⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 'Into the Woods' by Kokandy Productions is a magical Sondheim adventure - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 11/4/24

"For the last couple of years I've watched Derek Van Barham, a fast-rising directing talent in Chicago-style musicals, do his capable, innovative thing with second-tier material in the basement of Wicker Park's Chopin Theatre, a magical, sacred theater space among those of us with a long memory.

Finally, and not before time, he's decided to work on a masterpiece and the results are thrilling indeed.

The show in question is Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s "Into the Woods," a show that hardly needs much further introduction here. Superficially, it's a droll mash-up of fairy tales like "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Little Red Riding Hood." For anyone willing to look closer, it's a show about parenting and being parented, surviving both loss and betrayal and a meditation on the importance of taking risks, especially when it comes to falling in love.

Every time I review "Into the Woods" (and there was just a Broadway revival and national tour, not to mention a big Paramount Theatre production in Aurora last year), I think of an old advertisement the Marriott Theatre used to take out in a local publication to benefit Season of Concern, then an AIDS-related charity. All it contained was a quote from one of the lyrics: "Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood. ... But no one is alone." Indeed not, although it sure can feel that way at times.

I could go on and on in that realm, of course. This review is being written by a guy with Milky White the cow in eyeshot on his bookshelf.

Such fandom for a piece is dangerous for a critic; one is more apt to obsess about what falls short. But in this case, Van Barham and his musical director, Nick Sula, have come up with a fabulous way to root their basement show: two grand pianos in the center of the playing space, with two women, Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan, tinkling the keys, doing folly-like experiments with the physical pianos and, frankly, becoming the mutual stars of the show. Audience members are seated around the pianos, some theater-style, some at tables, all illuminated by a low ceiling's worth of twinkling lights, courtesy of designer G. Max Maxin IV, who built this rich and organic environment.

As far as I know, Sula and the pianists re-orchestrated Sondheim's score this way themselves: I certainly have never seen "Into the Woods" scored for two pianos. And despite wracking my brain, I also can't remember seeing a musical in Chicago where what is the traditional exit music (played as the audience leaves the theater) becomes the final number. The cast members simply take their bows and then surround the pianos as the pianists finish their job - to great roars of approval on the night I was there. Only thereafter do the doors open.

That huge reaction came, I think, because of how emotionally invested these two musicians appear in the show itself, feeling and living the bones of the score and also willing on the actors, including (on the night I was there) understudy Jackson Mikkelsen, whose Jack was profoundly moving. I felt much the same way about Madison Kauffman’s Cinderella (Kauffman reminds me of Christine Sherrill, now a Broadway actor), Kevin Webb's The Baker ("No More" is superbly done) and Sonia Goldberg's The Baker's Wife. I think Stephanie Stockstill, who has a major voice, needs to dial it back and simplify her work a tad as The Witch. But that's a minor quibble. This very young cast of 12 (the doubling is very clever) also includes witty work from August Forman as the narrator and the sparking Anna Seibert as Little Red.

This isn't a concert-style staging and nor is it a copy of the Broadway revival; it’s quite different. But it's still a very intimate experience that comes with a full appreciation of how the stakes in a good "Into the Woods" have to be life and death. We all know our giants in the sky and all worry about them.

Happily, and a rarity in this town, the run is long. You have time. As they say in the show, "the difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure."

Highly Recommended - Tangled fairy tale: Kokandy's Into the Woods captures the musical's thorny dilemmas - Emily McClanathan, Chicago Reader 10/30/24

I'm admittedly biased as a pianist, but as soon as I saw two grand pianos center stage in the Chopin Studio Theatre, I immediately felt that Into the Woods was in good hands with Kokandy Productions. But then, I was never in much doubt. Kokandy's 2022 production of Sweeney Todd was a triumph, and I was excited to see what the same director and choreographer, Derek Van Barham, would do with another Stephen Sondheim musical.

Happily, I can now report that Barham and company have done it again: this production beautifully captures the magic of Sondheim and James Lapine's tangled fairy tale and the thorny moral dilemmas of a community in peril. It's a mighty ensemble effort, with more doubling of roles than usual, seamless scene changes, and a level of detail that made me wish I could take in more than one viewing. Even before the show begins, as actors mill about the stage and chat with each other, the whole experience feels like neighbors coming together to tell, or retell, a cherished story.

What's more, the music is literally front and center, as it should be with Sondheim. Ariana Miles, Evelyn Ryan, and music director Nick Sula have orchestrated a two-piano version of the score, performed onstage by Miles and Ryan with dexterity and poise. The pianists even become part of the story as characters interact with them throughout the show.

In a moment of national anxiety, I can't think of a better blend of escapism and meaningful reflection than this dark fairy tale. Does everything work out fine in the end? "Not always," says the Baker (Kevin Webb). But take heart: no one is alone"

Highly Recommended - Into The Woods - Alan Bresloff, AroundTheTownChicago.com 10/30/24

"Anyone who knows me, knows my great love for Stephen Sondheim and in particular his off beat musicals like "Assassins", "Company" and of course, my favorite "Into The Woods". Over the years, I have probably seen 15-18 productions of this show that Sondheim created with James Lapine. This is the musical that is in fact a "fairytale adventure" bringing an amazing number of nursery rhymes and stories with their well known characters to a village and melding their stories into one giant fairy tale. Characters such as The Baker and the Bakers Wife, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the beanstalk ( with his mother , of course), Repunzel, Cinderella, her stepmother and her step sisters, the Big Bad Wolf ( to go with Red Riding Hood),and many more.

Most of the productions that I have seen were on normal stages, some full size and some storefront theaters, but what Kokandy Productions has produced is probably the most intimate of versions possible. They are doing the full scale musical in the lower level stage at the Chopin Theatre, which is almost like being in someone's family room with two grand pianos in the center. The only drawback to this particular space is that there are two huge supports that hold the first floor up that from time to time, depending on your seat location may be blocking the action, although you will hear every word spoken or sung.

There are a great many stories contained within this major musical. The Baker (played to perfection by Kevin Webb) and his wife ( deftly handled by Sonia Goldberg) are childless and dream of having a child. It turns out that the Baker’s father had a spell put on him by his next door neighbor, The Witch ( a dynamic portrayal by Stephanie Stockwell). She will undo the curse if they can bring her some items that will allow her to become beautiful again and in order to find these items they must go "Into The Woods"!

Red Riding Hood (Anna Seibert) is also going into the woods to visit grandma, Jack (Kevin Para) is also headed in that direction to sell a cow in order to buy some food. It turns out that when the Baker puts on his dad's old jacket, there are some beans in the pocket. They turn out to be magic beans and you guessed it- the beanstalk and therefor the giant ( and later his wife). It is a story filled with plots and sub plots and many messages tfrom which to learn . After all, don’t they say there is a moral to every fairy tale.

This is a strong cast and smoothly directed by Derek Van Barham, who also did the choreography ( limited by the space itself, but what is done works). They are doing this production with twin grand pianos and two amazing musicians, Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan. They were given and earned the opening night standing ovation given to them--outstanding. I am unsure if there is a Jeff Award for musicians, but if so, it should be theirs.

The ensemble of players are powerful. This s a long play--two hours PLUS and most of the actors are onstage or around the stage area the entire time. The Mysterious Man/Narrator ( a wonderful performance by August Forman) starts the play and appears from time to time to narrate or be a character. Foreman is outstanding. The other cast members are: Emily Goldberg as Cinderella's mother and her stepmother (this is unusual casting as the ladies near me were confused by this - I would have had her do the deceased mother offstage so only her wonderful voice be heard), Madison Kauffman as Cinderella, Shea Hopkins as the prince and the Wolf, Britain Gebhardt as Jack’s mother and a stepsister, Ismael Garcia as Repunzel and the other step-sister and Jonathan Allsop as Repunzel's Prince ( brother to Cinderella's Prince). Great cast doing a great job.

I know there are people out there who say that they do not like this musical. I must tell you that being in this intimate space may just change your mind. My wife, who always said this is not one of her favorites, loved what she saw and said she was comfortable with the production and loved the voices. Again, the only fault I could find is that there are some bad sight lines. Otherwise, a flawless production skillfully brought to fruition and worth the trip to the Chopin Theatre."

Highly Recommended - I Wish - Colin Douglas, ChicagoTheatreReview.com 10/27/24

In stories, as in real life, everyone wishes for something better. Sometimes the wishes come true, but not without a cost. There's always consequences for our actions and a price to pay. As each of us follow our chosen path to fulfill our wishes, we impact those around us. Because, as one of the most beautiful songs from this score reminds us, "No one is alone." As each of the characters leaves his or her comfort zone and heads into the woods to make a wish come true, risks will be taken to achieve the goals. And after all that happens in this musical, because life goes on, we’re always looking ahead and hoping for something more. So at the end of the show, one of the characters expresses that eternal feeling, "I wish".

So try to imagine the characters from your favorite childhood fairy tales all living in the same village. Their familiar stories begin to blend together as Cinderella, her Stepmother and Stepsisters, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of the Beanstalk fame), his Mother and their Cow, Rapunzel and the Witch, a couple of Princes, A Big Bad Wolf and other familiar characters, all try to survive their magical existence. And, like all of us, every character has a wish, and their yearning for something more in life does affect everyone around them. They all learn that they must journey into the woods, around the trees, down shadowy paths, into deep ravines and back into the sunlight in order to achieve what they want. But once upon a time there'll be sacrifices and losses, both of love and of loved ones.

Kokanday Production's talented Artistic Director Derek Van Barham has cleverly reimagined this beloved 1986 Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical. Derek’s production is intimate and immersive. He's scaled the show down in every way imaginable. The annoying pillars of the lower level that support the ceiling above have wisely been converted into the woodland trees. The audience is no longer watching the musical from a distance. Instead, theatergoers blend in with the cast, seated all around the Studio Theatre, as if a part of the show. There is no fourth wall; Mr. Van Barham has staged his actors to share their stories directly with individual audience members. And it's no longer an enormous cast, but only twelve talented Chicago-based actor/singers. They portray all the roles, with many performers playing multiple characters. And the familiar multi-piece orchestra has been replaced by a pair of lovely, acoustic grand pianos, around which the entire production revolves. Under Nick Sula's accomplished Musical Direction, Sondheim's lush score is performed with gusto and finesse by two incredibly talented pianists: Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan.

Stephen Sondheim's brillant score, with its sharp, exquisite, often humorous lyrics, is filled with clever internal rhythms and rhymes. Even the incidental music is melodic and haunting. His songs enhance James Lapine's interesting blend of these familiar stories and propels the characters forward on a journey of growth and self-discovery.

In the frothy first act it's mostly light and laughter, as spells are cast and wishes come true. But the musical does an about-face in Act II, offering a darker, much more sobering and thoughtful plot line. In the end, the journey taken is magical and illuminating, both for the characters and the audience. And while I always enjoy Act I, Mr. Van Barham has directed Act II with more significance and definition of character than I've ever seen before. He's especially staged the final scene with so much dignity and poignancy that tears began to flow. This production has so much to offer.

The cast is very good. Jeff Award-winner Kevin Webb, who has dazzled and delighted audience in so many roles, is absolutely terrific as the Baker. His final scene is an especially emotional moment. Sonia Goldberg is alternately funny and passionate as the Baker's Wife. Stephanie Stockstill is commanding and acerbic as the Witch; Kevin Perra makes a sweet and earnest Jack; and Anna Seibert is pitch-perfect and droll Little Red. But it's Madison Kauffman who is the standout in this production. She brings so much to her portrayal of Cinderella. Ms. Kauffman doesn't just play the role, she seems to actually inhabit the character. I found myself searching for her in each scene because she's so totally involved in everyone's story. Veteran performer Honey West lends her resonant voice to The Giant, with great aplomb. August Forman nicely melds together both the Narrator, the Mysterious Man and Cinderella's Father. The two Princes are played with relish by Shea Hopkins and Jonathan Allsop, with Hopkins superb as the lecherous Wolf and Allsop appropriately arrogant as the Steward. Lovely and talented Emily Goldberg is stunning as Cinderella's Stepmother. Ismael Garcia is a powerhouse as both Rapunzel and Florinda, while talented Britain Gebhardt makes a strong Mother for Jack, and she’s equally haughty as Lucinda; both actors also cleverly handle Cinderella’s feathered friends, who are a big part of the story.

My only complaint is that the look of this production, except for the grand pianos, is grungy and cluttered. I like G. "Max" Maxin III's fascinating Lighting Design that mixed traditional theatrical lamps with a multitude of hanging lightbulbs. But his Set Design was strange and unsettling. The pillar trees are cleverly covered in yellowed pages from storybooks. However, there seems to be litter stuffed everywhere and nothing looks particularly elegant, which is an artistic choice, I guess. I just didn’t care for it. Most of the costumes, the makeups, and the unkempt look of the set was just confusing.

Kokandy Production's INTO THE WOODS is filled with beautiful performances, Stephen Sondheim’s gorgeous music and songs peppered with sly naughtiness ("Hello, Little Girl"). The musical offers hilarious hyperbole and juxtapositions ("Moments in the Woods"), lessons to be learned ("I Know Things Now"), and lessons that sometimes need repeating ("Children Will Listen," "No One is Alone").

This magical production is about the consequences of what happens when wishes are fulfilled, learning what it means to grow up, accepting responsibility and recollecting the fragile relationship that exists between a parent and a child. This production, thanks to some great performances, excellent singing and Derek Van Barham’s wise direction, will touch the heart and charm the child out of any cynical grownup. Everyone should take a walk INTO THE WOODS because audiences are sure to leave the forest thinking, "I Wish."

Highly Recommended - 'Into The Woods' is an exciting musical fairytale mashup at Chopin Theatre, Bill Eisler, BuzzNews.net 10/29/24

"I'll admit it: I knew little about "Into the Woods" before seeing the new production at Chicago's Chopin Theatre. I'm not particularly fond of the composer, Stephen Sondheim. I'd bailed early watching the 2014 film with Meryl Streep. So I challenged myself to find out why it is so popular. And now I know: it’s really good.

At a venue like Chopin Theatre, in the intimate downstairs theater, you'll have a chance to appreciate the dark humor of the book by James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Sondheim. No doubt you will come away as I did, experiencing the power mined from a most creative mash-up of four familiar fairy tales, and very much liking its dark, funny humor.

Lapine and Sondheim tap four classic fairy tales-Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella-building a cast of characters that for the first time meet each other. And we discover on stage they have a lot in common.

Among the cast are two princes, Shea Hopkins as Cinderella's Prince and Jonathan Allsop as Rapunzel's Prince, who bond in their shared quests. Princessy figures Cinderella (Madison Kauffman) and Rapunzel (Ismael Garcia) share the spotlight. And then there are the younger innocent players, Little Red (aka Riding Hood, Anna Selbert) and Jack (Kevin Parra) of Beanstalk fame. Both get into trouble for not following their mothers’ orders.

And of course we see those mean-spirited characters, The Witch (Stephanie Stockstill) who entrapped Rapunzel in that stairless tower and Cinderella's Stepmother (Emily Goldberg)-though these two don't really connect. Bits of the classic stories are recounted, but "Into the Woods" faces us squarely with the shadowy parts. Yes Rapunzel let down her long hair for that prince and they fell in love. But there is more in Grimm's Fairy Tales (I reread them all after seeing the show): The Witch cuts off Rapunzel's hair, banishes her to wander a wasteland, and tricks the Prince into climbing up. He falls into a thornbush and pierces his eyes. Another element I hadn’t recalled until my rereading of Rapunzel: a couple aiming to have a child are the origins of the long-haired beauty's predicament. (This couple seems to be drawn from the original tale, in which the husband surrenders Rapunzel to compensate The Witch for his theft from her garden.) In the play, that husband becomes The Baker (Kevin Webb) who with The Baker's Wife (Sonia Goldberg) goes on a quest in order to have a child.

Sondheim and Lapine take these stories into uncharted territory in Act 2 as the characters suffer retributions unleashed for their selfish acts. As originally told, after Jack sells a cow for those magic beans, he climbs into the Giant's lair and robs him, then kills the Giant as he pursues him down the beanstalk. The play adds a riff to that tale: the Giant’s widow (Honey West) chases Jack and wreaks havoc in the kingdom in her pursuit of justice.

The stories are woven together into a cohesive whole guided by Narrator, played so remarkably well by August Forman, who doubles as Mysterious Man. It is the strength of Forman's performance that makes the many moving parts fit together; they are onstage continuously and tirelessly. It's truly remarkable to behold.

Kokandy Productions' show, directed and tightly choreographed by Derek Van Barham, meets the demands of this funny and inventive book by Lapine, with music and lyrics by Sondheim. Entrances and action are timed with exacting precision.

A pair of grand pianos are center stage, with keyboardists Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan replacing full orchestration, and fully integrated to the action around them. Kudos to these two for their exemplary artistry.

What's not to like in "Into the Woods"? Just one thing: that Wolf? His ears are way too round and small.

At its 1986 Broadway debut, "Into the Woods" was seen by many as an allegory for the havoc wreaked by the early AIDS crisis. It's easy to see why during Act 2. Sondheim has demurred from that interpretation, and now nearly 50 years later, there is nothing explicitly alluding to AIDS. Our contemporary climate crisis fits aptly into interpretations of the play now. And that is a tribute to the work's timeless character, and longstanding appeal.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A minimalist 'Into the Woods' draws out the insights in Sondheim's heightened bedtime stories - Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun Times 10/28/24

There's a reason "Into the Woods" has been produced so often since its regional debut at the Marriott way back in 1990. With a mash-up of reconstructed fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book) crafted a nearly perfect show. Through Dec. 22 in the Chopin Theatre basement space, Kokandy Productions is delivering a consistently good and occasionally great rendition of the classic. Director-choreographer Derek Van Barham largely succeeds in his minimalist, in-the-round production, hampered primarily by a vexatious structural issue built into the Chopin basement and overacting that leeches some of the enchantment from the mood.

The plot is a glorious tangle. In the first act, Cinderella (Madison Kauffman), Rapunzel (Ismael Garcia), a Baker (Kevin Webb) and his Wife (Sonia Goldberg), a Witch (Stephanie Stockstill), a Mysterious Man/narrator (August Forman) and a host of other familiar fairy-tale types take to the woods to complete the quests required to obtain their happily-ever-after, be it the birth of a child, the hand of a prince, the reversal of a curse.

Post-intermission, "Into the Woods" cracks open the simplistic fiction and digs deep — with tremendous wit, insight and a gorgeous score - into the thorny briars of what happens after all your dreams come true: You realize there is no such thing as happily-ever-after.

What "Into the Woods" offers is an argument for embracing life in all its tragic messiness, even (especially) when a certain giant is coming for you and all you love.

The two halves of the show form a richly realized whole, every song from the first act refracted in the second, seemingly throwaway lines from the first half revealed as puzzle pieces that perfectly align with the developments of the second. It’s a brilliant, melodically rich meditation on loss, grief, family and the power of community to both destroy and uplift. The biggest problem: Basically every seat in the house has a sometimes obstructed view because of the massive pillars ostensibly holding up the ceiling in the Chopin's subterranean venue. It is mightily annoying, particularly when entire numbers pass without a glimpse of the soloists.

The second issue is easier to fix. Over-emoting can turn "Into the Woods" into a tale of buffoonery rather than an all-too-relatable fairy-tale mirror held up to the real world. This is a largely young cast, and many of them fall into the trap of playing everything huge. For example: The Wolf (Shea Hopkins, who also plays Cinderella's prince) is not a seductive menace if he's bouncing around like Tigger at a Furry Convention. And Syd Genco’s makeup design - think "Euphoria" meets "Corpse Bride" - is also a bit of a distraction.

But there is so very much Van Barham gets absolutely right in his minimalist production. Entering set designer G "Max" Maxim IV's lushly designed space is like walking into a storybook: Those troublesome pillars are vine-covered and shellacked from floor to ceiling with pages from children’s books. The walls are lined with antiques. A wave of flaxen hair spills from a vanity drawer. A golden shoe sprouts from a coiling foliage.

Dominating the space: a pair of gleaming pianos perched atop a platform, dead center, for the action to swirl around. With music direction by Nick Sula, pianist-orchestrators Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan create an entire orchestra in four hands, playing with an expressiveness that is thrilling to witness. They're the stars here as much as the actors.

The cast has several standouts. As the insatiable Little Red, Anna Seibert morphs from bratty child to bloodthirsty young woman with a slightly kinky passion for skinning predators. Her post-wolf-escape reflection in "I Know Things Now" makes its final, revealing line - "Isn't it nice to know a lot! And a little bit not" -- zings with truth.

Stockstill is at turns brutal, vulnerable, haggish and glamorous as the Witch whose looted garden and magic beans send the story spinning on its axis. And as Cinderella, Kauffman turns her dilemma on the steps of the palace into a funny/beguiling rumination on the perils of making a major life decision — or remaining immobilized about doing so.

Webb and Forman make the 11th-hour duet "No More" absolutely shattering. When Webb unleashes the final stanza — "How do you ignore/All the witches/All the curses/All the wolves/all the lies/The false hopes, the goodbyes" - it hits like a meteor. If there's a better way to sum up the prevailing questions roiling a country on the brink of a profoundly anguish-inducing election, I can’t think of what it is. Bravo.

Pillars and all, this "Woods" is lovely, dark and deep - and worth the journey.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Kokandy's 'Into the Woods' depicts a Marvelous Forest, bumps Into a Few Trees - Doug Mose, ThirdCoastReview.com 10/28/24

This review offers some tough love. Love for Kokandy Productions, for its ambitions and scope, for its actors and musicians. But I'm also going to add a tough critique for what are becoming some consistent missteps for the company.

Let's start with the love. Kokandy is presenting Sondheim's Into the Woods, directed and choreographed by Derek Van Barham, from now until December 22 in the ramshackle basement of the Chopin Theater. The company is full of talented singers, some sharp acting and two wonderful musicians playing the show's lush score on a pair of "dueling" grand pianos. For both Sondheim fans and those new to the show, this is a great opportunity to see it up close-very close in the Chopin's tight basement-and enjoy becoming almost part of the action in a production that is at once both intimate and expansive.

The show's story is Sondheim's answer to the old fairytale question: What happens after you get your wish? For Cinderella... for Jack (of Beanstalk fame)... for Little Red Riding Hood... for Rapunzel... for princes... for wicked witches... and for two new characters, a baker and his wife... getting what you want isn't always the end of the story or a glittering perfect future. Instead, it leads to unexpected challenges and some moral dilemmas. For all the show's characters, wishes come with a price.

In this production, that harsh lesson is most effectively delivered by three of the actors: the poignant performance of Kevin Webb as The Baker, Sonia Goldberg as his wife, and Stephanie Stockstill as their worst-of-all-possible next door neighbors, the Wicked Witch. Each brings depth and power to their roles, helping the audience feel the weight of their characters' journeys.

Webb, who previously starred in Kokandy's Sweeney Todd, excels here as well. His Baker is touchingly vulnerable—and his beautiful voice in one of Sondheim's best, "No More," is plaintive and ruefully wise. Goldberg, as his wife, brings considerable humor to the role while also knowing how to pluck more than few heartstrings.

Stephanie Stockstill's Wicked Witch is a force to be reckoned with. She brings a commanding presence to the stage, balancing the character's fearsome exterior with moments of surprising vulnerability. Stockstill’s portrayal highlights the Witch’s multifaceted nature, making her more than just a villain but a deeply flawed and ultimately sympathetic character.

The show features lighting and scenic design by G "Max" Maxin IV, sound design by Matt Reich, and costumes by Rachel Sypniewski. There is much to love in this production. But I also feel the need to offer a tough critique.

For the last few seasons, Kokandy productions have exhibited an increasingly twee, self-referential "let's put on a show" sensibility. This approach, while charming and endearing at times, can start to feel tiresome and intrusively whimsical. It is a style that can be forgiven once or twice, but should be outgrown by a theater company with the aspirations and reach of Kokandy, even as a non-Equity company. This is not 1972, and we are not continually watching neighborhood productions of Godspell.

As Kokandy Productions continues to grow, it is crucial for them to evolve beyond this self-referential style. The company has demonstrated its potential through ambitious projects and talented casts, but to truly make a lasting mark in Chicago's storefront theater community, they need to embrace a more mature and varied approach to their productions.

Recommended - Bedtime Fairy Tales: A Review of Kokandy's 'Into the Woods' at Chopin Studio Theatre - Mary Wisniewski, NewCity Chicago 10/29/24

There's magic going on in The Chopin's basement theater. The ceiling is hung with yellow lights and strips of cloth, like sunbeams through the branches of trees. The support beams are covered with pages from storybooks. At the center are two shiny grand pianos, along with two toy pianos, the smaller topped with a golden skull.

This is the setting for Kokandy Productions' fine and intimate telling of Stephen Sondheim's 1986 musical "Into the Woods"-a tale of wishes, spells and deadly danger. Billed as the first Chicago storefront production of the musical in over a decade, the show puts Sondheim right up close, as if you were getting a cabaret in your own basement, performed by some of the best pianists and musical theater actors in town. Director and choreographer Derek Van Barham, Kokandy’s artistic director, and music director Nick Sula create an evening of music, comedy and drama that doesn’t slow down, and is a fitting tribute to Sondheim’s genius.

"Into the Woods" is an entanglement of different fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Rapunzel." A baker and his wife (Kevin Webb and Sonia Goldberg) long for a child, but a witch (Stephanie Stockstill) tell them that they must first present her with a red cloak, a golden slipper, hair as yellow as corn, and a cow as white as milk. This means Mr. and Mrs. Baker must interfere with the characters of other fairy tales, who are on their own quests for happiness.

All of them must go into the woods, which means going into hazard and learning things they didn't expect. The process is painful. These aren't Disney-fied fairy tales—Cinderella's stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to fit the slipper. As Little Red (Anna Seibert) puts it, "Isn't it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not."

There's not a weak link in this cast. Everyone is up to both the challenge of Sondheim's music and the dark humor of James Lapine's book. Webb and Madison Kauffman were wonderful in Theo Ubique's version of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" earlier this year, and they are also standouts in "Into the Woods." Webb is touching as a man who doesn't realize how much he needs his wife. As Cinderella, Kauffman exudes innocence and joy-she really does just want to go to the festival and could take or leave the prince.

Also fun to watch is Shea Hopkins as Prince Charming and the Wolf, both eager pursuers of flesh. Hopkins is appropriately over the top, full of howling lust and stagey phoniness. He also sings beautifully. As the witch, Stockstill has a big, warm and flexible voice-her rendition of "Stay with Me" with Ismael Garcia's Rapunzel was genuinely moving, the cry of a mother who has nothing to live for but the child she’s about to lose.

Two of the biggest stars are the pianists-Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan. Their joint sound is terrific-sometimes big, like a giant's pounding feet, sometimes light and playful like the wind through leaves. The actors interact with the musicians-whether they're exchanging exasperated looks or sitting down on the bench and plunking out a few chords of their own. The pianists use the Schroeder-style toy pianos for extra sound effects and play upon the piano strings with a drumstick. This show would be worth seeing for the piano performances alone.

The show's main flaw is part of its strength-the tight setting in the basement theater. Its intimacy makes the show feel like a fairy tale told at bedtime. However, the support beams are so big that they destroy sightlines for some interactions. Where I was sitting, I completely missed out on seeing a few encounters between the witch and the baker, while those across from me likely missed out on action between Jack and his mom, or Cinderella and her magic tree. You can still hear the actors, but it was impossible to see them, even by craning your neck, and that takes you out of the show and lessens the experience.

Fortunately, the players move around a lot, so they don't stay out of sight for long. Perhaps more scenes could be performed on the raised platform between the pianos. I don't know of another solution to this problem, except to maybe go to the show again and see it from another seat. There's enough time for this, as it plays until December 22. It's worth more than one listen.

Recommended - Into The Woods by Kokandy Productions - Ronald Keaton PicksInSix, 10/28/24

"This was the very first time in all the years I have worked in the theatre that I have seen a full production of "Into the Woods," the Sondheim/Lapine creation from 1997, currently produced by Kokandy Productions and presented at the Chopin Theatre in Chicago through December 22. It’s a show of far-reaching ambition and clever story and character. Drawing from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the authors have brilliantly created a place that is mostly referred to as 'the woods,' and every Grimm story one can remember is weaved throughout the plotline. "Into the Woods" purports to show what happens when a fairy tale ending isn’t really that happy in the face of real-life situations that affect such feelings and moments.

You name it, it's there-Cinderella and her stepsisters and mother ...Jack and his beanstalk, with his mother constantly trying to keep the boy in line. Oh, and giants not seen but certainly heard. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Rapunzel and her long golden hair. A Witch who moves in and out of all the tales. Two young, full-of-themselves Princes, whose total delight with themselves eventually take them on separate journeys. There are even two characters that Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine create out of thin air-a Baker and the Baker's Wife. At least I don't know what story they are in, but they are smartly used to plant the image of magic beans into Jack's mind as he sells them the family cow, Milky White. And throughout the action, there is a Narrator who plays a Mysterious Man, guiding the players and the audience through the minefield of 'the woods,' learning lessons about life and death and how to survive.

And that's just Act I. Act II takes an entirely different turn, as all the characters realize that life is not at all the happily ever after ending offered by the Brothers Grimm. Cinderella marries one of the princes, who turns around and has a quick tryst with the Baker's Wife. After killing one of the Giants, young Jack discovers that the Giant’s wife wants revenge and intends to kill him for the death and thievery he has caused. Meanwhile, the Baker and Wife have had a child and discover just how difficult parenthood can be in maintaining a loving family. And on and on the story goes as one character after another learns different, but appropriate lessons on growing up. Taking responsibility. Realizing (painfully at times) that they can be better people than they might have been in the past. As a lyric goes: "children will listen."

The plot and background are being laid out carefully here, because this is how thick the storytelling has to be to get everything told that the authors wish to include. The Lapine book is articulate and, despite all the plot twists, highly entertaining to watch. The Sondheim score is one of the most challenging ever written for the theatre, with intricate lyrics and music stylings that draw from the Romantics and patter songs a la Gilbert and Sullivan and even a jazz turn or two. His brilliance can never be overstated.

Kokandy Artistic Director Derek Van Barham and music director Nick Sula have taken over the lower level of the Chopin space in a stylish manner and, with single colorful lights augmenting the G Max Maxin IV lighting design and the posts in that space decorated to be imagined trees in the forest (also Maxin IV), the cast moves about with ease and energy. My favorite idea in the entire production was the placing of two pianos at centerstage—the staging is in the round, by the way-and the two musicians Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan almost stole the show as they showcase their two-piano arrangement of one of the most formidable scores in the Sondheim canon flawlessly, all while reacting to characters approaching them with personal charm and grace.

"Into the Woods" is truly an ensemble piece, much like the great "Sweeney Todd," and the actors need to be on their game to compliment each other doing the same. The vocal work is quite dazzling. There were standout moments - Madison Kauffman offers a simultaneously vulnerable and strong Cinderella who becomes a Princess not always willing to rule; Kevin Webb's Baker is achingly tender and confused and ultimately learns his lesson well about fatherhood; Stephanie Stockstill as the Witch lovingly chews every bit of scenery as a proper witch should; and August Forman’s Narrator is a calming, sometimes even charming influence amid all the chaos that boils up in 'the woods.'"