Into The Woods Review

Ok, so here it is. The shameless, "I'm an actor playing a dream role", pretentious post.
I am in the middle of a production of Into the Woods at Red Branch Theatre. Into the Woods (by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine) is the story of a Baker and his wife who desperately want a child but the witch next door has cursed them. To break the spell, they must travel into the woods in search of 4 items that are all too familiar in the storybook world....a white cow, a red cape, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. To get these items they meet up with all too familiar characters as well but here is where things get interesting. This is where the stories take little twists from the originals. Cinderella's Prince while charming is not terribly sincere or loyal, and Little Red Riding Hood is not as sweet as we think. Once we get to the second act, we get to see what happens after happily ever after and the choices and repercussions of in life.
Anyhoo, this show is filled with incredible music and amazing roles, specifically for women. I have ALWAYS wanted to do this show. And I have always wanted to play either the Witch or the Baker's Wife.
I am currently playing one of my all time dream roles with an amazing cast, The Baker's Wife. The role is complex, scary, inspirational and just wonderful. It is a role that hits close to home sometimes and frankly, after playing it, I can now say, as cheesy as it sounds, that it is a role that I was meant to play.
NOW, I have friends who have played this role, and were incredible! I am not saying that I am better than anyone else. This is a role that becomes very personal to the actress. I am simply saying that it fits and I am proud and at the same time humbled that I get to do it.
The point of this post? The following review. I am so thrilled and surprised and excited that my (along with others) acting was noted and the fact that I "get" Sondheim. It is a huge compliment and I wanted to share it with you...oh blog reader.
So here is it...I know it's a bit self absorbed to put my review on my blog but hey, that's what it's for!


"In the show’s most complex and (not coincidentally) sympathetic roles, director Male casts three Red Branch veterans—Janelle Broderick, David Frankenberger, Jr., and Sara Cobb—and each gives a stellar performance. Broderick is a resourceful Cinderella as well as a lovely one, self-possessed and not at all sure she wants to marry a prince. In their scenes together as the unnamed baker and wife, Frankenberger and Cobb chart the whole course of a marriage, as support gives way to resentment, passion flirts with boredom, and the commonplace details of everyday living distract from the wonder of love.

Though the cast is filled with excellent singers, what sets these three apart is their ability to locate the many beats, large and small, in Sondheim’s score, to frame each thought as the melodic line carries it to them."

Read more: http://baltimore.broadwayworld.com/article/INTO_THE_WOODS_Worth_the_Journey_20110327#ixzz1IEUGy1Zf