Vanguard Theater Company presents ‘Into the Woods,’ based on fairy tales and rich in meaning

KYLE WATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY

Cast members of “Into the Woods,” which is being presented by The Vanguard Theater Company at The Vanguard Theater in Montclair, through Dec. 21.

C.S. Lewis dedicated his 1950 novel “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” to his teenage goddaughter. He wrote, in part:

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result, you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

“Into the Woods,” the 1986 musical by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book) — which is now being presented at The Vanguard Theater in Montclair — uses fairy tales as its building blocks. But its complexity and its sometimes dark twists and turns makes it something that is really intended for adults and teens, and definitely not for young children.

KYLE WATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY

Molly Kavanaugh and Trevor Lavine in “Into the Woods.”

Sondheim and Lapin had a wild, heady idea: Take four well known Brothers Grimm fairy tales (the ones about Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella) and weave them together into a single story, with the central characters being a couple — The Baker and The Baker’s Wife, who are derived from part of the Rapunzel story — seeking to break a curse that is preventing them from having children. There is a lot going on, and that is echoed by songs that are often sung by two or more characters, with lots of countermelodies and counterpoint. You will almost feel your head spin, in a good way, as you watch this.

The actors handle it all flawlessly, and also nail Sondheim’s intricate wordplay, as in this passage from “Agony” (a duet between Prince Charming and Rapunzel’s Prince) about an obstacle in their way:

Prince Charming:
If it were not for the thicket …

Rapunzel’s Prince:
A thicket’s no trick
Is it thick?

Prince Charming:
It’s the thickest

Rapunzel’s Prince:
The quickest is pick it apart with a stick.

KYLE WATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY

From left, Helora Danna, Karlo Siriban and Brnadi Chavonne Massey in “Into the Woods.”

The Vanguard Theater Company’s founding producing artistic director, Janeece Freeman Clark, directs this production, and set designer Eric Marchetta basically turns the entire theater into a forest for the audience to lose itself in. Costume and wig designer T.J. Jenkins has created wild, distinctive outfits for many of the characters, including the frightful Witch (see photo at right). Sound designer Mateo Deangelo was able to make the musical’s Giant imposing even though the character himself was never seen.

There is a cast of 17, in addition to a four-piece band. And none of those 17 actors is relegated exclusively to the background: Virtually everyone has at least one great moment.

Anchoring the play are Karlo Siriban and Helora Danna as the very relatable Baker and his Wife; Brandi Chavonne Massey as the initially fearsome but later sympathetic Witch; Trevor Lavine as the earnest Jack, trying to save himself and his mother from poverty; Molly Kavanaugh as the mischievous, adventurous Little Red Riding Hood; and Brianna Marie Johnson as the pure-hearted, yearning Cinderella.

Standouts in the smaller roles include James Verderamo as the lascivious Wolf; Verderamo, again, as the comically vain Prince Charming (“I was raised to be charming, not sincere,” he says), alongside Isaiah Miguel as his equally vacuous brother, Rapunzel’s Prince; and Aphrodite Brooks, deftly controlling the puppet for Jack’s lovable cow, Milky White.

KYLE WATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY

Clockwise from top left, Lisa Cortney Benke, Leslie Baez, Emma Theriot and Brianna Marie Johnson in “Into the Woods.”

While the first act is crammed with lots of action and interlocking plot lines, things get simpler, and more affecting, in the second act, with Sondheim saving three sumptuous ballads (“No One Is Alone,” The Baker’s Wife’s “Moments in the Woods” and The Witch’s “Children Will Listen”) for late in the show. But he and Lapine never stop introducing new plot twists, and new ideas, and reminding us of the universality of the story.

One of the last things that cast members sing is:

There are always wolves
There are always spells
There are always beans
Or a giant dwells there

So into the woods you go again
You have to every now and then
Into the woods, no telling when
Be ready for the journey

“Into the Woods” is just a musical, of course. But it really does feel like a journey.

The Vanguard Theater Company will present “Into the Woods” at The Vanguard Theater in Montclair, through Dec. 21. Visit vanguardtheatercompany.org.

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