Into the Woods Manila Reviews (Part 1)
Spanky Enriquez of Manila Boy noted that “Stephen Sondheim’s deep and lovely play stays true to the tales that arose out of The Dark Ages…. perfect for a thought-provoking, foot-tapping, “WTF was that?!?!?!”- chuckle inducing, night at the theater.”
Mila Tan of Watergirl took note of theatre thespian Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo’s performance as the Baker’s Wife, “Her voice is pitch perfect, with the necessary frustration dealing with her husband, full of awe in her encounter with the Prince, and her no-nonsense approach towards getting the job done.”
Paul Henson of Manila Bulletin and a senior reporter of the ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs poses the question, “Does the fairy tale end happily ever after? Let’s just say the path to happiness is not always straight. The married characters in the story find themselves in troubled relationships. Some grieve over the loss of loved ones. The ordinary citizens realize that leaders in the Kingdom can’t always be counted upon for help, and oftentimes, you have to do things yourself.
“If you ask me, that’s no fairy tale. That’s as close to real life as it can get.”
Gmeleen Tomboc of Click the City advises, “If you’re looking for a light-hearted evening, leave after the characters chorus “happily ever after” at the end of Act 1. But if you’re after musings on choices and how they can affect even the people we do not know, stay on for Act 2. “Into the Woods” can provoke a gamut of emotions from happiness to angst, and deftly entertains and lectures at the same time.”
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Hi. Is “Into the Woods” appropriate for an 8 year old Grade 1 student? She loves musical theater but I am not sure if this will be ok for her. Thanks!
Hi Fred,
New Voice guidelines allow children 7yo and above to watch Into the Woods.
Actually, the reviews have defined your options already.
First, like what Gmeleen Tomboc of Click the City said, you may leave after the first act, which is approximately 2 hours long already, so you definitely get your money’s worth.
(FYI, the Into the Woods Junior Version that is sold to grade schools and middle schools is a slightly revised version of Act I, but no Act II.)
Second, like what Spanky Enriquez of Manila Boy said, if you watch Act II, you must be ready to discuss real life issues with your daughter. These include loss of loved ones through death, taking responsibility, infidelity and betrayal– very weighty topics indeed.
The safest course of action, of course, is the first. However, the second option is an excellent venue to open up about “what’s out there in the world.”
P.S. My 8yo niece is insisting to watch the play in its entirety tonight, 17 Nov 2007, so my sister-in-law is going to be there to guide her.
Fred, Sondheim plays tend to lean towards the darker side (like “Sweeny Todd” or “Assassins”), but as far as musical theater goes, he’s consistently one of the best. The darkness in “Into the Woods” is pretty much directly taken from the original Grimm fairy tales, before their Disneyfication. This includes a touch of gore, like when Cinderella’s evil stepsisters get their eyes pecked out in the end. This is handled quite lightly in the play, but some parents might be a bit disturbed. It definitely drives home the intended moral of each story much better than the cleaned-up standard happy ending, though.
For an 8 year old, it would depend on the child’s level of maturity I think. Some might be destroyed when they are shown the original versions of the stories they’ve come to love (and sing along with), while others might be fascinated. The music is fantastic, and the characters are familiar and I think younger audiences can enjoy it for that, and the more mature humor will be much appreciated by the adults.
I loved the musical! It was really entertaining and I simply adored the whole darker side of things, exactly what the original Grimm tales are about.
I grew up with the whole Disney version of these fairy tales and frankly, I’m bored with them. I’ve always been fascinated with the original and darker side of the tales so I’m glad this musical is somewhat like a glance into them.
The bad sound system in Music Museum annoyed me a bit but I’m glad the actors were all articulate so I didn’t have to guess what they were singing/saying.
Menchu, I LOVE YOU!!!
Thanks so much again, Lorna. Expect a review of the musical at my blog.
I’m looking forward to it