Theater Review

Tom Titus

To introduce future actors -- and audiences -- to the theater, there are

abbreviated “junior” versions of popular musicals available, trimmed and

sanitized. The shorter options do not strain the talents of the cast nor

the patience of younger theatergoers.

Costa Mesa’s new Trilogy Playhouse is offering one of these, Stephen

Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” as its second production since moving into

the Bristol Street theater vacated recently by the Theater District.

Dubbed “Into the Woods Jr.,” the production includes only the musical’s

first act, with a few numbers trimmed down or excised completely. It’s an

effective method of presenting the show’s comic cuteness without delving

into its more bizarre situations -- deaths, seductions and the like.

Director Alicia Butler, with significant contributions from musical

director Sharon Schwanz and choreographer Sheryl Singh, has managed to

manipulate a cast of 16 performers on and off a stage of limited

dimensions. Unfortunately, the colorful, inventive costumes are not

credited.

Sondheim’s concept of presenting well-known fairy tale characters who

interact with one another to pursue a common goal works well, even in a

scaled-down “junior” version. Occasionally, however, the live voices are

no match for the recorded musical accompaniment, a common occurrence even

in traditional productions.

Among those who overcome this pitfall are Tom Moss and Amanda Loomer, as

the baker and his wife, and Jennifer Doering as Cinderella. Moss and

Loomer excel in the reconciliation number “It Takes Two,” while Doering

shines in her duet with Loomer, “A Very Nice Prince.”

Little Hailey Villaire (the only child in the cast) makes a particularly

cute Red Riding Hood, minus the avaricious qualities of her original

character. She sells her solo, “I Know Things Now,” after a shaky start

in the opening segment.

Michael Mulligan is a suitably rustic Jack, reluctantly trading his cow

for a handful of beans and rendering an effective “Giants in the Sky”

number.

As the grotesquely disfigured witch (makeup also is uncredited) seeking

to regain her former beauty, Karin Lindberg Freda renders a delicious

character -- although her opening-scene expository number is downsized.

So, too, is the salacious scene with Little Red and the wolf (James

Mulligan, who also enacts Cinderella’s prince), out of deference to

family audiences.

Dave Schade deftly switches between his narrator’s role and that of the

“mysterious man,” though not always with pinpoint timing. Eileen Conan is

a credible nag as Jack’s mother, while Yvonne Marie Houssels ably

projects Cinderella’s stepmother, and Sharon Simonian doubles as her real

mother’s spirit and Little Red’s granny.

Kandi Scattolan is effective as the long-haired Rapunzel. Rounding out

the large company are Christy Simonian and Corinne Kane as Cinderella’s

stepsisters, Jack Warner as Rapunzel’s prince and Bruno Stoecklein as the

princes’ steward.

James Mulligan’s woodsy setting works very nicely for this production,

and the ensemble effort survives the occasional bumpy roads to mesh

credibly.

The finale, with everyone on stage and moving simultaneously, is

especially well done. “Into the Woods” may take its audiences only part

way in, but it’s an enjoyable experience nevertheless. And getting there

is more than half the fun.

WHAT: “Into the Woods Jr.,” abbreviated version

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays

through April 9

WHERE: Trilogy Playhouse, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

HOW MUCH: $10 and $12

PHONE: (714) 957-3347