In the past here, I've raved about productions out at the Cupcake Theater in North Hollywood — a little storefront establishment where the shows are low on budget and high on talent and ingenuity. A friend of mine used to call places like this "no frills theater" because you don't get expensive costuming or sets or a big orchestra or huge stars…but it still gets you there.
For several months there, they've been taking audiences Into the Woods and I wish I'd seen it earlier so my high recommendation might be of more use to some locals who read this blog. Alas, it closes next weekend…but it's really good. You could go to a big theater and pay a lot more for a seat and not see a production half as good as this one.
Into the Woods is not my favorite musical or even my favorite Sondheim musical. It's very long and the second act always feels to me like a disappointing sequel to the first act. In fact, I have a friend who loves the first act, hates the second and so goes to productions and leaves at intermission.
So what little I didn't enjoy last night was not the fault of the production. They really performed the heck out of the material…and I wish I could cite some of the actors by name but I can't. As they often do there, this staging is double-cast. They have two people playing each role and they take turns. So now as I look at my faux Playbill, I don't know which actress I saw paying the Witch, which actor I saw playing the Baker, etc. Whoever they were, they handled all those difficult Sondheim lyrics to perfection.
The fellow who runs the Cupcake, Michael Pettenato, is pretty clearly the main reason this place does such good work. He produced and directed Into the Woods and before the show, he welcomed everyone in the lobby and then made a pre-show speech on stage. Watching him scurry about everywhere managing everything, I am reminded of how the essence of theater is enthusiasm — enthusiasm for the project, enthusiasm for the work, enthusiasm for all the participants. He is a grand champion for the people who perform on that stage and for the ones off-stage who contribute, as well. It's a shame he can't be double-cast and cloned because every little theater needs someone like that.
Into the Woods runs through next weekend. They may still have tickets on their site and if you want to be cheap about this, you can sometimes find them discounted on Goldstar. But hurry. I've now been to five or six productions at the Cupcake and I've never seen an empty seat. There's a reason for that.