Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods charmed many critics when it opened in 1987, drawing audiences into an enchanted journey by way of acquainted fairy tales and interwoven characters. The musical blends playful storytelling with darker, usually Freudian undertones, together with themes of flawed parenting, abandonment, and consequence. Its tales — together with Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the story of the Baker and his Spouse — ship every character into the woods, the place their paths turn out to be more and more entangled. After the obvious “fortunately ever after” of the primary act, the characters return to find that each want carries a value, and that everybody should ultimately pay their share.
On the Maryland Ensemble Theatre, Cody James’s black field set and Shana Joslyn’s lighting design instantly pull the viewers into the tangled world of the forest. Even earlier than the home lights fade, the intimate house suggests a storybook wilderness, with wood posts doubling as timber and a nimble association of ladders, platforms, and even a slide giving the stage shocking depth. Because the night progresses, the manufacturing makes sensible use of these ranges, permitting the actors to maneuver by way of the house with visible selection and serving to the forest really feel each playful and unpredictable. Moreover, the lighting design contributes considerably to the storytelling, shifting all through the efficiency to create dramatic results and spotlight the characters’ experiences.
Kyle Wolford’s sound design gave the dialogue and musical components readability and steadiness, though there have been a number of noticeable microphone glitches that often interrupted the movement of the efficiency. Regardless of these minor technical points, the general sound design contributed positively to the manufacturing and enhanced the viewers’s expertise. As a musician and flutist, I used to be notably impressed by the orchestra below the path of Taylor Rieland. Sondheim’s music is famend for its intricate rhythms and demanding syncopation, presenting a major problem for any musical theater ensemble. The orchestra not solely navigated these complexities with precision and confidence but in addition fulfilled its most essential position: supporting the performers on stage.
My absolute favourite solid standout was Jeremy Myers because the Baker. He supplied the emotional anchor of the musical with a weary, fashionable “everyman” high quality that balanced neurotic panic and home heat. Jennifer Pagano was one other standout because the Baker’s Spouse. Her efficiency was particularly efficient within the scene following the Baker’s Spouse’s encounter with the Prince within the woods, the place she skillfully conveyed the character’s combine of pleasure, remorse, and self-reflection. Matt Baughman and Joe Waeyaert supplied wonderful comedian reduction as Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s Prince, absolutely embracing the characters’ exaggerated vainness and melodrama. Danielle Carter was equally spectacular as Little Pink Using Hood, proving to be an ideal match for the position each vocally and theatrically. She captured the character’s youthful confidence and spirited character whereas delivering a powerful vocal efficiency that made her portrayal each plausible and memorable.
One creative alternative that felt much less profitable concerned the portrayal of the Mysterious Man. Upon his first look, the character appeared to maneuver with a deliberate bodily stiffness or exaggerated illness that was by no means absolutely defined throughout the context of the manufacturing. Whereas this will likely have been an intentional interpretive alternative, it was unclear what it was meant to convey. Moreover, whereas Karli Cole‘s vocal efficiency because the Witch was undeniably robust, I discovered myself wishing she had leaned extra into the character’s comedic alternatives. Sondheim’s Witch just isn’t solely a robust and emotionally complicated determine but in addition a supply of a few of the present’s sharpest humor. Even so, her vocal expertise and commanding stage presence have been plain.
I usually characterize Sondheim’s Into the Woods as “worthwhile witty wordiness”; it stands as one in every of his most popular and well-known works. What begins as a well-known assortment of fairy tales steadily transforms right into a poignant exploration of loss, duty, and the complexities of human need. As desires are granted and penalties unfold, the story reveals a sobering fact: our needs can form our lives in methods we by no means anticipate. By the ultimate curtain, the musical’s timeless warning resonates powerfully: watch out what you want for.
Operating Time: Two hours and 45 minutes, together with a 15-minute intermission..
Into the Woods performs by way of October 4, 2026, at Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Robin Drummond Principal Stage, 31 W Patrick Avenue, Frederick, MD. Tickets ($7–$36, charges included) may be bought by telephone at 301-694-4744, on-line, or in particular person on the MET field workplace, open Tuesday to Thursday, 12–6 p.m., Fridays 12–4 p.m., and one hour earlier than performances. Pay-What-You-Will reductions can be found to college students, seniors, and army, beginning at $7 per efficiency, whereas provides final.
Into the Woods
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
E book by James Lapine
Directed by Shea-Mikal Inexperienced
Music directed by Taylor Reiland
