A SONDHEIM SPECTACLE

Sonoma County’s Spreckels Performing Arts Center has launched a tremendous production of Into the Woods, the perpetually popular and nearly forty-year-old musical spoof of classic fairy tales by composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and author James Lapine.

The show debuted on Broadway in 1987, won multiple Tony awards, and has been a recurring item for regional and community theater troupes for decades. And for good reasons: it’s an exceedingly clever mash-up of several classic fairy tales, including “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Sam Coughlin, Shanay Howell, Hannah Passanisi, Nicole Stanley,
Karen Miles, Maddi Scarbrough, Andrew Cedeño,
Molly Larsen-Shine, Megan Bartlett & Noah Vondralee-Sternhill

The production in the capacious Codding Theater benefits from a deep wide stage that’s transformed into a daunting forest with many enormous trees (set design by Eddy Hansen) and the dwellings of the Baker and his Wife, Jack and his Mother, and Cinderella, her evil stepmother and sisters. You will also encounter the Princes of Cinderella and Rapunzel and many other denizens of childhood folklore.

They’re all there on the big stage, living in apparent harmony other than being tormented by a domineering witch with a talent for malevolent manipulation.

Molly Larsen-Shine, Andrew Cedeño & Sam Coughlin

The first act is complete unto itself, a lightweight but endearingly comic treatment of familiar characters whose various quests send them into the woods to break a spell, make money, find a prince, etc. The mash-up of tales is adult in concept but appropriate for kids, so appropriate in fact, that Act I is often chosen as a stand-alone for school performances.

Evvy Carlstrom & Daniela Innocenti Beem

The second act takes a darker and deeply ironic turn—not really suitable for kids—revisiting the characters later to explore how far off-track they’ve gone after having gotten everything they thought they might want—riches, beauty, or the perfect mate. Careful what you wish for!

David A. Bradbury & Drew Bolander

Director Sheri Lee Miller gets finely-honed, briskly-paced performances from a large cast whose many North Bay theater veterans include Jeff Coté as the Narrator and Mysterious Man, Karen Miles as Cinderella’s evil stepmother, Andrew Cedeño as Jack, Molly Larson-Shine as Jack’s Mother, Noah Vondralee-Strenhill as the Baker, Megan Bartlett as the Baker’s Wife, and Drew Bolander as Cinderella’s Prince. Maddi Scarbrough as Cinderella and Evvy Carlstrom as Rapunzel are both striking. All members of the cast rise to their best levels, giving the whole production a seamlessly professional quality.

Daniela Innocenti-Beem

Anchoring Into the Woods is the astounding Dani Innocenti-Beem as the Witch, whose machinations set the whole affair in motion. Blessed with a high-volume pitch-perfect Broadway belter’s voice, commanding presence, and natural comedic timing, Innocenti-Beem is so well-suited for this role that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else taking it on. Her complete inhabitation of her character is a trait shared by everyone in the show.

Megan Bartlett, Noah Vondralee-Sternhill & Daniela Innocenti-Beem

Music director Lucas Sherman works wonders with Sondheim’s sometimes awkward melodies. The title song can be annoyingly repetitive, but “No One Is Alone,” the show’s second-act big breakout number, is poignantly uplifting. Hansen’s imposing set would fit perfectly at Disneyland—how Spreckels found the budget to create it remains a mystery. Costumes by Donnie Frank are stars in their own right—beautiful, ridiculous, and fantastical labors of love. Hansen’s lighting and Jessica Johnson’s sound design make significant contributions to the show’s impact.

Shanay Howell, Hannah Passanisi, Maddi Scarbrough & Karen Miles

Gorgeously rendered and delivered with a generosity of spirit that could inspire a national touring production, it’s a truly bright event in the fall theater schedule. This production is a Broadway-quality show in the heart of Sonoma County.

Nicole Stanley & Drew Bolander

photos by Jeff Thomas

Into the Woods
Spreckels Performing Arts Center’s Codding Theater
5409 Snyder Lane in Rohnert Park
Fri and Sat at 7:30; Sun at 2
ends on October 12, 2025
for tickets ($16-$44), call 707.588.3400 or visit Spreckels

Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.