Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The sublime Encores! revival of INTO THE WOODS shimmers even more eloquently on the Great White Way

• By drediman
• July 12, 2022
• No Comments

Two months ago, I effused ever so passionately about the Encores! revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s beloved musical Into the Woods at New York City Center. Thankfully, the decision was made to transfer the staged concert to Broadway, where it opened earlier this week at the St. James Theatre. I’m happy to report that the revival shimmers even more eloquently on the Great White Way than it did at City Center. The occasion also gives theatergoers who were not able to obtain tickets to the earlier sold out run the wonderful opportunity to experience – albeit only for a limited time – the sublime production.

Lear deBessonet’s production remains the model of elegantly stripped down theater-making, which allows Sondheim’s score – music director Rob Berman’s vivid resuscitation of Jonathan Tunick’s original orchestrations is a real treat – and the performances take center stage. Although the physical production is more or less identical, the staging has only gotten tighter and the performances have generally become both deeper and broader (particularly Julia Lester as Little Red and Gavin Creel as the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince with respect to the latter quality). Only about half of the cast has transferred with the show on its trip 11 blocks south from City Center to the St. James. Notable among the new additions are the golden-voiced Phillipa Soo as a perky and poignant Cinderella and Joshua Henry as a comedically robust Rapunzel’s Prince.

Although I missed the showstopping gravitas that Heather Headley brought to the Witch, Patina Miller brings her own chiseled physicality to the role but is ultimately less viscerally impactful than her predecessor, thereby transferring the focus of the show to the Baker and his Wife. Luckily, singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles – a beautifully natural and appealingly honest actress – has grown magnificently in the role since May, and her disarming Baker’s Wife is now in many ways the engine that drives the show. Also new to the cast is Broadway veteran Brian d’Arcy James, who brings a maturity and his sterling voice to the pivotal role of the Baker. Both Ms. Bareilles and Mr. James make for a convincing couple; they bring an emotional urgency to their quest that I found immensely moving.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

INTO THE WOODS
Broadway, Musical
St. James Theatre
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through August 21