‘Into the Woods’ musical leaves a song in your heart

Anyone who says that Stephen Sondheim’s musicals are not hummable should plan to see “Into the Woods,” his farcical fairy tale playing at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth through Oct. 31. It’s true that you may not be able to hit the highest or lowest notes in this score. (That’s true even for some of the singers and musicians in the show.) But hummable? You’ll take home the tunes, as well as the triumphs and tribulations of the plot. There’s no doubt about it.

Mostly that has to do with Sondheim’s masterful musicianship. Although “Sweeney Todd” may be his most powerful work, “Into the Woods” is both accessible and profound. He takes the best-known fairy tales and turns them into a witty modern saga of tragedy and loss, but also of faith and community. Who knew that the situations faced by Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack (of the beanstalk) and even the Giant and the Witch could have symbolic resonance in our world today?

But they do, and director Ken Stack understands the importance of balancing the darker side of this show with its humorous elements. This is a wildly difficult play technically, but Stack keeps it, more or less, straightforward. His set of a deep forest, as well as various residences there, is a magical place. If it feels cramped in any way, it’s only a measure of how tricky the woods can be. And while not all of his ambitions come to fruition here, even the mistakes on opening night were handled with humor and endurance.

It helps that he has an all-star cast. Regular audience members will appreciate the fine work of Heather Astbury as the Witch (a role originated by Bernadette Peters on Broadway), Anthony Pizzuto as the Baker, Lindsey L.S. Parker as the Baker’s wife, Missy Babineau as Cinderella’s mother, Jason Wilkes as Jack, Mark Ridenour and Steve Gormley as the clueless Princes (Ridenour also plays the hungry and sleazy Wolf), Jennifer Myers as Rapunzel and Will Stephenson as the Narrator.

In many cases, these are actors who can learn their roles but also know how to handle a gaffe when it occurs -which is inevitable in a community production of this size. As usual, Stack demands their best, and he mostly gets it. A couple of the actors also really “get” Sondheim. Pizzuto, Parker, Babineau, Astbury, Wilkes and Stephenson display the quickness and smartness underlying Sondheim’s style.

Other community actors found themselves compelled to return to the stage for this show: Sofia Patience Wilder as Jack’s mother, Rebecca Wright as Cinderella’s stepmother and Mike Woodard as the Mysterious Man. Still others make up the solid supporting ensemble: Courtney Stevenson, Carolyn Sue Hunt, Irv Hodgkin, William Rhine, Stesha Cano and Monykah Dowling.

Less well-known to local audiences are Lisa Vandegrift as Cinderella and Morgan Witham as Little Red Riding Hood. Vandegrift has one of the loveliest voices in the cast and performs her role with a combination of wonder and intelligence. Witham is sassy and pert, and her performance, like Vandegrift’s, is a delight. Here’s hoping they both decide to enroll in other productions by the Grand Players.

My only disappointment with this production of “Into the Woods” is the pacing, which seemed slow and bumpy on opening night. Music director Fred Goldrich may be cutting the singers and musicians a break because of the difficulty of the score. Or perhaps it was simply opening-night carefulness – and by the time the show plays again on Friday, the tempo will pick up. One can certainly understand the desire to get it right rather than fast. And even if the songs are a bit sluggish in places, there’s no doubt that you’ll leave the Grand with a song in your heart – and a lesson or two in your head.

The Grand Players will present “Into the Woods” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 31 at the Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. For more information, call 667-9500 or (866) 363-9500. Alicia Anstead can be reached at 990-8266 and aanstead@bangordailynews.net.