Wed. April 21, 2010
By John Olson
Another standout is Rachel Quinn as Cinderella, with a lovely soprano matching her characterization of the maid who becomes a princess as a strong and compassionate young woman. Steve Best as the Baker and Jeny Wasilewski as Little Red Riding Hood compare favorably to the memories of the actors who originated their roles. Scott Sumerak plays Jack as dim more than naïve, with Kristen Freilich a fairly patient mother to the boy who causes so much of the story's trouble by messing with the Giant and his wife. Henry Michael Odum has warmth as the Narrator and nicely underplays the Mysterious Man as wise old bum in a tattered jacket.
Music Director Eugene Dizon leads a five-piece orchestra of keyboard, a woodwind player and three strings. The reduction in orchestration is fine, but with the powerful voices on stage, the vocalists could easily have held their own against a larger pit band. Danny Bernardo's choreography is a fairly pedestrian mix of expected moves including skipping and kicks.
Fans of this show generally don't like each of its two acts equally. Some feel the piece could end after its "fractured fairy tales" first act and others (and I'm in this group) find it the price of admission to watch the more philosophical second act. I'm wondering if director Stearns doesn't share my preference on this. The cast doesn't fully find or land all the humor in Lapine's first act, but does better with the more emotional second half of the piece. In all, though, it's a very nice production that does justice to the Sondheim score with handsome production values that transport the audience into its fairy tale world.
Into the Woods runs through May 30, 2010 at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, Chicago. Tickets may be purchased through the box office at Theatre Building Chicago, by phone at 773-327-525 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Photo: Rachel Quinn and Jeny Wasilewsk. Photo by: Johnny Knight
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