Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame) and other well known characters all take a trip into the mystical woods in search of their heart’s desires. They encounter on their way, the baker and his wife who are on their own personal mission to break a curse held over the baker’s family and fulfil their wish of having a child. As the story unfolds, you see how each character goes to extraordinary lengths to obtain their dream and the difficult choices that they encounter on the way.
Act one finishes “Happily Ever After” with each of the character’s seemingly having achieved what they set out to do but, of course the story doesn’t end there.
The second act takes on a darker mood and the moral of the story becomes clearer; that you need to be careful for what you wish for as it may come at a great cost, or, that once having obtained the thing you desired for so long, you may still find yourself dissatisfied with what you have.
Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics and music teach us many lessons on the way through the various characters. When setting out to achieve your goal, “do not put your faith in a cape and a hood, they will not protect you the way that they should and take extra care with strangers” (Red Riding Hood). “If you know what you need, then you go and you find it” (Baker) and sometimes, “The harder to get, the better to have” (Princes).
The woods can be said to be representative of the world in which we live and are not only full of wolves and magic and mystery but are a place of learning as the closing lines of the final act say, “Everything you learn there will help when you return there”.
Nick Garrett played the roles of the Wolf and Cinderella’s prince, both characters who are out in the woods looking to satisfy their huge appetites and desires.
Nick’s prince was charming, witty, dashing and eloquent, whilst also a bit of a rogue and somewhat self-centred. His wolf was seductive, alluring and possessed a dangerous excitement which made it easy to see why Red Riding Hood would fall prey to his charms. The wolf costume was clearly designed with these characteristics in mind and showed us part wild beast, part muscular and sensual man.
Nick played both characters to perfection and clearly seemed to relish the challenges of both roles. Whether gallantly leaping about the stage as the Prince or enticing Red Riding Hood as the wolf, Nick really brought his characters to life through his expressions and his vocal interpretation of Sondheim’s witty lyrics. He made each of his characters lovable in their own way.
This was a delightful production with a fine cast who each gave a strong performance and definition of their character. The story is filled with many funny and amusing scenes but also shows that like life, there are sad times, but all of these things give us experience and help prepare us for other difficulties we may face later on. The costumes and scenery combined with magnificent performances from all characters ensure that your trip Into the Woods is not only educational but thoroughly enjoyable on many levels and having made the trip once, you will want to go again.
