Into the Woods - Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts

Into the Woods - Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts

Laura Anne Miller 

Into the Woods begins with a Narrator (Michael Windnagle) reading a book of fairytales. The narrator tells the story of several recognizable Brothers Grimm fairytale characters such as Cinderella (Kira Elena Billard), Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk (Jaxon Fedewa), LIttle Red Ridinghood (Jecara Williams), and Rapunzel (Grase Rosen). The characters’ stories all start with a desire or want that they have and ultimately it leads to the intertwining of all the characters’ stories.

The story begins with Baker (Chad DeKatch) and his wife (Mary Catherine Maurer) who long to have a baby. Unfortunately, they are destined to remain childless because of a curse put on the Baker’s father (Doak Bloss) by a Witch (Amanda DeKatch). The Witch desires to be young and beautiful, but also has a curse on her. In order for that to happen, she must collect four specific items. The Witch enlists the Baker and his wife to help her find those four items with the promise that she will lift the curse if they will bring her the items. 

The first item is a cow and not just any cow, a cow that is as white as milk. Enter Milky-White (Frankie Nevin), who is the decrepit cow best friend of Jack. Jack’s mother (Sarah Hayner) tells Jack to sell the cow to get money for food. Jack trades Milky-White with the Baker for some “magic” beans. 

The next item is a cape “as red as blood” which is being worn by Little Red Ridinghood, a spoiled girl who enjoys sweets and is on her way to her grandmother’s house. On the way, she meets a Wolf (James Curtis), who she later encounters at her grandmother’s house. Because he has been following her to get the red cape, the Baker rescues Little Red and Grandmother (Jessica McClung) and is given the red cape in return.

The third item is hair as yellow as corn. Luckily, the Witch has been keeping Rapunzel (Grace Rosen) in a tower and her hair is yellow like corn. However, Rapunzel has become increasingly dissatisfied with her life in the tower and allows a visitor, a Prince (David Anderson). Like the Prince, the Baker’s wife hears Rapunzel singing and manages to get some hair as yellow as corn. Unhappy with her mother’s choice to keep her locked away, Rapunzel runs away and her prince runs after her to find her and marry her. 

The last item is a slipper as pure as gold. Cinderella longs to go to the festival, but her stepsisters (Devin Brant, Anna Anderson) and her stepmother (Anna Owens) scoff at her and tell her she can’t go, but Cinderella manages to go to the multi-day festival and dance with the Prince (Jake Przybyla) who was completely enchanted with her and wanted to marry her, except Cinderella kept escaping. Cinderella meets the Baker’s wife in the woods and ultimately the Baker’s wife gets the shoe. 

Meanwhile, Jack’s mother is very unhappy that Jack traded for “magic” beans and throws the beans. A beanstalk grows and Jack climbs up and steals gold and a harp from the giants. The giants are not thrilled with this choice and one tries to come down the beanstalk, but falls into the backyard of Jack and his mother’s house. 

At the close of the first act, Cinderella is married to her prince, the Baker and his wife are expecting a baby, Jack and his mother have money, Rapunzel has reappeared with twins and her Prince in tow. The Witch is young and beautiful, but has no powers. They all got everything they wanted and now can live Happily Ever After, right?

The second act opens with everyone being dissatisfied. They all got what they wished for, but why are they not happy? Cinderella is bored, Jack misses the giants’ kingdom, the Baker and his wife have their baby, but he is fussy, and Rapunzel is still angry and has run away. Even the Princes are bored. Rapunzel and Cinderella’s princes have found new loves in the woods, Snow White (Jessica Maginity) and Sleeping Beauty (Liv McIntyre). And a Giantess (Mandy Bashore) has come down the beanstalk to avenge her husband’s death. The Baker tries to warn the Prince’s Steward (Matt Apostle), but is unsuccessful. The Giantess wreaks havoc on the village and all the fairytale character’s homes and lives while searching for Jack, who killed her husband. The characters must band together to handle the Giantess before they are killed.Ultimately, the story ends with the Baker’s wife encouraging the Baker to tell their child a story. 

This show was incredible. From the stage design(Dirk Rennick, Dan Wenzlick) and set construction (Bruce Buysse, Taylor Engel, Frankie Nevin) to the gorgeous costumes (Alissa Britten), it was phenomenal. The vocals were beautiful with some real show stopping numbers, the cast was well directed by Amanda DeKatch and Jessica Maginity for vocals. 

The stage itself was set as a small cottage and the stage was raked, meaning the stage sloped upward as it goes back to increase the stage visibility for the audience. On one side of the stage, there is a large tree branch coming through the wall. It served as Rapunzel’s tower for part of the show and a place for others to sit throughout the production. There are several entrances and exits as well. Sometimes characters came through the cottage door, sometimes they came in from the “front wings” of the stage and a few times they came in through a fireplace. This kept interest and added to the vibe of the play overall.

The stage was not large, but with so many different characters, sometimes with several stories being told at one time, the stage had the potential to be crowded or chaotic. This was not the case, however, due to the wonderful talents of the director (Garrett Bradley) and the choreographer (Brett Russell). The stage never looked chaotic or overwhelmed. The dance numbers themselves had a lot of choreography and making sure that everyone was in sync was a big job. The actors pulled it off brilliantly and all the choreography looked wonderful.

Costumes really sell a play. This play was no exception. The costumes were gorgeous. Each character was reflected in their costume. For example, once the Witch became beautiful, she wore this floaty, medium green colored dress that floated around her as she moved. Cinderella wore a beautiful white gown for her wedding and princess look. She had a more muted blue ensemble that she wore when she was peasant Cindrella. 

Perhaps the coolest thing about this show was their use of puppets. At the beginning, there is a baby cradle sitting in the center of the stage. A mobile hangs from the cradle with some cloth birds made from brightly colored fabric. The birds are Cinderella’s friends and an actor, dressed similarly to those onstage, comes out and “dances” the bird mobile around whilst sound effects of bird whistles are heard and Cinderella “talks” to the birds. 

Milky-White, the cow, was also a puppet. There is a cow head with some fabric that goes across the back of the cow. These pieces made to look like ribs hang out below the fabric to give the cow a sickly look. Two handles are attached to the back of the head and the rump of the cow and an actor carries the puppet around the stage. The actor (Frankie Nevin) then reacts to what is happening onstage. When Milky-White was supposed to be sad, he would act like it. That added touch was so awesome and definitely added to the magic of the play. It was so cleverly done.

Overall, I would HIGHLY encourage anyone to go see this show. It was incredible.  The run time is around 2 hours and 45 minutes, so plan accordingly. There are a few “off color” jokes that younger ones may not understand, but overall it is family friendly. 

Parking is a little tricky at the Lebowsky Center. There is limited parking on the street, but there is a large parking lot behind the theater and it is a few minutes walk. Please note there is no parking allowed at the Jars business located to the side of the Lebowsky center. 

The show runs through this weekend, March 7th, 8th, and 9th. Tickets range from $22 to $32. The theater is relatively small, so being able to see the stage is not a problem and there really are no “bad” seats. Go online to www.lebowskycenter.com or call 989-723-4003.