Joseph Planta's Commentary - thecommentary.ca

Monday, 14 March 2005

Going Into the Woods

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER - Stephen Sondheim is certainly one of the most prolific and influential composers and lyricists in the theatrical world. The list of shows he's written the words and music to include: Company, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, and Passion. There's also Into the Woods, which opened Friday night at the Capilano College Performing Arts Theatre; and the Triptych Theatricals production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which opened on Friday as well, at the Waterfront Theatre. Then there's Gypsy and West Side Story-two of the more consequential musicals in Broadway history, for which he contributed the lyrics. The richness of Sondheim's work is evident with the double bill of Sondheim in the Lower Mainland running this week.

It is said that Sondheim embodies the history of the American musical theatre. From learning at the feet of his neighbour and mentor Oscar Hammerstein II, to co-writing (with Leonard Bernstein) the monumental West Side Story, as well as writing with Hammerstein's long-time collaborator Richard Rodgers, to his own significant works, for example Sweeney Todd, which has been described as not merely pushing the envelope, but shearing it right open. Take his legendary work Company, which opened in 1970 and revolutionised the American musical at the beginning of that tumultuous decade. The cacophony of overlapping lyrics sung by multiple performers is, as one critic wrote, a frenetic assault on the ears, while at the same time his music and lyrics are written with great economy. Sondheim is not only a genius, but a paradox. Lilting ditties that are scathing, mordant, and brash. Complicated melodies revealing the simplicity of life itself.

And so it was with much anticipation that I went to Capilano College Friday night to take in Exit 22's production of Into the Woods. Taking mere fairy tales, Sondheim illuminates myth, while at once destroying it. Paths are not clearly marked, and we sometimes divert from them. Life necessitates that those with us for part of the journey must die-they go away, yet we continue the journey.

The cast assembled under the tutelage of the production's director, Gillian Barber, and its musical director Kevin Michael Cripps, is one that is serviceable, which for the most part pulls off an awfully complicated storyline with enthusiasm, eagerness, and élan. Some of the performers were remarkable. They're all young people, perhaps there's no one in the cast over 35, and so it's wonderful to see them transform themselves into characters that are perhaps not less than 35. Their enthusiasm definitely won over the opening night crowd, and they were nothing short of inspiring. Some notes on some of the standouts:

Nick Fontaine, who we first see, plays The Narrator. He is authoritative, if not convincing. He seems underutilised. Colin Sheen, as Jack, is at once naïve as he is resilient. Conor Hammond was ideal in his role as the Baker, the conflicted conscience of the show. He was a good mix of the confused ideals that the character has, playing them all with fine effort. His character's wife, aptly named the Baker's Wife, played by Britt MacLeod, was mature yet daring, and Hammond was good in his scenes with her, playing nearly weak under the strong female presence of his wife. At the same time, he embodied well the conflict of traits simmering beneath his surface. To borrow from another musical, he was full of anger, and hope, and doubt, and he did each convincingly. Jeremy Lowe, playing the cow, Milky White, whom we never see his face, stole many moments in the show; while it was clear that no one could scream like Michaela Scott, who played Little Red. Perhaps Laura Koberstein, who donned the mane of Rapunzel, who screamed well too. Rapunzel's mother, the Witch, played with commanding presence by Lisa Rickett, was a fascinating character. At once, she was wicked and evil, yet in her most revealing, she was fragile, which endeared her to audiences. When she descends the staircase at the end of the show to sing the poignant "Children Will Listen," she commands the stage with a masterful emotional presence that is quite nearly moving. And Elicia Mackenzie was charming and effervescent as Cinderella. She matures quickly in the span of a couple of hours in her role, just as her character.

As Cinderella says in the first act, "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor." Such is also this ambitious production, playing only to the 19th of March at the Capilano College Performing Arts Theatre. For tickets, call the box office at 604.990.7810, 17.00 for adults, $11.00 for students and seniors.

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I was on the bus a couple of weeks back long enough to make this observation: A loser on the bus drinking beer is not cool; he's just a loser. And to the obviously available young lady who tried to coerce him into conversation, frankly Miss, you're no better.

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I've never read cover to cover, Lance Morrow's book Evil, but it's a wonderful meditation on why people do what they do, especially people like Brian Nichols. Last night, I had the television on for a bit and saw Ashley Smith speak to the press for the first time since her hostage ordeal. Nichols was trying to flee after murdering the judge and court reporter at his rape trial, and a deputy and a federal agent as he escaped. Her description of her nightmare was amazing and chilling. Sure there are evil people, or people who do evil things, but even the most cynical and nonbelieving amongst us will hardly doubt that something spiritual must have happened between Smith and Nichols, if not certainly Nichols, as he gave up.

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One more thing: If you're like me and find getting up-to-date on current affairs a bit overwhelming sometimes, then go visit Norman Spector's Daily Press Review. While Bourque and Drudge are great, they focus on the breaking news, so Spector's site is useful in that it's comprehensive and updated daily. Spector is fascinating frankly, not just because of his storied bureaucratic career, but because he seems to read everything. Visit his site, and I'm sure you'll find it as invaluable as I do: http://members.shaw.ca/nspector4/.

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