Weaving together the plots of many well-known Brothers Grimm fairytales, this lesser known Sondheim musical is an ambitious undertaking. Despite disappointing performances from Little Red Riding Hood and Jack’s Mother, this production’s ambition is largely fulfilled and the performance is great fun to watch. Opera di Nepotist integrates semi-professionals with the wholly inexperienced, and this bizarre marriage of talents and experience occasionally battles with the narrative for the audience’s attention; however, superb performances from the Baker, his Wife, the Witch and Cinderella kept the audience spellbound, and the smooth handling of Sondheim’s difficult music by the on-stage quintet often elicited shivers. It’s not quite a happy ending, but you certainly leave satisfied.
Greenside, 5 – 20 Aug (not 14), times vary, £9.00 – £11.00, fpp226.
tw rating 3/5
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Sections: by Lucinda Dobinson - ED2011 Musical Reviews - tw rating 3/5 | Tags: Greenside
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