Into the Woods and the Profitable Workshop

     So a few weeks (months now) ago, I went to see  Into the Woods at the Ahmanson Theater with Gavin Creel, Stephanie J. Block, Krysta Rodriguez, and co. I'll mention that I sat in like the front of the nosebleeds so I did not have the closest view of their faces, but none of my complaints are really with the acting, but more so the staging and the tone. But I did have binoculars during the second act!

    I have to say that Into the Woods is such a well done show on the page, and (when it's done by people who know what they're doing) usually on the stage as well. I only really went so I could see Gavin Creel irl because he is my musical theatre Jesus. It was kind of disappointing in that sense because from my seat I couldn't make out his face without the binoculars. It didn't really even feel like I was in the same room as him, which considering the distance between us, it could be argued I wasn't. But it was all okay because we were breathing the same air or something idk. But anyways, for the whole first act I was imagining Krysta Rodriguez looked like Ana De Armas because I had no idea what she actually looked like, and from where I was sitting that's who she resembled most and my brain filled in the gaps. Act two was an interesting subversion of my expectations in that regard.

    I was actually worried that none of the billed cast would be performing because it was a Saturday Matinee and when I saw the national tour of Hamilton which was I think Wednesday at night?? -- Don't quote me -- like half the cast was understudies, but I was very glad that the people I came to see were actually there.

    But all of that is pretty much beside the point. All of the singing was fucking flawless, but where we reach a negative crossroads is at the tone of the whole thing. It started off as a temporary workshop with a bunch of very talented and well respected musical theater actors (I would murder to have seen it with Philipa Soo), and with that lens, I understand all of the choices that it made, but whether or not a lot of those choices were effective is another question.

    The first thing I'll mention is the costuming. It really was VIBRANT. I mean the characters had COLORS and they stuck to them. Cinderella wore bright almost neon at some points yellow and orange, Jack wore green, Little Red wore (you'll never guess) red, the bakers wore brown, and the list goes on. This choice works for the first act which is much more whimsical and humorous and what not, but in the second act having all of the characters looking like a box of crayola doesn't aide the tonal shift in the slightest. Maybe it could be a kind of  'culture shock', but it did not come off that way.

    It makes me question what the show is trying to be. If it's just trying to be a good time, then sure, relay that through the costuming, but then is Into the Woods a good choice for that? I'd say if you're familiar with the material you'd probably say no. And the oddity of this choice obviously wouldn't have been as important if it stuck with it's original short run. But in my opinion, the decision to take it on the road, that is to say, stretch it out for I think at least a year, I at least, am going to open up the ability to question whether or not it's as good as it could've been.

    Then there's the blocking and staging. Like half of the stage was taken up by the orchestra which is a cool gimmick, and again effective for the short term, and if I remember correctly pretty common for workshops and showcases like this. But here, the stage felt a touch cramped. I mean you have a huge stage and you take up 3/5s of it with the orchestra which I barely even looked at, and it's at the expense of having your actors look like they're acting in a shoe box. Or crayon box. Maybe that's more of a personal preference. But I think it really killed some of the spacing of it.

    During the second act, there were too many moments where the audience laughed at moments that weren't supposed to be funny. Which tells you that the tone did not come across. I mean, I know my mom laughs at inappropriate times, but she can be weird sometimes. The audience on the other hand, I feel they were kind of left to fend for themselves.

    An example is the death of Jack's mother. She died STANDING UP, like who dies standing up? Even if it does happen the choice made what happened very confusing. If I wasn't already familiar with the material I would've been very shocked and confused. Regardless of that, I was still shocked! It was worse than Tommy in Carrie dying instantly after getting hit in the head with a bucket. Like, how?

    The show was charming and enjoyable, but not necessarily beginner friendly. With a notable lack of clarity and tonal consistency in the second act. If you were to ask me whether or not I thought it was a good adaptation of the material, I'd say the technical aspects (blocking, set design, costume design) are a 6/10 for a professional production, while the performances are I'd say maybe 6-10 out of 10 depending on the cast member. Which, I know, is a big range, but it's the best I got.