REVIEW ­ INTO THE WOODS

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim based on the book by James Lapine

By arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York

The Grand Theatre, St Leonardsgate, Lancaster, Tuesday 11 to Saturday 15 October 2005

Lancaster Footlights' colourful, vivid and engaging triumph

In a first-class, beautifully-executed evening of fun, magic and mystery, Lancaster Footlights has demonstrated superbly that there is more to 'light music' than Gilbert & Sullivan/Lloyd Webber/Classic FM/Radio 2, and more to good, family entertainment than potboilers, panto and cover bands (delete as appropriate).

Into the Woods, by Pulitzer-laureate septuagenarian Stephen Joshua Sondheim, (b1930) is more than a cracking piece of music or finely-wrought theatre. It is, further, a great treat for anyone and everyone from pre-teens to pensioners, as the near-capacity, enraptured audience at The Grand on Saturday night clearly showed. These are the key attributes of opera at its best, dare I say, without the élitism and luvviness of Covent Garden.

"Anything can happen in the woods"

Roger Bradley, who directed last week's production, says in the excellent programme notes that: Into the Woods is Sondheim and Lapine at their best. It is probably Sondheim's most accessible show, being woven around much loved fairy tales, but at the same time it has depths of complexity to be enjoyed or left alone - as the audience wishes.

"Our characters are the standard fairytale types, going after their wishes with single minded determination. There is good and evil- all very straightforward and well defined, but then we find that, whilst in pursuit of their own 'happy ever after', their actions have reactions and repercussions. Witches can be right, giants can be good, nothing is cut and dried, boundaries become blurred and dilemmas abound. It is how the characters (and society) overcome or succumb to these difficulties that adds a different dimension to the show.

"Added to this is Sondheim's mastery with language and music. The rhythms twist and soar and musical themes are developed and repeated- almost! There is always a variation on the previous version - the progression in the music mimicking that of the characters. Sondheim's use of language is amazing and very precise.

"The script is alive with alliteration and he puts rhyme on top of rhyme - often with several examples of each within a single phrase. Watch out for the eleven consecutive rhymes on the word 'shoe' in one musical number — and enjoy!"

There speaks a passionate man. And that passion was not solely his own ...

Production [added] values

... for last Saturday night the Footlights cast, band and crew were more than equal to the incredibly complex tasks involved in staging such a work as this. The imaginative staging allowed for both the expansive and the intimate; the costumes were great; blocking, movement and dance were intimately woven into the dramatic action, and the lighting further added to the visual magic. Pace was taut without being hurried or self-indulgent; the ninety-or-so minutes of the first act passed as if by magic ...

Diction, intonation and clarity, too, were spot on, though the amplification did not always serve its purpose. The voices, young and old, sung and spoken, were robust enough not to need it in The Grand's generous acoustic. Definitive characterisation is an essential quality of a work such as this, and a sure grasp of the multi-dimensional opportunities here was evident in the numerous gags, visual, musical and spoken, which were wonderfully done ­ no ham and just enough camp.

There was some interesting interval discussion about whether the Witch metamorphosed into Marlene Dietrich or Margaret Thatcher; the plot certainly has echoes of Private Eye as well as The Wizard of Oz, inter alia. There were some gorgeous tableaux too.

The six-piece band, under the sensitive and robust direction of Angela Pearson, handled Sondheim's fiendish score with a seamless professionalism and, hand-in-hand with Bradley's intelligent direction, brought together the sum of all the many, intricate parts into a vibrant, magical whole.

"A near-flawless production"

A production of this kind can only succeed because of the synergy between everyone involved ­ actors/singers, stage staff, lighting, props and everyone else involved. All credit, then, to each one who took whatever part in this near-flawless production. There are simply too many names to mention, but I was particularly struck by the performances of sixteen year-old Jeet Mukerji (an accomplished Jack, as in the Beanstalk), an engaging Joanne Hayton (a knife-wielding, spoilt teenager Little Red Riding Hood) and Ginny Scott (a Witch with added coups de théâtre).

Manic magic

This was a story from Tom Sharpe told by Terry Pratchett, scored by Rossini, arranged by Kurt Weill and directed by Terry Gilliam. Musical Director Angela Pearson encourages us to "Follow the music; it will take you somewhere wonderful. Into The Woods is [...] bright, intriguing, funny, complex, puzzling, charming, and musically elaborate. And where else would you find a Witch ... who raps?"

Or a cow who dies yet is later milked, a coconut horse going backwards, three blindings, a dead old mother carried off ­ upright - on a luggage trolley, a Narrator who put most television newscasters to shame, and audible fourth-wall devastation to the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina?

"A great evening"

This was a great evening for everyone - adults, children, musical buffs, opera fans, political pundits, pacifists and Python addicts. Brimming with passion, professionalism and panache, it was an eminently memorable evening. A real triumph for Footlights and The Grand.

Copyright © 17 October 2005 Michael Nunn