Submitted by Adam Jackson of Montgomery Blair High School

“Once upon a time…” These four words hold promises of adventure, of magic and spells, of distant kingdoms and the musical Into the Woods presented by Woodrow Wilson Senior High School delivers.

Into the Woods with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine interweaves several popular fairytales, including “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The first act tells the traditional stories and ends with the characters expecting to live “happy ever after.” The second act depicts what happens after “ever after” and analyzes the consequences of the wishes made and fulfilled in the first act.

In general, the production suffered from a lack of focus, especially in the first act; however, there were several notable exceptions. Alexis Chaney as Little Red Riding Hood gave the character an appropriate level of naiveté and brattiness without making her character appear intolerably annoying. As Jack’s mother, Fiona Kohrman was equally strong and had the most focus in the cast. Even during the long freezes in the first act’s prologue, Kohrman remained constantly still and in character. Also of note was Natalie Plumb playing Rapunzel, who displayed a controlled and pure soprano particularly impressive for a high school student.

Despite the problems evident in the first act, the second act found many of these problems eliminated and appeared much more professional. Many of the actors displayed much more realistic emotions as their characters were confronted with the often morbid events of the second act. And even in the first act, there were several strong aspects, particularly the fluid and in-character set changes.

Sondheim is notorious for writing difficult scores and Lapine’s witty quips are not much easier, but many members of the cast of Wilson’s Into the Woods proved capable and made the production smooth, amusing, and charming.