Upsy down: Paramount’s ‘Into the Woods’ and 4 Chairs’ ‘Ride the Cyclone’
The Company. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Since Stephen Sondheim’s passing in late 2021, Into the Woods has cropped up on many a company’s seasonal line-up, being his most accessible work. (Apparently, Sweeney Todd might not be the most appropriate for family audiences.) Paramount Theatre in Aurora has a production up now, and Broadway in Chicago will bring in the Rialto’s concert staging in spring. We’ll probably be going into the woods a lot in the coming years.
That said, “accessible” is different from “easy to pull off.”
Being based on four fairy tales—Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel—you’d think it’s just a question of slotting the right people into the right places, winding ‘er up, and letting the piece do its thing, as is modestly required of the enduring musicals. Paramount’s Into the Woods has slotted the right people into the right places, for sure, above all, Stephen Schellhardt and Sarah Bockel as the Baker and his Wife, the straight, grounding couple in this zany world, out on a fetch quest in order to bear a child, as elemental a want as any.
That fetch quest is all of Act One, and just about played for farce, at that. Act Two is where it gets tricky, tonally speaking. Much like life, the story continues even after someone declares “happily ever after.” And wouldn’t you know it, some of the beasts and ogres the “good guys” have vanquished still might have the last word.
That creeping sunsetting of innocence and dawning of responsibility, its resulting melancholy, and even a few very real and violent consequences—it’s quite a shift. Jim Corti and Trent Stork keep a firm hand on that helm, with an assist from Chicago stalwart Larry Yando as a Mysterious Man, eyes a-twinkle and with probing riddles on his tongue.
And, by Jove, they’ve found the designers for the job. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s opening tableau, so neatly flowing with the Paramount’s Art Nouveau, needs to be seen in person. Into the Woods might come back, but not one this individually sumptuous and heartfelt.
Best of all? They make it look easy.
Into the Woods runs through March 19th at Paramount Theatre, 23 E Galena Blvd, Aurora, IL. For tickets or more information, please call (630) 896-6666 or visit paramountaurora.com.
The Company. Photo by Brett Beiner.
An oddball success story for an oddball musical: When first Chicagoland saw Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell’s Ride the Cyclone in 2015, it was in the middle of a cross-country regional theatre road trip and building steam toward what was shaping up to be a huge commercial hit in New York. Broadway players were even backing it.
Come 2016, its Off-Broadway run ended in praise far more middling than the piece had accumulated, and, at that juncture, “middling” is a death sentence. Its guiding light, Chicago director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell, then died unexpectedly in 2018. Then, the pandemic.
There was enough interest to put out a cast album in 2021, though who would cotton to this shaggy afterlife revue of teenagers vying to win back their shortened lives, and of whom a mechanical fortune teller is their judge?
The TikTok set, apparently.
The decade is still technically young, but Ride the Cyclone is probably the cult success story for our time, and it should be heeded by anyone fretting over cultivating new audiences for live theatre. Millennials and Gen-Zs want their day now, so who’s to deny them?
Up in Lake Forest, the Cyclone faithful are coming in from miles around for what is all things considered a solid production. Ensemble cohesion is key and is palpable here. Some touches are nods to previous productions, while others can only come from sheer love for the material. If any standouts emerge, it’s Kristin Brintnall’s daffy social Darwinist Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, and Michaela Dukes’s operetta pipes as the creepy headless Jane Doe. Underneath all the quirk, they drive the piece to its quietly touching conclusion.
It’s worth getting on board for the ride. After all, a roller coaster is only fun if you’re sharing a car with someone.
Ride the Cyclone runs through February 25th at the Gorton Center, 400 E Illinois Rd, Lake Forest, IL. For tickets or more information, please visit 4chairstheatre.org.
For more reviews on these or other shows, please visit theatreinchicago.com.