One of the weird parts about my work as both a podcaster and critic is people are very aware of my opinions- particularly my unpopular opinions of plays and musicals. For example, I’ve literally done entire episodes of my podcast on why I think the musical Into the Woods is overrated:

I stand behind everything I said in this episode and I definitely don’t love this show the way that most musical theatre fans and critics seem to. That said, however, it doesn’t mean I can’t review it fairly and honestly. I don’t hate it. I just think particularly Act 2 doesn’t succeed in its subversion of tropes the way that most people see to.

Anyway, all that to explain why I didn’t end up seeing Into the Woods at Heritage until closing night (on Halloween no less,) but I still wanted to share some of my thoughts on the production. This was directed by Katie Adams and she did a great job bringing the best out of her community theatre cast and crew and I really appreciate the unique vision the show had, which made it feel special.

The biggest change for what was happening is it had a Nordic take on the story and characters. This is especially true with the costumes by Brianna Taylor and the makeup which especially for the witch was quite elaborate. You do not expect to see such quality in costuming and makeup at a small community theater. Each actor had embroidery, fur, antlers and other Nordic type wear and the coloring was brown, green, blues and grays. It just made everything feel fresh and new. For a show I don’t love it made me eager to see what was coming from scene to scene. One of my favorite looks was the Narrator/Mysterious man who had antlers and a robe that made him look like a Viking king.

I also love at Heritage that they have kept things homemade and rugged looking in the scenic and prop design. Set design is by Alex Montgomery with scenic artistry by Jess Tarbot. In a world where most small theaters have reverted to AI backgrounds it’s so refreshing to see a hand-painted/constructed world. Especially for a rugged world they were going for that helped add to the immersion. The highlight was Rapunzel’s tower which included a ladder for climbing up the hair. Again, you don’t expect to see this kind of effort in a small community theater production in relatively obscure Perry, Utah.

As far as the performances they were all pleasant and I enjoyed hearing songs like “No One is Alone” and “On the Steps of the Palace.” Cari DeCoursey played the Witch and she gives it her all with elaborate makeup and costume transformations throughout. Bella Branson was our Cinderella, W. Derek Hendricks and Breanne Hendricks were the Baker and wife and Graysen Eagle was Jack. These were all heartfelt amateur performers who did a great job with the very challenging material.

The highlight of Into the Woods is the “Agony” song and reprise. It’s the catchiest song and the funniest so I enjoy it the most. Steven Carter brought the humor and slick sensibility to Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf and Dillon Stewart was Rapunzel’s Prince. This number did not disappoint

I don’t know if this was by design but I particularly think it is brilliant of the Heritage team to have a Scandinavian theme for Into the Woods when their next musical is Frozen (I’m pretty sure I could name my site Rachel’s Reviews Frozen with how much I will be seeing it in the next quarter…) What a brilliant advertisement for Frozen to see all they did with the theme her in Into the Woods. Anyway, it’s not my favorite show but I did enjoy seeing it at Heritage and made for a delightful way to spend my Halloween. It has finished its run but like I said Frozen is coming up next and tickets can be purchased here.

Into the Woods has music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim with a book by James Lapine. It first premiered on Broadway in 1987 and has been revived twice in 2002 and 2022. There was also a feature film adaptation from Disney in 2014.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.