CODA: Into The Woods - Review by Daniel Conway

There are some shows that you just know are going to be a lot of work for the cast and crew. Shows whose level of difficulty makes them ambitious at the best of times and impossible at the worst. Into the Woods is one of those shows. With so many moving parts and so many layered vocal lines, you need a dedicated team in order to pull it off. The Company of Dramatic Arts production of Into the Woods was full of dedicated performers who worked hard to capture the magic in it.

The set, designed by Kathryn Smith, had the whimsy of a children's book in colouring and style. This is the second CODA production I have seen, and both included this rough hand-drawn style in the set pieces and props. I personally don't always think that is successful, but for this show it was tonally appropriate and matched the fairytale aesthetic. One thing about the set and the direction that I couldn't help thinking about was how challenging the space must have been to plan for. The PACT Centre for Emerging Artists is quite wide, and with the need to create a backstage, the performance space became quite narrow. While I think for the most part they were successful in creating levels, particularly with some clever set pieces that could be moved, there were some notable traffic issues, and at points the distance between characters became a problem. That being said, I think Into the Woods is an ambitious show to do in most spaces, and hats off to director Daniel Walsh and his team for making it work.

Musical direction by Dom Serov was perfectly executed. The cast sounded great in the large ensemble moments and had a deeper sound than I expected. Into the Woods is a long and wordy show, and not a single line was dropped by the performers. The diction was impeccable.

This is a true ensemble show. While some roles are bigger than others, it only works because of the whole company working together, and so while I am going to mention only a few standouts, I want to make it clear that my favourite moments were when the whole ensemble were together and singing.

Claire Garment as the Witch is a force. With such great stage presence and a voice that is beautiful and powerful, every moment she was on stage was a showstopper. I spent the entire runtime eagerly anticipating her singing "Last Midnight". On opening night there were a few costume issues and a mishap that would have hurt other performers, but Garment was a true professional and delivered.

Jason Kennedy-Davidson as the Mysterious Man/Narrator really grounded the show. The cast is very young, and having him exude experience and confidence made him stand out and gave his Narrator authority, which then allowed him to be silly as the Mysterious Man.

Tessa Marsden impressed me as the Baker's Wife. She was so committed in her physicality, and her voice is stunning. Her emotional range in Act Two as she sings about her complicated feelings felt earnest and grounded, and I was endeared to her when she was exasperated at the Baker along the journey. Chris Rutter as the Baker had some well-timed comedy coupled with a strong voice. He particularly shone when he was paired with Kennedy-Davidson.

Tahlia Allen, who plays Cinderella, has a beautiful voice, and I thought she was charming in the role. Allen had a wonderful playful smile that helped to bring so much life to Cinderella. Alexander Miech as Jack was naive and warm and played up the absurdity of the character. This was helped in no small part by the show-stealing performance from Olive Caraturo as Milky White. Her commitment to the puppetry was phenomenal.

Maximillian Kendrick and Hudson Perry knew what they were doing as the princes. They knew that "Agony" is a crowd favourite and milked every second of joy they were capable of out of that song. Perry in particular clearly enjoyed playing to the audience, and was so confident doing so. Kendrick pulled double duty, also being the big bad Wolf for Piper Ellis as Little Red. Ellis leaned into the slightly unhinged and precocious Little Red and had a nice, almost sibling energy with Miech's Jack.

CODA's production of Into the Woods is the result of a talented team making something difficult come together. The show is hard for anyone to stage, and to do so in a challenging space is a testament to the dedication of all involved.