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Director: Richard Trevaskis
Musical Director: Ross Curtis
STEPHEN Sondheim's wonderfully rich and witty musical Into the Woods brings together a large cast of fairytale characters all in quest of their heart's desire, whether it's a handsome prince, a bag of gold, a child or just an adventure.They all go ``into the woods'' to search for what they want, and the venture teaches them all some important lessons about life.
This well-rehearsed production clips along at a lively pace, with the usual impressive singing that audiences have come to expect from the G&S Society, plus some low-key but effective choreography and some inspired comic acting.
Melissa Hann is hilarious as a precocious Little Red Riding Hood, and Vanessa Shirley is also very funny as the slightly psychotic Rapunzel. Steve Rudd, who was so good as the villain in the MS Society's production of Carousel last May and as the Cat in the Hat last year in Sessuical the Musical, again turns in an exceptional comic performance in his dual role of the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince.
Tricia Spence as the Witch has perhaps the most demanding role in the show, calling as it does for excellent singing, good comic acting skills and lots of time on stage. Spence manages all these things effortlessly.
The other performances are uniformly good, with Mark Oates and Bronwen James as the baker and his wife bringing real warmth and sympathy to their roles, Paul Talbot very endearing as the dopey Jack, and David Lampard an energetic and magnetic narrator. There are a few sound glitches that will probably be ironed out as the season progresses, and as with so many local productions, there is a large gap between the quality of the singing and the quality of the orchestra. The orchestra is still above the usual standard for Adelaide musicals, and musical director Ross Curtis seems to have been working very closely with director Richard Trevaskis and the cast to produce a polished, fast-moving show.