Palm Canyon Theatre explores what happens after 'ever after' in 'Into the Woods'
"Be careful the things you say. Children will listen," so sings The Witch in Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's "Into the Woods." The musical takes familiar fairytales such as "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Little Red Riding Hood" and mixes them together with the story of a childless baker and his wife giving audiences a not-so-fairytale-like answer to the question: What happens after ever after?
Palm Canyon Theatre will present "Into the Woods" May 13 through May 22 at the theater company's venue, located at 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive.
Through the play's Narrator (Stan Jenson), theatergoers first meet The Baker (David Brooks,) and his Wife (Francesca Amari), a childless couple. All The Baker's Wife wants is to be a mother. But this dream faces a large obstacle when (after a visit from Little Red Riding Hood, played by Leslie Benjamin, en route to visit Granny, played by Linda Cooke) they're visited by the Witch from next door (Se Layne), who informs them that she cursed their house barren after the Baker's father stole beans from her garden.
The Baker and his Wife will do anything to get their wish, so to remove the curse, they set out into the woods on a quest at the Witches' behest.
Meanwhile, Cinderella (Ana Rangel) toils in her Stepmother's (Denise Strand) house, even though her father (Alan Berry) lives there as well. Her stepsisters (Cameron Keys and Isa Morrison) are "fair of face, but evil and black of heart." As Cinderella helps them get ready to go to The Prince's (Ben Reece) ball, all she can think of is how her life would change if she too had a place at the ball.
Most of the story's action takes place — as the title implies — in the woods, where we meet Rapunzel (Nikki Hock); Jack (Anthony Nannini); The Wolf (Ben Reece); Rapunzel's Prince (Eric Stein-Steele); Cinderella's Mother (Nikki Hock); The Giant (Morgana Corelli); the prince's Steward (Terry Huber); and The Mysterious Man (Kam Sisco). Snow White (Sanai Wright) even makes a quick appearance.
The first act weaves these fairytales, known and new, together, ultimately leading to their inevitable conclusion. What makes "Into the Woods" different is a dark second act that explores what happens to these characters once they've gotten their wishes. Be careful, this tale warns. Ever after may not be what you expected.
The creative team for "Into the Woods" includes Derek Shopinski who does triple duty as director, choreographer and costume designer. Steven Smith takes on musical direction, and J.W. Layne is the scenic and lighting designer.
"Into the Woods" includes some of Sondheim's most haunting tunes. The Witch's "Stay with Me," is every parent's plea to keep their children safe and "Children Will Listen" warns what happens when we take our young for granted. The Baker's Wife's "Moments in the Wood" reminds us to look at what we have and cherish it even in the face of some new exciting adventure, while The two Prince's "Agony" reminds us, we may not always like when we get what it is that we think that we want.
"Into the Woods" is a fairytale musical for adults. It explores themes of wants and desires, what we will do to get them, and the consequences of the actions we take.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Canyon Theatre explores 'ever after' in 'Into the Woods'
