I saw the play, “Into the Woods”, on November 29 in Theatre B, Aaron Davis Hall. Once I entered the theater, I saw a few chairs and desks on stage and some baskets near the desks. The background of the stage painted in red with some scattered trees. Once the production started, an actor hiding behind the background walked toward the center of the stage. Then, on one side of the stage, I saw Baker and his wife, both dressed in workers clothing, sat on the chairs selling some cakes.
Then, on the other side of the stage, Jack, dressed in children’s clothing, was holding a cow. Jack had a close friendship with his cow. When his mother told him to sell the cow, he hesitated to make the decision. Another actress on stage was one playing the role of Cinderella, who was dressing in dirty and cheap blue clothing, and was cleaning the floor. Cinderella had the lower status in her family and was constantly abused by her stepmother and siblings. As for the production, it mixed together five different stories: the Baker and his wife, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk. The similarity among all characters was that they all had a wish: Baker and his wife wished to have a child, Cinderella wished to attend the King’s festival, and Jack wished his cow could produce some milk. In the beginning, Baker and his wife visited a Witch who lived in the wood. The Witch told them the truth of the curse that they had.
Then she added if they obtained four items within the next three days: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold, she would break the curse and enable them to have a child. Once they heard that, the Baker and his wife began the journey to search for the four items. First, the Baker exchanged the magic beans with Jack for his white cow. Then he got the red cape from the Little Red Riding Hood. However, as the Baker was looking for the rest of the items, his wife lost the cow, which baker found it afterward. When the Baker’s wife went to Rapunzel, she cut off her long yellow hair as one of the items. Moreover, she exchanged her shoes with Cinderella for her golden shoes. By the end of Act I, they found four items and gave them all to the Witch.
Then, Baker and his wife finally had a child. Everyone in the play received what they had wished for and lived happily forever. However, in Act II, their wishes brought down an angry giant to the ground. Many characters sacrificed because of the attack of the giant. Finally, the Baker and Jack managed to kill the giant. Even though the life returned to normal, many lives were not able to return. Among all the characters in the play, I like the character Wolf as performed by Luis Trinidad the most and find his role most amusing. In the play, he plays a big bad wolf who tries to eat Little Red Riding Hood. When he met with Little Red Riding Hood first time, his eyes stared on her like a tiger saw its prey. Then, when he faced with Little Red Riding Hood, he hid his desires and gave her some flowers to lower her guard. On the other hand, the character that I don’t like the most is the character Little Red Riding Hood’s Grandmother, performed by Molly Wolff.
I don’t like her because when she was saved by the Baker, instead of thanking his help, she held a knife and ran toward him. I think this makes the scene very awkward. Overall, the musical production was great, but it did have some minor errors: The music volume was louder than the human voice, and I could barely hear what the actors were saying throughout the entire play. The sound was realistic especially when the Giant was coming. The lighting effect was also perfect especially when Cinderella’s Prince was flirting the Baker’s wife, the lighting color turned to a romantic red. I really like all the costumes especially the Witch’s one. She dressed in a crow mask and feathery clothing, which suited the role well. The theme is to be careful of what you wish for. I would like to see another production at CCNY because I love plays that combine both music and drama.
