SCR kids go boldly ‘Into the Woods’

By Tom Titus

Aug. 17, 2017 4 PM PT

If the future of the American theater rests with performing young companies such as South Coast Repertory’s Summer Players from the SCR Theater Conservatory, well, the medium is in excellent hands.

Each summer, these teenage — and tween-age — thespians present a full-blown Broadway-born musical geared toward exhibiting the talents they’ve acquired during their course of study. And with the current show, “Into the Woods,” they’ve graduated with honors.

This fractured fairy tale from creative geniuses Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book and original direction) offers a plethora of plum acting and singing assignments for the uber-talented 2017 troupe under the tutelage of director Hisa Takakuwa and musical director Erin McNally, who have jointly helmed the youth program for the past 11 years.

Takakuwa has trimmed the score a bit, on certain numbers, but has bolstered the show with the addition of a few characters — the three little pigs and a second wolf who pursues them. There also are two visible narrators, neither of whom doubles as the “mysterious man.”

Melodious voices are present in abundance to do full justice to the bountiful Sondheim score, with Katherine Parrish’s top-drawer performance as the witch leading the way. Parrish commands the stage in the first act as an evil harridan before blossoming into a stunning beauty with a golden throat. Her energetic solo “The Last Midnight” is a particular joy.

Both the conscience-stricken baker (Kelsey Kato) and his morally ambiguous wife (Sarah Cocroft) deliver splendidly, with Cocroft’s woodsy romp with Cinderella’s prince (Christopher Huntley) a particular delight. Kelsey Bray is a charming, sweet-voiced Cinderella while her stepmother (Gillian Gonzales) and her two avaricious daughters (Ella Webb and Lauren Lyons) swipe their scenes with alacrity.

The vacuous Jack (Nick Trafton) and his overarching mother (Kat Lewis) stir the plot effectively and Sarah Sparks comically shines as the bratty Little Red Riding Hood, of whom all wolves should beware. Ben Susskind and Sean Kato efficiently enact the wolf duo while Kasey Jacques exhibits a golden voice as Rapunzel. Olivia Drury and JT Casey provide a conduit to the audience as joint narrators.

Musically, the SCR show is pure joy. Highlights include the two “Agony” duets with Huntley and Nathan Burke bemoaning their romantic missteps, Sparks’ “I Know Things Now,” Parrish’s “Stay With Me” and Bray’s conflicted “On the Steps of the Palace.” Five of the principals beautifully dual verbally on the snappy number, “Your Fault.”

Enhancing the show’s physical appeal is the intricate setting designed by Sara Ryung Clement, the imaginative costumes from Kathryn Poppen and the attractive lighting designs of Karyn D. Lawrence.

Unfortunately, Summer Players productions only run for two weekends and Aug. 20 will be the finale. This youth show can hold its own beside most adult productions and should be extended at South Coast Repertory.

Speaking of “Into the Woods,” Broadway’s original Rapunzel will host a program on the creation of musical theater Saturday, Aug. 26, at the Irvine Barclay Theater.

Pamela Winslow Kashani will be featured in a program dubbed “ACCELERATE! The Magic of Making Musicals.” The unusual show offers a glimpse behind the curtain to show how musicals are developed.

Curtain is 7:30 p.m. at the Barclay, on the UC Irvine campus, 4242 Campus Drive. For more information, call (800) 840-9227.