Into The Woods

Into The Woods
By Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Victorian Opera. Conductor: Benjamin Northey. Director: Stuart Maunder. Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne. July 19 – 26, 2014

I have seen a couple of amateur productions of Into the Woods which were quite impressive, so I was interested to see what the professionals would do. Victorian Opera certainly stepped up to the mark.

The interesting set had arching tree trunks forming the proscenium arch, meeting in the middle. Then another couple of trunks framed a doorway from which the actors appeared as the narrator introduced them. When the rest of the stage was revealed we found further sets of tree trunks on different levels and these proceeded to move sideways to form different patterns for the various scenes. It was very effective.

This was an unusual choice for an opera company, as most of the principals were from music theatre, with very few of their regular opera singers involved. But there were no weak links here and I was particularly impressed with the non-stop action. This music is very difficult but the singers and orchestra were well up to the challenge.

John Diedrich, as the narrator and mysterious man, was the glue that held the production together. As one scene finished he was right there to introduce the next. Rowan Witt was a delightful Jack with the appropriate wide-eyed naivety. Melissa Langton was his frustrated mother. They worked well together.

David Harris and Christina O’Neill played the Baker and his wife. Both were excellent and Christina has a beautiful voice. Another impressive voice was found in the delightful Lucy Maunder, who played Cinderella.

Queenie van de Zandt was an excellent witch and her opening solo, “Greens, greens, and nothing but greens”, was a real tongue-twister, and a real lesson in first class diction. Olivia Cranwell was suitably over the top as Rapunzel and Josie Lane a cheeky Red Riding Hood.

The two princes were played by Matthew McFarlane and Jeremy Kleeman, who moved frenetically around stage, with a little leap before taking off. They were very funny and their duet “Agony” was a highlight.

As it was opening night there were a couple of late sound and light cues, but I loved the lighting pattern on stage shaking as the giant approached. This was an excellent production and the audience were totally involved.

Graham Ford

image: David Harris as The Baker, Queenie van de Zandt as The Witch and Christina O’Neill as The Baker’s Wife. © Jeff Busby

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