Photos by Sammy Gore and Quinlin Gallagher
When someone says “Let’s put on a play!” it takes more than just a troupe of willing actors to pull together a fully-realized production, with costumes and scenery and the magic that makes live theatre so addicting. (And it doesn’t hurt to have the music and words of the legendary Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine to draw from.)
Case in point: the current production of Into the Woods on display at the Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre. While you may sing the praises of its 16 cast members pulled together by one talented director (Dakota Simpson), it’s the setting and the costumes that grab your attention from the get-go on this very small stage in this very small converted auditorium.
Set designer Russell Snow and his scene dressers Margo Ternstrom, Emy Herman, Katie Herman, Carlie Herman, and Rylee Blackham have created a suggestion of those deep, dark woods behind everything, along with a faux proscenium arch under which most of the fairy tale action takes place. A few set pieces are all that is needed to suggest the home of the Baker and his wife, the hearth where Cinderella dreams, and Jack and his mother’s humble abode.
Then there are the costumes designed by Karen Russu. What a delight! From Little Red Riding Hood’s outfit (complete with stunning red cape, of course), to the wigs and foppish finery of Cinderella’s haughty and hilarious sisters, to the fascinating detail of the rich yet coarse textures of the vestments donned by the Witch and the Mysterious Man, the attention to detail is marvelous.
What some of the actors make from the costumes, design elements, and props they have been given is worth the price of a ticket. Kelly Fitzgerald McCraw as the Witch knows how to wield her staff to best spellbinding use. The two Princes (Sammy Gore and Jordan Herman) show off their sword play while strutting their royal stuff in perfectly stuffy ways. And the Baker (Bryce Prunty) and the Baker’s Wife (Liz Russ) heartily and touchingly search for the four items that will give them their hearts’ desire.
While Simpson has well choreographed large numbers of his cast for the big opening and closing numbers of the production’s two acts, the best parts of this show are between those numbers and in pairs: Prunty and Russ in their duet “It Takes Two,” Gore and Herman commiserating about their “Agony,” McGraw and Simón Lowrie (as the Mysterious Man) conjuring plots both visible and enigmatic.
This production shines in those small, intimate interactions, and in the details that the cast and crew have lovingly brought to life (even if we are talking fairy tales). As the lyrics say, “Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see and learn.” Let’s hope they see this show.
Editor’s Note: This production of Into the Woods has been extended to include performances on Friday night May 2 and a Saturday, May 3 matinee.