The National Youth Music Theatre not only rise to the musical challenge of Sondheim’s original work and the dark humour and sharp social commentary it holds, but knocks the ball out of the woods with a production that enthrals, entertains, and feels fresh, vibrant, and new. The National Youth Music Theatre production of Into the Woods plays at the Southwark Playhouse (Elephant) on August 9 and 11. Click for full details of the 2024 NYMT summer season.
Since its opening night in San Diego, California, at the Old Globe Theatre on December 4, 1986, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods has seen multiple productions, revivals, and retellings over the past thirty-seven years, from the inclusion of new songs to changes in the narration and even a Rob Marshall-led Disney screen adaptation.
Sondheim’s musical tour of Grimm Fairy Tales, ranging from Little Red Riding Hood to Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, would centre around a classic fairy tale quest led by a Baker and his wife, who are attempting to reverse a curse on their family that leaves them childless. Into the Woods was a triumph, a complex and knotty musical adventure that provided artists, crews and musicians with a delightful musical challenge laced with dark humour and sharp social commentary.
Over the years, some revivals and reworkings of Into the Woods have met this musical challenge, while others have struggled to achieve Sondheim and Lapine’s original vision. Therefore, the National Youth Music Theatre set itself an almighty challenge in taking on Into the Woods as part of its 2024 summer season; after all, what can you bring to Sondheim’s classic that hasn’t already been seen while equally honouring the timeless magic of this beloved musical.
National Youth Music Theatre director Jake Smith opted to start from an exciting premise by expanding the cast to incorporate over thirty young people aged twelve to twenty-three, along with an orchestra of thirteen young people aged fourteen to twenty. This expansion must have given Smith more than a few sleepless nights, but it not only works, it enables Into the Woods to find a new, fresh voice while retaining the wonder and beauty of Sondheim and Lapine’s original production. Smith and his creative team of twenty-nine artists base the original musical around a new narrative frame: a group of scouts camping deep in the woods, reading the story to one another around their roaring campfire. As they become a part of the story, each young person finds themselves venturing deeper and deeper into the fantastical world surrounding them as reality and fantasy converge in a musical wonderland of light and shadow.
This creative choice enables Sondheim’s richly detailed conversations on community and ethics to dovetail with a coming-of-age journey in which the dark realities of the adult world intrude upon the comforts of childhood innocence. In the hands of a truly stunning young cast and creative team, this coming-of-age journey possesses real magic, from performances to music and staging. Into the Woods young cast shines as they deliver world-class performances that match anything you will see on a West End stage. At the same time, the young orchestra holds the production together with such professionalism and talent that it is hard to believe the youngest is just fifteen years old.
The National Youth Music Theatre not only rise to the musical challenge of Sondheim’s original work and the dark humour and sharp social commentary it holds, but knocks the ball out of the woods with a production that enthrals, entertains, and feels fresh, vibrant, and new.
Watching these young performers, musicians and creative leads, it is clear that British musical theatre is not only in safe hands; it has up-and-coming artists willing to take creative risks in reimagining musical classics for a whole new generation while equally honouring the past.
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