Into the Woods

Hello People of the Interwebs!

Today, I'll be reviewing, 'Into the Woods', a musical that I saw as a part of the TRaC, or the Teen Reviewers and Critics, Program, run by Arts Connection. It's a great program, and they do it for completely free! Check them out here. Anyway, into the review!

Image Credit to Roundabout Theater and Joan Marcus
Fiasco Theater in 'Into the Woods'

The story follows a baker and his wife, and some classic fairy tale characters. These characters include Cinderella, Jack (of the beanstalk), Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood. They each have a wish, and go out to try to fulfill that wish. The story does some clever things, like how the first act ends with a "happily ever after", and then the second act shows that "happily ever after" isn't always forever. But enough with the story!

This show was put on by a theater company called 'Fiasco Theater'. I'm not gonna do any PR fo them right now, but here's their website for you to explore: http://www.fiascotheater.com/. These actors are quite good. They do well with switching between characters in a flash, and they all have pretty decent singing voices. 

What really struck me was HOW it was performed. The set was complicated, with a rope pattern on the back wall, and piano casings on the walls. There were tables, chairs, boxes, lamps, etc. all over the place. The cast used these minimal props amazingly. They used a ladder as a tower, shadows as a giant, stick horses as real horses, sheet music as birds, and all sorts of other clever things. There's just something about this type of theater that really gets me. It reminds me of PigPen Theater Company, and their show "The Old Man and the Old Moon", which I reviewed a few months back. (You can check it out here) There's just a feeling of whimsy that comes from this style of performance.

There's not much more that I can say about it. It's just a beautiful performance. Definitely go see it! You can buy tickets here!

This is the Teenage Critic, signing off!

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