A paradox: Into the Woods is one of Stephen Sondheim’s most beloved and frequently produced shows, ubiquitous everywhere from middle-schools (where it’s done in a “junior” version largely limited to the first act), to regional theaters, to Broadway (where it’s had two productions, with a third one coming up next month via Encores). Yet Woods is also one of the trickiest of Sondheim’s shows to get right.

A revelation: an elegantly streamlined production now on stage at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre makes the best case for the show I’ve yet seen—including the fabled original, directed by James Lapine, who also wrote the book…

Click here to read the full review at Parterre Box.