×

MTC delivers appealing journey ‘Into the Woods’

YOUNGSTOWN — At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised at the quality of Millennial Theatre Company’s productions.

But even by MTC’s already high standards, its staging of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical “Into the Woods,” which opened Friday for a two-weekend run at Hopewell Theatre, is impressive.

Director and Music Director Joe Asente also is responsible for the production design, which is stunning. He makes a big musical fit in an intimate performance space that seats about 100 people. He uses the depth of the stage effectively to create its forest setting, and the vines extending out onto the walls of the seating area were a nice touch.

Only on the full cast numbers did it feel cramped.

MTC seems to funnel every last dime into its shows. There is no costume designer listed in the program (only sewing alterations), so I’m assuming they were rented, which isn’t cheap. Wherever they came from, they’re perfect for the show.

I did overhear Asente telling someone during the intermission that the white cow integral to the show was rented from a prior Broadway staging. Whatever they paid for the cow, it was worth it. There were times I found myself so engrossed in the realistic cow’s face, operated by Daniel Chiaberta, that I missed what the actors were saying / singing.

Maybe the only technical element that needs tweaking is a too-effective smoke effect that left actors performing in a haze for the next couple of scenes and audience members up front gasping for air.

MTC is using prerecorded music instead of live musicians. In a performance space that size, it’s hard to imagine where they could have put the musicians, and stripping down the orchestrations to just live piano accompaniment wouldn’t have done justice to the score. Live music always is better, but the tracks probably were the best option in that space.

Leading with the tech isn’t a knock on the cast. MTC almost feels like a repertory company with the number of familiar faces that audience members will see from recent productions like “Grease,” “Heathers” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

There are some newcomers, but that talented core delivers. There isn’t a weak link in the cast — Sarahh Kinser, Courtney Martin, Jacob Nash, Natalina Kazimir, Halina Bakeris, George Maillis, Daniel Gordejev, Emilio Santiago, Karlina Wander, Ben Doss, Tommy DeLuca, Roz Blystone, Ty Hanes, Samantha Hudzik, Hannah Stephens, Ryan Stewart, Regina Rees, Briana Matijevic, Aubrey Vernon and Michelle Jalbert.

Sondheim and Lapine weave together characters from several familiar fairy tales, including “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Rapunzel” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” But the mostly happy endings the show offers at the end of the first act take a darker turn in the second when the characters face a larger threat that causes them to turn on one another.

A few of the musical highlights opening night included Maillis’ magnificent rendition of “Giants in the Sky” as Jack, Gordejev and Emilio Santiago on the comedic number “Agony” (and its second act reprise), Kazimir’s “On the Steps of the Palace” as Cinderella and Kinser’s “Last Midnight” as the Witch.

But there isn’t a misfire in the show, and considering how challenging Sondheim’s songs can be, that’s a real accomplishment.

If there is a knock on MTC, it’s the tendency to recreate what’s been done before instead of putting its own stamp on the work. I’ll defer to my daughter (who’s probably watched the pro shot of the original Broadway production as many times as Asente has) who she said at least one of the performances is a beat-for-beat copy from that show.

Then again, if your community theater work is drawing comparisons to a Broadway production, is that a bad thing?

If you go …

WHAT: Millennial Theatre Company — “Into the Woods”

WHEN: 2 p.m. today and Oct. 9 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

WHERE: Hopewell Theatre, 702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown

HOW MUCH: $20. Tickets are available online at millennial

theatre.org/tickets.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
     

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today