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In the cast has been reduced to 11鈥攚hich includes a pianist. The Narrator has been eliminated. The set looks like it鈥檚 made of old, reclaimed objects, which it essentially is. And the result, critics say, is a revelatory exploration of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine鈥檚 classic musical about growth and self-discovery, about wishes and their aftermath.
An ensemble theatre company created by graduates of the Brown University/Trinity Rep M.F.A. acting program, Fiasco describes itself as an 鈥渁ctor-driven鈥� troupe that believes 鈥渢he performer, the text and the audience are the only elements required to make great theatre.鈥� They鈥檙e not averse to scenic and costume design but, says Noah Brody, who co-directed Into the Woods with Ben Steinfeld, 鈥淲ith each of our productions, we give ourselves anything we need to tell the story, but only those things.鈥�
The production, now in the midst of a national tour, proved to be a journey of discovery for the ensemble as well as the audience. Most of the actors play more than one role, all very deliberately chosen. 鈥淚t lends an interesting dimension to the storytelling,鈥� says Brody. 鈥淔or instance, the actor who plays Jack also plays the Steward. So when Jack pledges to kill the Steward for killing his mother, it means that the actor is talking about himself. The audience gets it, and never laughs at the idea. They get the resonance of a person representing multiple sides of an argument.鈥�
The narration is now shared by the ensemble. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the storytellers,鈥� says Brody. 鈥淭he entire company is onstage the whole time. When they鈥檙e not in a scene they鈥檙e adding to the musical texture by playing instruments. They鈥檙e all contributing to the fabric of the storytelling all the time.鈥�
Derek McLane鈥檚 set was inspired by the idea of inheritances鈥攁nd a piano. 鈥淔or us, the show is really about inheritances,鈥� says Brody, 鈥渨hich each of us lives with in our own lives. So we asked ourselves, 鈥榃hat does it mean to have inheritances? Where could those things live?鈥� We started talking about a metaphorical space, the memory attic鈥攁 non-realistic place full of those inheritances: objects, ideas, curses, expectations, family stories. We thought, 鈥楥an we fashion a kit that would allow us to tell the story where objects in a memory attic could live?鈥� And we started to populate it with boxes and paintings and broomsticks and a hobby horse and a bunch of yarn.
鈥淲e also knew that a piano was going to be at the center of the production. How do we integrate a piano into that space? After seeing a video of pianos being destroyed, Derek thought, 鈥楳aybe this environment happens inside the piano.鈥� The back wall looks like huge-scale piano strings; they are our woods. It鈥檚 an associative space where music and inheritance and memory live or co-exist.鈥�
Both Sondheim and Lapine are champions of the production. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 their advocacy that led to its success,鈥� says Brody. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 been one of the great gifts of the show to get to have a relationship with them, just a dream come true.鈥�
