Into The Woods

LAOS – Curve Studio, Leicester

4th June 2025

The talented Leicester Amateur Operatic Society are back and ready to entertain us again, which we’re always excited to see. This time around, LAOS are giving us their adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into The Woods’, the 1986 Tony-Winning Broadway classic stage musical (also adapted for the big screen with Meryl Streep and Corden back in 2013). ‘Into The Woods’ intersects several of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and adds new characters to create a new story, one which LAOS are bringing to the Studio space at Leciester’s Curve this week.

We see Cinderella (played by Natasha Ann Carr) trapped in servitude and wanting to go the Prince’s festival; Jack (Freddie Perkins) needing to take his beloved cow Milky White (puppettered by Hollie Carrington) who stumbles on a famous beanstalk; Little Red Riding Hood (Jacqueline Ardron) on her way to her granny’s house and intercepted by a hungry wolf (Ed Turner); Rapunzel (Grace Bale) trapped in her tower and waiting for her Prince (Dan Brewer); and a baker and his wife (Dan Rowberry and Lisa Barnes), who long for a child but find themselves afflicted by a curse laid down by a scorned witch (Charlotte Emily Beaver). The characters all find themselves on a connected mission that takes them in and out of each others’ lives, as they travel through the woods which begin to tell us more about the morality of the world we live in and the complicated relationships between parents and children.

Arguably one of Sondheim’s most popular and well-known shows, ‘Into The Woods’ remains a great watch and a musical that reveals its layers more with every watch. Sondheim’s trademark style is clearly in evidence but it’s certainly one of his most accessible musicals, containing some of his most beautiful melodies (“Stay With Me”, “No One Is Alone”). The small orchestra led by Jonathan Jarvis bring the rich score to life and create an enchanting mood. The score also contains some of Sondheim’s most intricate and complex lyrics, and although the words come at an almost relentless pace, they are full of rich metaphor and symbolic meaning. It’s a long show at nearly three hours, and Sondheim’s style can take a while to adjust to for the uninitiated, but James Lapine’s book cleverly weaves the stories together with humour and heart and grants emotional investment to each leading character.

LAOS have done themselves proud here with a fantastic production of a hugely difficult show. Sondheim is hard to do, and even harder to do well, and LAOS make it look easy, delivering the tricky material with confidence and style. Russell Carrington’s direction keeps it simple and focuses on the characters and the story, and successfully finds the humour in Lapine’s book. Despite the minimal set, the production remains engaging to look at and also makes good use of some of the balcony space to add an extra dimension. Choreography (Hollie Carrington) is also excellent, with the heavily-populated ensemble numbers feeling cleverly constructed and never looking muddled or clumsy.

Some top-notch performances lead LAOS’ production and really do themselves proud here. Stunning voices come from Natasha Ann Carr’s Cinderella, Grace Bale’s Rapunzel and Charlotte Emily Beaver’s Witch, and Dan Rowberry and Lisa Barnes are hugely likeable as the Baker and his wife. Jacqueline Ardron also does an excellent job as Little Red Riding Hood, as do Dan Brewer and Ed Turner as the vacuous princes (with Turner also impressing in a dual role as the predatory Wolf).Nearly 40 years old but as relevant and enjoyable as ever, it’s great to see ‘Into The Woods’ back on a local stage again, and LAOS have delivered a brilliant production of it. With excellent performances far above an “amateur” label, LAOS deliver a difficult Sondheim show with heaps of character and charm, in a production that the late composer would’ve surely loved, and acts as a wonderful tribute to that “giant in the sky”.

‘Into The Woods’ runs at in the Studio space at Leicester’s Curve until Saturday 7th June 2025.

Performance runtime 2 hours 45 minutes including interval.