Man-Blog

Review: Into The Woods (A Musical)

Editor: Fritz Tentativa | Section: entertainment | Email this | Viewed 759 times.

“Real men watch musicals.” – Peter Juan

Everybody everywhere has at one point in their formative years been fed with the tainted idea that all step-sisters, most especially step-mothers, are sickeningly conniving and brutally wicked, thanks to fairy tales. That and princes would ultimately have to leave their kingdoms in search for their one true love because of either of the following:

The nobles are the only “fair” people in the “land” mainly because everyone else do not have the right nor the luxury at vanity;

Princes can not just marry local princesses because that would be plain incestuous and immoral, albeit tempting, or that local princesses unrelated to them up to the third degree of consanguinity have long been swept off their feet by other princes from other kingdoms; or

Their kingdoms are completely worthless. They know so because they obey a crowned Queen who does not have an ounce of charisma, covers for the serious misdeeds of an obese King, making her more loathed than hated, and whose inkling at giving attention to decrees that are of distastefully mediocre importance make her citizens smirk in shame when word gets to other kingdoms. The prince thus takes it upon himself to leave his people, using only his charm and nobility to win maidens from distant territory whose kingdoms are less chaotic and where he can also get paid at 4x a prince’s daily wage. Thus is the sweet reward of migration, the modern term for the more common old statement that went “in search for his one true love in a land far, far away.”

These stories affect people, like it or not, up to adulthood. Women the world over dream to live the fantasy of becoming a princess even for only a few hours and they do so or hope to do so on their wedding day. Before you beg my pardon, ladies, we can’t discount the possibility that the core idea of being in a flowing dress or ornate gown may actually resonate from a single powerful subconscious yearning to be “the fairest of them all” with a chance at a life that ends “happily ever after.” We, the gallant men at your disposal, can only be too happy to give in to your desire so there’s no contest here, really. The catch is, we only ask to be royally frocked during honeymoon until “ever after,” pardon the intentional pun.


The evil fairy from your worst nightmares

I am somewhat relieved that my parents were not too keen on reading us bedtime fairy tale stories when we were little. I imagine myself not getting much sleep after hearing far out tales of witches luring children with a house made of pastries and sweets or an inch-tall princess finally meeting an inch-tall prince. I’d probably entertain thoughts that the witch, whose name could either be Auntie Anne or Mrs. Field, works covertly to kidnap children and sell them as sex slaves via the Intarnetz. Grade school picked up where parentals slacked. At second grade, I still recall memorizing something for English class: the 20-second shortened version of the Princess and the Pea, summarized by mum, etched in the twisted recesses of the long-term memory retaining lobe of my brain and along-side my RSJs. wink wink (if you want to know what RSJ stands for, ask The Bim. If you can catch him in a good mood, he may even share with you his. May.)



I have recently had the privilege of watching yet another brilliantly rendered and locally produced Broadway musical, Into The Woods, with special thanks to Lorna Lopez for the invites. From a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the play won and has been nominated for several awards including a Grammy for the album off its original Broadway cast recording and three Tonys namely Best Actress, Best Book, and Best Score for its 1987 run. Its London Production also got nominated for two Laurence Olivier Awards. Props goes to the New Voice Company team for bringing together an admirable cast of talented artists for this Philippine production.

Into The Woods takes its audience on a fantastic journey through a single tale connecting several Brothers Grimm fairy tales namely, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel. Apart from passive mentions of characters from other popular children’s tales like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the duo Sondheim and Lapine manages to sneak in a tale of their own, The Baker and his wife, binding the otherwise standalone stories into one cohesive plot.

I went, “bah, I know how this ends hem hem blah,” but was treated to a surprise when Act II happened because Act I for me was a mere retelling of the classic tales with an added twist of how the tales are surprisingly interconnected. Scene after scene unfolds with light plot served with cheery and comical monologues and retorts exchanged by the characters. As children grow into adulthood, no matter how sheltered they are, the bitter reality pounces at them in that what appears to be the gift called “life” is actually a helm with a warning label that reads “happily never after.” Sad but true, for most. Into The Wood’s Act II ironically unmasks the grim aspect befalling the leads whose wishes did come true in Act I. The consequences of their actions unfold laced with unconventional themes of murder, death, treachery, deceit, infidelity, seduction, and revenge which is reason enough for me to highly recommend it.

I went to see Into The Woods with Lauren expecting only to be pleased, owing to my newfound regard for our local actors. Hearing them sigh on stage and easily distinguish whether they were expressing regret, despair, joy, hope, or sorrow is something only truly gifted performers can pull off and the cast of Into The Woods did just that and more. Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo’s portrayal of the Baker’s Wife deserves the highest of praises overall in my book. Her voice did not come out forced and she made emotions flow out of her mouth in melodies that could stand alone and project the same powerful feelings her actions convey. Julia Abueva, the young actress playing Little Red Riding Hood equally bemuses as she breathes life to a feisty, carefree, yet immature adolescent with pipes to boast. I never expected for Lynn Sherman, playing the witch, to do so well on stage because I hated her show on RJTV, sry2say. She surprisingly did wonderfully moreso when the big “change” in the character she was playing happened. So, yes, Lynn Sherman, I now truly love you. For making Jack look as dull, stupid, and helpless as the role dictates, another set of clap-claps go to Joaqui Valdez.

The sparsely propped set with only a painted backdrop of what is supposed to be the woods proved to be as effective as the lush set design in Broadway. Jack’s cow, Milky White, may be inanimate yet she still got laughs from the audiences with how the stage characters handled, or man-handled, her. And then there’s the giant. tell me what you think IF you see it.

So Snow White is now legally separated with Prince Charming as she holds the post Director for Operations in Fabletown while Rose Red, the unpopular sister, turns into this out-of-control party animal suffering from substance and alcohol abuse and who also happens to have become a nympho throughout the centuries. And then we find out that she dies. Rose Red. In her apartment. In daunting handwriting, the words “NO MORE HAPPILY EVER AFTER” is written on the walls with what appears to be Rose Red’s own blood.

Scary isn’t it? That previous-paragraph plot happens in the first issue of Vertigo Comics’ Fables, though, not the musical.

Into The Woods is still being shown at the Music Museum until December 8, 2007. For more details, head on to Lorna Lopez’s thebachelorgirl site.