{"id":368831,"date":"2025-06-01T12:31:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T16:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=368831"},"modified":"2025-06-01T12:31:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T16:31:38","slug":"a-dazzling-into-the-woods-at-2nd-star-productions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/06\/01\/a-dazzling-into-the-woods-at-2nd-star-productions\/","title":{"rendered":"A dazzling ‘Into the Woods’ at 2nd Star Productions"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many of us have fantasized about the perfect mate, career, sex life, house, and perfect children \u2014 in short, everything we could ever want \u2014 when we were young? Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine\u2019s musical Into the Woods<\/em> delivers this at Bowie Playhouse. The 2nd Star Productions players provide all of this in Act I.<\/p>\n

Director Alex Campbell creates a fairy tale starring Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella, Jack of the beanstalk fame, Rapunzel, and the Witch. Campbell uses a flexible set to transition seamlessly from house sets to woods scenes. All of Felicia Moore\u2019s costumes were wonderful, but the princes\u2019 outfits stood out. Think Michael Jackson at the 1984 Grammy Awards, minus the glove.<\/p>\n

\"\"
AnnaBelle Auguste as Cinderella, Liz Mulligan as The Baker’s Wife, Willie Hadnot Jr. as Rapunzel’s Prince, Imani Corbin as Little Red Ridinghood, Ryan Power as The Baker, and Davis Wootten-Klebanoff as Cinderella’s Prince in \u2018Into the Woods.\u2019 Photo by Nate Jackson Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brendan Harper is impressive conducting a 10-member orchestra. It is rare to have live musicians and an ensemble in community theater this large firmly locked into every perfect musical number.<\/p>\n

Songs like \u201cHello Little Girl,\u201d featuring Davis Wootton-Klebanoff as the worldly, wise Wolf who expresses his desire for Imani Corbin\u2019s innocent Little Red Ridinghood, and \u201cThe Spell on My House,\u201d with Ryan Power (the Baker) and 2nd Star newcomer Liz Mulligan (the Baker\u2019s Wife) fighting a curse that keeps them childless, are examples of how Sondheim\u2019s music moves the musical through a 19-song first act.<\/p>\n

My favorite is \u201cAgony\u201d as Cinderella\u2019s Prince (Wootton-Klebanoff) and Rapunzel\u2019s Prince (Willie Hadnot Jr.) sing, dance, and ham up their roles. The scene is an unexpected pleasure.<\/p>\n

The tale of the Baker and his Wife, specifically created for this musical by Lapine, links the other fairy tales in the show. From from the Baker and his Wife to the whimsical and profound portrayal of the Witch, every character contributes to the narrative\u2019s intricate web. This is an example of how well the acting is in this musical, adding depth to a long but never boring story.<\/p>\n

As those of us over 30 can attest, those early wishes are fairy tales. The perfect mate realizes you are flawed. Someone else\u2019s job prospects always look better. Sex gets boring. The house always needs repair. The older they get, the more often you wonder if you even brought the right kids home from the hospital, as Bounds sings beautifully in \u201cWitch\u2019s Lament.\u201d Welcome to Act II in life.<\/p>\n

\"\"
TOP LEFT: Joanna Thursby as Jack’s Mother, Creed Jackson as Jack, Milky White as Herself; TOP RIGHT: Heather Ann Bounds as The Witch, Ryan Power as The Baker, Creed Jackson as Jack, AnnaBelle Auguste as Cinderella, and Imani Corbin as Little Red Ridinghood; ABOVE: Liz Mulligan as The Baker’s Wife, Ryan Power as The Baker, and Heather Ann Bounds as The Witch, in \u2018Into the Woods.\u2019 Photos by Nate Jackson Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Similarly, Act II in the musical twists from the whimsical comedy that opens the show to a much darker place as characters mature. Sondheim provides another \u201cAgony\u201d for the princes. This time, the depressed King\u2019s sons meet in the woods, hiding from their lovers. Wootton-Klebanoff and Hadnot nail this number as well.<\/p>\n

Wootton-Klebanoff and Mulligan get down, dirty, and on key in \u201cAny Moment.\u201d A leg lift by Mulligan grabs laughs as the other spouses are acting on another part of the stage. After the Prince kisses her on the cheek and seeks his next conquest, Mulligan attempts to figure out what just happened in \u201cMoments in the Woods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything comes together in this production. I highly recommend it. Opening night was packed with an appreciative audience looking for the next joke. The acting, music, and singing were each dazzling.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Two\u00a0hours and 45 minutes including one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n

Into the Woods<\/em><\/a> <\/strong>plays through June 28, 2025 (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays plus Thursdays June 19 and 25), presented by 2nd Star Productions<\/a> performing at The Bowie Playhouse \u2013 16500 White Marsh Pk Dr in Bowie, MD. For tickets ($29 general admission; $26 for seniors 60+, active military, and students; $18 for children under 12), buy them at the door or purchase them online,<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0call 410-757-5700, or email info@2ndstarproductions.org. <\/a><\/p>\n

The digital program is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Into the Woods
\n<\/strong><\/em>Book by James Lapine
\nMusic and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
\nDirected by Alex Campbell
\nProduced by Katie Riegel
\nMusic Directed by Sarah Mitchell
\nAssistant Directed\/Choreographed by Summer Moore
\nStage Managed by Laura Fisher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everything in this production \u2014 the acting, music, and singing \u2014 comes together. By ANDY ARNOLD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":368873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,17],"tags":[583,544,259],"class_list":{"0":"post-368831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-theater","8":"category-maryland","9":"tag-alex-campbell","10":"tag-james-lapine","11":"tag-stephen-sondheim"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nA dazzling 'Into the Woods' at 2nd Star Productions - 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