Twisted fairy tales make enjoyable fun

Saturday night was a good night for theater in Bloomington. The Buskirk-Chumley theater was filled with families eager to see the Bloomington Music Works' performance of Stephen Soundheim's "Into The Woods." And by the end of the evening, it was clear that few, if any, had been disappointed.\n"Into The Woods'" is a different take on the fairy tales we've all grown up with. The difference is that throughout the plot, all of the characters and stories are interacting with each other. And the traditional "happy ending" happens before the first act even ends. So during the second act, you're given a story that is completely original and ultimately entertaining to say the least.\nI'm not going to go into the plot here, because the play's run is not over. If your attention is piqued, you can still go to see it. But the interesting thing was that because the interaction between the characters was the base of the play, the audience was able to see a great ensemble cast put on an excellent performance. I'm going to mention a few standouts here, but be certain that the entire cast as a whole was excellent.\nAngie Shadwick was immensely impressive as the witch in the story. She seemed to easily be able to take on the characteristics of the part she was playing, and in the songs in which she was prominent, she stole the show. The standout was her dark vocal performance on the second act song "Last Midnight."\nBrian Samarzea played the part of the baker in the play; a character who showed quite a range of emotions throughout the performance. Samarzea was able to smartly play the character, while involving the audience in the range of his actions. From the reactions of the audience, I'd say people really enjoyed his performance.\nOf course my favorite character in the entire play was Little Red Riding Hood. She was expertly played by Rachel Simpson. Without spoiling the plot, Little Red learns an important lesson about trusting people, and by the end of the first act, she's become almost street tough. Just try not to crack up when Red pulls out a giant blade and starts eating food from her little picnic basket. Rachel Simpson was able to take this character and run with it, putting on a showstopping performance in many of her scenes.\n"Into The Woods" was a prime example of what great theater can do. This was family entertainment at its finest, and I highly recommend the show to anyone who enjoys a great musical with a lot of humor to boot. And be prepared to expect the unexpected. "Into The Woods" will be playing at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Oct. 17 to 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information call 323-3022.