INTO THE WOODS, WA

The Stephen Sondheim, /James Lapine musical "Into the Woods' is currently being performed at the Subiaco Arts Centre. It is produced by Yellow Glass Theatre. Directed by Chris Kabay and with musical direction by Simon Holt. Sondheim freely admits that he was taken by the deeper meaning and psychology of fairy tales produced by Bruno Buttleheim and it was Buttleheims take on fairy tales as well as the notion of community and people being responsible for each other, that is the basis of "Into the Woods'. Whilst using fairy tales, there are certainly some very confronting moments and ideas entwined among the tree leaves and the woods of the forest. I very much liked the simplified set for this production. Having seen the show a number of times before, I was taken by the clever use of the different parts of the set being used in different scenes, without the need for set changes. I thought the costumes were overall very well done. I liked the wolf and his dark side and I thought the Princes' leather was just beautiful. I thought that possibly the witch may have been more hideous in act one but that is a tiny point. This show is a very deep and complex production in both the story and the singing. It is a truly beautiful musical and there needs to be a fine line drawn between creating comedy and keeping the tension. I believe that Yellow Glass succeeded very well in keeping the show pacy , funny and still very thought provoking. The show did drag slightly in the second half of Act II but only fractionally and it certainly came back with a vengence. I found some of the cheoreography a little laboured and trying to be a little too fairy taleish. The cast seemed to be very intent on getting the moves right and some of the dance moves felt a little too complicated for their own good. The music was beautifully performed and it was a credit to the musicians. I felt that once or twice it might have been fractionally too loud, but only for a few seconds. As for the performances, the Bakers wife, ( sorry, no programme), the Witch, the Princes and Red Riding Hood were the highlights for me. I found them totally believable and utterly credible. The singing was beautiful and the diction was clear and it was a delight to be able to understand the humour in the songs when it was there and when the serious thought provoking moments were there, they were highlighted beautifully. One of the reasons why Sondheim is a master of musical theatre, is his ability to make us question how we live and how we interact. I think Yellow Glass has been very successful in making their audience listen to those questions and take them with them, not an easy feat at all. The haunting song " No one is alone" in Act II should remind us all that we are responsible for each other. In our world of hatred and violence and racism, it is a musical such as "Into the Woods" that can really make us stop and re evaluate our take on the world. It is vital that we are made to question ourselves and if it is a musical supposedly about fairy tales, that can make us do that, then so be it. I congratulate Yellow Glass theatre for having the courage to produce this very difficult production in the first place, for finding a cast to do it justice in the second. For having the faith that Western Australian audiences are adult and mature enough to understand that theatre can be confronting at times and for hoping that simply because the show isn't "Cats", "Beauty and the Beast" or "Rocky Horror" , it is still worthy of seeing and believing in it. Thank you Yellow Glass. I look forward to your next intelligent, sensitively directed and clever production. When I want to see a quality musical I will be coming to your shows. An admirer.