by Laura Kussman

Sounder contributor

“Into the Woods” is a feast and Orcas Center’s production devours it.

Overstuffed with ideas, characters, ingenious twists-of-the-tongue and layered lyrics only composer Stephen Sondheim could whet (slam poetry about curses and vegetables, anyone?), the musical’s Looney Tunes-level comedy and tender tidings in its final songs are what round out the quality of a balanced, multi-course meal.

Not to mention the bright, intricately detailed illustrated projections by Mark Ferrari! How they light up the stage.

It’s no surprise our neighbors on “thespian island” were up to meet the Sondheim and James Lapine challenge of conveying almost an entire plotline in song. Almost immediately I was struck by the witch (played by Kate Wlaysewski) and what is required of her to deliver a fast-paced half-sung, half-spoken word puzzle about a husband-thief rooting in her garden for greens and special beans and the hex she puts on the thief’s bloodline making his descendants, the baker (played by Indy Zoeller) and the baker’s wife (played by Katie Zwilling) barren, all in one gaping breath. And since the music comes pre-recorded leaving zero margin for error and without a full-time vocal coach involved, it speaks volumes about what each individual cast member had to work on to bite this thing off. Undoubtedly, they have, and the show will only get better throughout its 10-show run that concludes on May 11.

“Into the Woods” opened on Broadway in 1987 and had a solid run of 765 performances, winning Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress (Joanna Gleason as The Baker’s Wife). What is so intriguing about “Into The Woods” is the apparent distinction between theatergoers with a petty dislike for the production and theatergoers, performers, directors and producers with an absolute love and adoration for it – often life-long. What is it that draws people back again and again? Perhaps it is, as the final song notes, the reimagining of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales as more existential, more human, more multi-colored and multi-faceted. “How do you say to your child in the night? / Nothing’s all black, but then nothing’s all white?”

Or perhaps it is how “Into the Woods” gives famous fantasy characters the words to express their fears and the lessons of their traumas. In the words of the poet Rumi, “the wound is where the light gets in.” Grace Zwilling as Little Red Riding Hood does just that, beautifully singing “I Know Things Now” after being revived from the belly of the Big Bad Wolf (played by the cheeky Frank Michels). “And take extra care with strangers / Even flowers have their dangers. / And though scary is exciting, / Nice is different than good.”

Or perhaps it’s how the characters’ lyrics seamlessly overlap to showcase universal human experiences. Both the baker and Cinderella (played by Chelsea Sherman) sing at the same time but to different people in different places, “you are not alone.” Sherman’s singing during this song in the second half gave me sustained head-to-toe goosebumps. She delivers such incredibly crisp and clear notes it’s hard to believe you’re not sitting in the auditorium of a much larger theatre in a much larger city.

Whichever reason it may be, whatever answer to the question, it is certain “Into the Woods” gives folklore feeding ground for much deeper lessons and thus much more room for actors to play with the breadth of their characters and viewers a shortcut to understanding the tenants of community care, something Orcas is not too much a stranger from, especially inside the walls of Orcas Center. And it takes a village, clearly, to pull something like this off. What does it do to you, onlooker, to witness the depth of the human experience?

Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor. Get your tickets at www.orcascenter.org.