actors and get wrapped up in the storyline. For a show like Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods”, in which the characters often address the audience directly, this creates the perfect kind of immersive environment.

Lyric Stage’s colorful and lively production of this eccentric blend of fairytales communicates the story’s message clearly and skillfully.

Act I is a humorous adventure, in which characters from every fairytale you can think of must travel into the woods to pursue a wish. At the end of the act, all the “good” characters have been rewarded what they whished for.

During intermission, you may find yourself wondering what the plot of the second act could possibly be, given that everything appears to be resolved.

Next thing you know, a giant has fallen from the sky and is wreaking havoc throughout the kingdom, previously happy marriages are dissolving, and the death count is growing higher and higher.

All of this is meant not to depress the audience, but to show it how unrealistic the fairytales of the first act really are. The last number, “Children Will Listen”, leaves the audience on a haunting note, contemplating the idealistic nature of the children’s stories we know and love, and wondering whether they might have been a negative influence on their reader’s adult lives.

As someone familiar with the show, I appreciated the many small, creative touches sprinkled throughout the performance. These ranged from unexpected syncopation in the songs to the addition of physical comedy, such as the cow-on-wheels prop being carried up the steps. These colorful additions were clearly due to artistic initiative on the part of director Spiro Veloudos, not a part of the original script.

The cast’s comical interpretation of their lines, which might otherwise have been bland, spiced up the lengthy storyline, and kept the audience laughing genuinely throughout the show.

Artfully created costumes, such as the witch’s multicolor robe and Cinderella’s silver ball gown, made the show even more of a pleasure to watch.

Especially outstanding performances were given by Aimee Doherty as the Witch, Erica Spyres as Cinderella, Lisa Yuen as the Baker’s Wife, and Sam Simahk as Rapunzel’s Prince.

The cast’s emotional delivery of poignant songs, like “No One Is Alone,” and catchy duets like “It Takes Two” will leave you humming the soundtrack for at least a day or two after you attend this must-see production.

    (“Into the Woods,” Lyric Stage Boston, through June 29, 2014. http://www.lyricstage.com/index.cfm)

–June 16, 2014–