I was joined
by three of my fellow sisters, Lady Regalia Chatterly, Lady Sandy, & Lady Lowsborough-Goodby for an evening of
entertainment; Into the Woods presented by the Arcadians Theatre Group; at the
Miner’s Lamp Corrimal
This is a
1986 Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine show about some fairy tale characters coming
together to learn lessons. It is about
what “we wish for.” and how wishing is not enough. One must work hard in life to get what we
wish for. Nobody gets anything for free.
Act one and
the first few scenes sets up the characters; the childless baker and his wife,
the witless Jack (played John Reynolds), the hapless Cinderella (played by Belinda
Balhatchet) and the plucky but clueless Little Red Riding Hood (played by Emily
Thompson). All are unhappy with the life they have and all are “wishing for
something better”. To get what they wish
for, each has to embark on a scary but exciting trip to get what they need………..usually
from each other.
The musical
required our full attention, especially for the rapid fire rhymes of the Witch
played by Jessica Garrawa. She was a
vision of grey and dirt but not very crone like; in fact I thought she was more
like an old tree, with fingers that resemble the finer branches spreading out
from one of the main limbs. Her costume
was the most inspired – designed by Ros Whittaker.
Jenifer
Bond, as the – sharp-witted Baker’s wife – bent on reversing the Witch’s curse
that rendered her husband (played by Rik McCann) infertile – has a lovely
voice, and her wide eyed appeal just radiated
out to the audience The baker and spouse
are the most grounded characters even though the Baker struggles with sticking
to his goals. However with the support of his wife and the mysterious man, aka
the Baker’s father (played by Michael Bond,) he wins through.
Act One has
the typically fairy tale ending -“living happily ever after”. It was at this point that I thought the show
had finished and was pleasantly surprised to hear that this was just the
intermission. But then I was left
wondering what could possibly happen in Act two
Act two –
once again it starts off with everyone wishing for something better. Hmmmm! a bit like real life. Even though the characters have everything
they wished for they are still unhappy. Cinderella’s
prince (played by Jack Dawson) is playing around behind her back. His brother (played by Rory Chatterton) is in
an unhappy relationship with Rapunzel (played by Olivia Boyd-Skinner) and is
enraptured with Snow White (played by young Keicie Oatrs) – his only obstacle
to happiness with Snow White is those pesky seven dwarfs. Jack is bored with his rich life and wants
adventure. The baker and his wife are tired with the babies crying and she
wants a bigger house. The witch, now
changed back to a beautiful lady wants company and the love of her daughter,
Rapunzel who she has banished to the desert.
CONFUSED!!!
This act
also brings a giant – cleverly achieved via effects and a disembodied voice. In
the first Act everyone got what they wanted without working together. In this Act they all focus on needing to kill
the Giant and to do this they must work together. Not everyone survives and relationships
change. I am left feeling that even this
“happy ending” is only temporary and so the story will go on and on.
This was a
very enjoyable musical, with a difference.
On leaving the theatre we exchanged opinions on what we thought of the
musical. Our entire group like it but
some people we met were not impressed with the evening show.
