Into the Woods, London review: Magical, overwhelming meta musical

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim evaluation and star score: ★ ★ ★

Musical theatre can be self-referential, didn’t you understand? Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine definitely do. Their Into The Woods maxes out on meta gameplay in this technically fantastic however sometimes unwarranted musical that can be awfully pleased with itself.

A baker and his other half plunge into Tom Scutt’s endless-feeling set, which is in impact a handful of trees and some thoroughly put reeds however feels exceptionally lavish and escapist, in order to break the spell that prohibits them from having kids. They should venture into the woods to revive 4 products: a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold, states a familiar-looking witch, and Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk are along for the trip too (do not ask).

Into the Woods: London return is technically magnificent

When it comes to the music, it’s not a surprise that Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood have whooping terrific belts; it’s all technically incredible and the music easing because, honestly, Lapine’s script is typically mercilessly verbose, overruning with narrative info about the side missions of each of the characters. By the end of the very first act it seems an enjoyable, big-hearted journey, and musically victorious, and everybody gets what they want, children are due and it’s all gravy– however there is a 2nd act in which whatever breaks down once again when a brand-new plot is presented: a cruel giant is on the loose.

I ‘d picture the Venn diagram of Stephen Sondheim and Brothers Grimm fans is relatively robust, however the conceit begins to seem like intellectual masturbation by the 2nd act. The audience has no cliffhanger to fix after the period, which itself feels longer than other programs (I do not understand if this was deliberate, or if there was a production problem on the night I went in). Anyhow, going back to my seat after a prolonged very first act, and due to the busy, often frustrating story, I was wearying of this forest-dwelling gang, a sensation I discovered hard to shake even with the arrival of the ultimate fee-fi-fo-fum thuds of the uneasy vertically achieved monster edging ever better.

Tunes aren’t grasping

The other issue with Into the Woods is that there’s an absence of traditionally melodic pop tunes to tide you over. The primary refrain– into the wooooooodsssssss– is duplicated a thousand times, and is unconventionally appealing, however not in the fulfilling method of something more tuneful. The metaness bleeds through from the staging into the ballads: everybody’s belting something for the sake of musical theatre, beloved, however maybe when everybody’s belting, nobody’s belting at all.

I do not wish to reduce the ingenious radiance of this extensive concept, which really transfers you someplace fairytale-coded and wonderful looking. Call me Scrooge (among a couple of imaginary characters who does not get an appearance in) however I expect you might argue that the virtue of fairy tales is that they end rapidly. There is energy and marvel here, though I left a little tired.

Into the Woods dips into the Noël Coward Theatre till 9 January 2027