Any wilderness expert knows that one should always come prepared for the worst and to leave without a trace, sadly the characters that took a trek Into the Woods didn’t adhere to these rules. The story follows a cavalcade of fairy tale characters, each with their own wishes and desires. All do come true, but with any windfall, balance is needed in the world.

Ovation Productions hit it out of the park with such a campy modern campground setting. Bringing the audience into the woods with them and making it feel more like a campfire story, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the whole production.

General Direction

With the telling of the story done by the Narrator (Gab Desmond) as a camp ranger, we are introduced to some great choices in setting the tone of the show. We had excellent usage of the space with characters meandering through the catwalks and the upper areas of the stage. Lauren Boyd does a great job of creating moments of connection with the audience in her usage of movement in the vast space she had to play with. 

The choreography was so surprising. I especially loved the duo of Red Riding Hood (Ha’keena Maneso) and the Wolf (Max Borowski) in this odd, but tense marionette-esque tango with the usage of some classic ballroom. It truly danced the line of prey vs. predator and was only a snack of the movement that came later. Jack (Sofia Contal) played their role with such vivacity and jubilant acrobatism.

Musical Direction

Patrick Bowman did an excellent job in conducting the band, especially considering they were split in on both sides of the stage. Stephen Sondheim, famous for creating some harmonically dense and complex music, makes Into the Woods a definite challenge to have voices blending; however, the cast seems to have done so without a sweat. Complex overlapping part and patter songs all done to near perfection.

Design

Holy set design! I love simple sets and this was almost towing that line of simple, but practical. Set in a forest gathered around a campfire, it truly felt like we were just at a summer camp listening to a camp counselor recounting a horror story. All of the beautiful sets were complimented by the LFX that enhanced the set and felt like the light were peering through the canopy of the trees above. 

Alright, this is where the show truly caught my attention. Being set in a modern campground setting, the costume was camp chic: from park rangers to frat boy princes having a rager in the woods, the costumes truly pulled us into their fantastical world. Sorry, but can anyone tell me the difference between a prince and a frat boy?

Standouts

It is so hard to choose my favourite moments in the show because of how great the whole production was; however, the Witch (Kirstyn Russelle) was the moment. Her choices for her character were all done with a masterful hand that exemplified the almost insane nature of the character. Maneso was also a force to be reckoned with. Such powerful vocals and the optimistic energy that follows their character. I also have to mention my favourite comedic duo of the two princes (Mitch Wood and Tyler Pearse). Something about two frat boys pining over girls in the woods and dapping each other up took me out. 

Ovation Productions have shown once again that they are a company that puts on some wonderful shows and I can not wait for their next show! Congratulations to the cast and crew on creating such a campfire tale that I’ll pass on to the next generation of campers.