Kate Stenzel News Today

Most reviews of The Wizard of Oz focus on its enchanting storyline. A Kansas tornado whisks a teenage girl and her little dog to a strange land, where she makes new friends, learns from mentors, overcomes threshold guardians and battles a powerful enemy in order to find her way home again. While Broadway Palm honors this timeless story and its iconic characters, its production is special for a number of other reasons.

With the passing of Sondheim in November, listening to his words on choices and aging and surviving our own journeys in the woods takes on a special poignancy. With flair, Theater West End has captured much of the best of a true theatrical masterwork, “Into the Woods.”

Those who haven't encountered INTO THE WOODS before won't miss anything at Theater West End. It's still the story of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Jack the giant chaser, and a baker and his wife and the witch that cursed them all heading into the same woods at the same time for very different reasons. Their journeys intersect in song and scandal as Sondheim spins the yarn of didactic fantasy into the gold of complex moral quandry. The result is a work as nuanced and astute in its refl...

It’s nearly time for the jolly man in the red suit to start shimmying down chimneys but wait: There are still more Christmas entertainment offerings to be had.