RIVERTON — Few musicals are performed and loved as much in Utah as Into the Woods. The 1986 musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine is a timeless combination of gorgeous music, laughs and heart. Riverton City Arts is the latest venue to tackle the musical, and left me with a deeper appreciation for this often-produced classic.
The twisted fairy tale plot jumbles up the storylines of beloved fairy tale characters (the original, gory versions, not the sanitized Disney ones) to explore themes of parenthood and the nature of right and wrong.
Although I’ve been a Riverton resident for over three years, this was my first time in the Sandra N. Lloyd Community Center, located behind Riverton City Hall. The theater upstairs was surprisingly large, and the large stage was lengthened with a thrust extension of about 10 feet. On center stage, two double-panel set pieces on wheels suggested the domestic cottages, while stage right and stage left housed permanent sets of Rapunzel (a large, grey tower overgrown with foliage) and the hearth of the abused kitchen wench Cinderella.
The greatest strength of Riverton’s production was its singing. Many lead characters displayed wonderful voices, with the control, diction and power one might expect in a semi-professional production. Large group numbers like “Into the Woods” sounded fabulous, with impressive enunciation and pitch. Music director Jerry Westburg deserves a big hand for his work on this show.
Elena Arana stunned in a multifaceted performance as Cinderella. At the top of the show, she displayed the genuine sadness of the mistreated character. After her magical transformation, Arana displayed a masterful comedic sense and physicality; impressing with distinct, humorous entrances and hilarious pratfalls. Particularly impressive was her second entrance where she turned around ruefully at a stair she tripped on earlier, before proceeding to go head over heels on the next. Beyond physical comedy, Arana’s speaking and singing delivery was outstanding, with a smooth, expressive voice; her ability to storytell through song was wonderfully displayed in her solo “The Steps of the Palace.” Arana seemed to naturally inhabit the role and imbue it with likable light that matched the character. The way she dried her tears before “No One is Alone”, for example, was an excellent, human touch in the scene.
Eddie Gardner as Jack also impressed with powerful storytelling and a strong voice. His physicality, especially the use of his hands, combined with a confident delivery and singing style to create an outstanding performance from beginning to end, including showstopper “There Are Giants in the Sky.” As Jack’s Mother, Katelyn Westburg, also delighted the audience with the best line reading of the evening. After The Baker’s Wife mentioned they actually don’t have any children, Westburg’s response “That’s okay too” was delivered with the kind of thousand yard stare that not only displayed the harried nature of the character, but the dryness and worldweariness that perhaps only a real mother of four (according to the program) could deliver.
The cast did an excellent job staying on-time with the canned synth track. The wordy blame game of “Second Midnight”, including Cinderella, Jack, The Baker (Dustin Halliday), and Little Red Riding Hood (Erin Phelps) was particularly impressive. The time the foursome put into rehearsing that scene paid off.
Adam Saunders as the Narrator displayed a confidence that fit the character, with excellent diction and elocution. However, his Mysterious Man was so loopy and leprechaun-like that his sing-songy characterization prevented the character from having the necessary gravitas.
Direction by Kim Ostler did a good job at putting characters in distinct areas for scenes, helping the audience differentiate the various locations and personalities. One production misstep was the use of a body double and dubbed speech in the key scene where the Witch (Kayla Carter) introduces the Baker to his long-lost father. Even given the considerable limitations of community theatre, there must be a better way to facilitate her physical transformation in a way that protects more of the integrity of the scene.
Top costumes (also by Ostler) included Cinderella’s gilded gown and dress shoes, and Jack’s short pants and green vest. The Baker’s Wife’s costume looked great, although it was odd to see a maroon cape given the existence of Little Red Riding Hood. The Wolf’s costuming was unique—a French aristocrat look with a blonde wig, vest and buttoned coat without any canine accouterments other than a wolfskin cape. Sans the ears, paws, etc it did make Red’s claim about his “bigness” a mite harder to swallow.
Projected backdrops (by Kaelin John and Russ Richards) displayed storybook style illustration, and often transitioned upward to a moon entr’acte. This was especially effective when transitioning between distinct scenes, like when Cinderella’s fallen tree was revealed. Other times, I wondered what the difference was between the pre-moon and post-moon scenes given their similarity.
Lighting design by Hayley Greco often kept stage left saturated in green and stage left in blue, with mid-stage more neutral yellow and white. While this made for occasional interesting scenes, if perhaps unintended moments, such as contrasting the evil Witch (in magical blue) and innocent Repunzel (shining in natural colors), more often than not, it seemed odd for characters to turn green when they headed stage left. During many cues, mechanized lights swooped downward at full illumination, blinding Row C. During the first number, a single light got stuck, and shined directly down on me like a spotlight. Feeling self-conscious with critic’s pen and paper in hand, I scooched over a few seats. Fortunately, the light didn’t return after the next cue.
With outstanding singing and excellent performances, Riverton Arts’ production of “Into the Woods” makes a compelling case for continued and even increased investment by the city in the arts. As a Riverton resident, I am pleased to see our city investing in the arts and encourage the city to continue and expand the quality of theater in our community.
These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.
