Friends and Neighbors

Into the Woods is material that is just about as close to perfection as you can find in the American theatre canon. Between Stephen Sonheim’s unforgettable music and James Lapine’s tightly-constructed and witty book, I’ve often said almost any group with a baseline level of talent and resources can put on a satisfying show. This new production from the Pequot Lakes Community Theatre (aka Greater Lakes Performing Arts) was hampered by a number of technical flaws and pacing issues, but thanks to a game cast and the underlying strength of the material it still managed to ultimately make for a satisfying evening.

The issues started early, when the opening number was paused due to an error involving the musical backing tracks. This eventually led to the whole thing being reset, but even the second go-around had an extended pause in the song resulting from actors missing their cues. Credit should go to Jayley Andresen as Red Riding Hood for getting the action moving again – the character of Red often sets the rhythm for productions of Into the Woods anyway, so she obviously knew exactly what to do to hit her cue and kick things into gear.

Thankfully the technical issues during the rest of the show weren’t as noteworthy, although there were some issues with the sound and moments when the cast’s vocals didn’t quite synch up with the backing tracks. I recall there being similar issues when I saw Pequot’s productions of Shrek: the Musical and Annie, so maybe it comes with the venue. Outside of technical issues there was the occasional some lag in the pacing, most notably with “Giants in the Sky” which normally begins immediately after “First Midnight” but here there was a gap between songs as the actors moved into their paces, which upended the pacing a little bit. Thankfully Avi Trujillo as Jack made the song her own & brought new dimensions to it through her vocals.

The cast as a whole all did well to rise up to the occasion, and with a show as well-balanced as Into the Woods it ensures that just about everyone had a standout moment. Brynn Bestland brings a smart earnestness to the role of Cinderella, while the always entertaining Baird Brutcher brings a unique and delightful physicality to the Wolf before moving on to playing Cinderella’s Prince as a man convinced he’s actually the hero of the story, even though his actions show him to be anything but. As the Baker, Sam Kalthoff is initially maybe too believable as a passive man who relies on his wife for everything (of course it’s probably easy to seem passive in comparison to Carrie Walker as the Baker’s Wife who steals scenes with her forceful personality) but especially in the second act Kalthoff digs deep into the Baker’s anger and brings new dimension to the character. I also appreciated how performers in the supporting cast like Erin Caswell, Abigail Porter, and Stephanie White brought a lot of character and personality to Cinderella’s mother, Rapunzel, and The Steward – these are smaller supporting parts that sometimes risk getting swallowed up by the rest of the story, but they make the characters real and distinctive.

While I may have had issues with the technical execution and pacing of this production, I did enjoy the look and physical presentation of it. Director Jennifer LaRee Anderson and set designer Tim Leaglend build a layered set that has the main characters emerge from giant storybooks that are wheeled out onto the stage, with a series of trees in the background to represent the woods themselves. I also enjoyed the choice to have human actors play Milky White, the goose, and the harp (Anderson must have seen the Guthrie’s 2023 production of Into the Woods, as both it and hers use an actor on a tricycle to play Milky White). It’s a small touch, but it does give the show more personality.

Thankfully, the second act had many fewer technical issues and went much smoother as a result. There were still some directorial and pacing choices I found odd but by the end I because as caught up in the story as I always do when watching this show, and Sonheim’s finale continues to be a rousing, emotional end that never fails to bring a tear to my eye. This production really is a tribute to the power of the underlying material, and how a talented cast will always be able to make a good show out of it.

INTO THE WOODS runs through July 26 at Pequot Lakes High School Auditorium