Desert Theatricals | Rancho Mirage Amphitheater | October 23–25, 2026
Into the Woods has long been one of my favorite Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musicals. There was just one problem. Until Friday evening, I had never actually seen it performed live. My experience had been limited to the film, which, as I discovered at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, had left me with a rather incomplete understanding of just how wonderfully outrageous this musical can be.
Now, I have always loved music. In fact, after seeing the film, (I’ve never seen it live.) I went out and purchased the soundtrack on CD. Most of the audience will remember what those are. And having made that investment, I was determined to get my money’s worth. For nearly a year, I listened to it almost exclusively in my car, driving to and from work, until I knew practically every note. I suppose some people might call that a borderline obsession. I prefer to think of it as getting excellent value for my money.
What I wasn’t prepared for was just how campy, and at times downright ridiculous, the stage production could be. You don’t get much of that from a soundtrack, and the film, entertaining as it is, never quite captures the same theatrical abandon. I should have known better. After a lifetime around the theater, I know that something inevitably gets lost when a live performance is reduced to a screen. There is something about being in the same space with the performers, experiencing the action as it unfolds, that simply cannot be duplicated.
For those unfamiliar with Into the Woods, the musical premiered on Broadway in 1987, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Lapine. It received ten Tony Award nominations, winning three, including Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. The story brings together characters from familiar fairy tales, primarily those associated with the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel all find themselves wandering through the same woods, their lives becoming increasingly entangled with a Baker and his wife, who are trying to reverse a Witch’s curse.
What begins as a rather amusing collection of familiar stories becomes something considerably more complicated. Everyone wants something, everyone believes getting it will make life better, and practically everyone discovers that wishes have consequences. Along the way, characters seem to come out of the woodwork, quite literally, with even Snow White and her dwarfs finding their way into the conversation, although Snow White herself never makes an appearance. It is an outrageous mixture of fairy tales, human foolishness, and unexpected encounters, with enough comic absurdity to keep the audience entertained while Sondheim and Lapine quietly prepare us for something much more serious.
But enough about me, and back to the performance.
I have always maintained that comedy is one of the most difficult things to do well on stage. So much depends on timing, both in the exchanges between performers and in the physical comedy, and action surrounding them. Either the timing works or it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, the audience knows it immediately. Fortunately, there was a great deal that worked in Ray Limon’s production,
I always hesitate when singling out individual performers, because a production of this size depends on the abilities of everyone involved, and I would hate for anyone to feel slighted simply because their name didn’t appear in a review. The principal performers naturally have an advantage. Their roles give them more time on stage, more opportunities to drive the story forward, and, in many cases, considerably greater demands on their stamina. But that should never diminish the contributions of the entire company, particularly in a musical as complicated as Into the Woods.
Having listened to the soundtrack for the better part of a year, I came to this production with some fairly well-established expectations. What impressed me was that the musical performances throughout the evening stood comfortably alongside those I had come to know so well. And unlike a recording, where performances can be refined and repeated until everything is just right, these performers had to deliver the music live, in front of an audience, while moving through an exceptionally demanding production. That is no small accomplishment.
Among those who deserve particular recognition are Catrina Teruel (The Witch), Jacob Lozano (The Baker), and Lizzie Schmelling Sosa (The Baker’s Wife). These are substantial roles, both dramatically and musically, and each performer contributed to the strength of the evening. Teruel’s Witch, in particular, carries some of the musical’s most demanding material, while Lozano and Sosa provide the emotional center of a story that begins with a simple wish for a child and gradually becomes something much more complicated.
The remaining principal performers brought their own contributions to this interconnected collection of fairy tales. Nicole Kennedy (Cinderella), Noah Wahlberg (Jack), John Corr (The Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince), and Julian Perez (Rapunzel’s Prince) helped populate a world in which familiar characters find themselves in decidedly unfamiliar circumstances. J Stegar Thompson (The Narrator) had the responsibility of guiding the audience through the overlapping stories, an essential role in a musical where keeping track of everyone’s wishes and adventures is no small task. Together, they were part of an ensemble whose musical professionalism remained consistent throughout the evening.
Someone else that stood out for me was Abigail Matossian (Little Red Riding Hood), whose combination of musical ability and exceptional comic timing made her one of the evening’s most memorable performers.Her comedic timing was exceptional, her physical reactions beautifully placed, and her ability to move between singing and comedy gave the character an energy that consistently held my attention. I will admit that, judging from the laughter around me, the audience was occasionally a step ahead of me in catching the jokes. But that was part of the pleasure of the evening. They were certainly getting them, and Matossian knew exactly how to deliver them.
For me, the comedy was largely the glue that held this extraordinary amount of musical scores together, and the collection of characters that bring it all together. What I will remember most is the remarkable level of musical talent that Desert Theatricals brought to the stage. Across the entire performance, the quality of the singing was consistently excellent, with the kind of musical precision and confidence that made an already demanding score seem almost effortless.
What I will remember most is the remarkable level of musical talent that Desert Theatricals brought to the stage. Across the entire performance, the quality of the singing was consistently excellent, with the kind of musical precision and confidence that made an already demanding score seem almost effortless.
The responsibility for bringing all of this together belongs in large part to director and choreographer Ray Limon. Directing Into the Woods is challenging enough, with its overlapping stories, rapid changes in mood, and complicated musical arrangements. But Limon also had the responsibility of choreographing a large company on an outdoor stage, where the movement of performers becomes an essential part of telling the story.
What impressed me was how naturally that movement contributed to the production. With so many characters entering, leaving, encountering one another, and occasionally getting in one another’s way, the stage could easily become a confusing collection of activity. Instead, the movement helped maintain the continuity of the story, allowing the audience to follow the action without losing sight of the characters. It is an accomplishment that can easily go unnoticed precisely because, when it works, it appears so natural.
There was another aspect of this production that deserves special attention, and that was the presence of a live orchestra. Not hidden away in a pit or tucked into the wings, but visible on stage, positioned behind the performers and in front of the scenic projections. With Robert K. Rutt (Musical Director/Pianist) and Joshua Carr (Orchestra Conductor), the 12 musicians became an important part of the theatrical experience. And they were exceptional.
Sondheim’s music is not something that can be treated casually. Its complexity places considerable demands on singers and musicians alike, and bringing those elements together in a live performance requires both preparation and precision. The orchestra provided the foundation that allowed the performers to bring the score to life, and its presence made a significant difference in the overall quality of the evening.
I also appreciate what it takes to make that possible. Live musicians require additional rehearsals, coordination, and financial resources, all of which place demands on a production’s budget. Many community theater organizations throughout the Coachella Valley produce excellent work without the resources necessary to support a live orchestra. That is not a reflection on the quality of their productions, but simply the practical reality of producing theater. Desert Theatricals’ commitment to live musical accompaniment was an unexpected pleasure, and one that deserves recognition.
Limon and Carr have spent years building Desert Theatricals, an organization established in 1994 that has presented productions throughout Southern California. Their partnership with the City of Rancho Mirage has brought professional musical theater to the amphitheater, creating opportunities for local audiences to experience productions with substantial casts, elaborate staging, and live orchestral accompaniment. The venue itself continues to evolve, with reserved seating, wider padded chairs, and premium table arrangements adding to the experience of attending a performance under the desert sky.
Of course, no production of this size succeeds on the efforts of its director, performers, and musicians alone. Theater, perhaps more than almost any other art form, requires an extraordinary level of collaboration. Nike Wass (Stage Manager/Projection Design), Gavan Wyrick (Lighting Designer), Ilana Elroi (Sound Design/Engineer), and Leslie Upp (Costume Designer/Coordinator) represent the kind of creative and technical talent that makes such a production possible. Their work, along with the contributions of the technicians and other members of the production team, creates the environment in which the performers can bring the story to life.
Each of these responsibilities demands a different set of skills, yet none operates independently of the others. The projections help establish the world of the story, lighting directs our attention and shapes the atmosphere, sound allows the music and dialogue to reach the audience, and costumes help define the characters before they have even spoken a word. Behind it all, stage management must coordinate the countless moving parts that allow the performance to proceed. It is a level of collaboration that audiences rarely see in its entirety, but without it, there would be no production to enjoy.
That is something I have always appreciated about live theater. What we see on stage is the result of countless individual contributions, often developed over many weeks of rehearsals and preparation, all coming together for a performance that exists only in that particular moment. No two performances are ever quite the same, because the performers are responding not only to one another but also to the audience sitting in front of them.
And that is what I love most about theater, musical or otherwise. These performers were not singing to a recording or acting for a camera. They were performing for me, and for every other person sitting in that amphitheater. We were sharing the same experience, seeing and hearing the story unfold together, and responding to it in ways that no film or recording can entirely reproduce. The more of our senses we bring to an experience, the greater its potential impact, and live theater gives us that opportunity in a way few other art forms can.
So, did I enjoy Into the Woods? Of course I did. But I am not asking anyone to take my word for it alone. The response from the audience throughout the evening was unmistakably positive, with laughter, attention, and appreciation that extended well beyond my own reactions. In many ways, they are the real critics. I am simply the person offering one perspective, informed by my own experience, interests, and perhaps that year of listening to the soundtrack.
Would I go again? Absolutely. Which brings me to the real loose for the theater audience of the Coachella Valley. It is that this production is here for only one weekend.
Consider what that means. A company of performers, musicians, designers, technicians, and production staff may spend ten weeks or more preparing a show of this complexity, only to present it for three evenings. The amount of work required does not diminish simply because the number of performances is limited. If anything, it makes the dedication of everyone involved all the more remarkable. Their professionalism is reflected not only in what we see on stage but also in the willingness to invest so much of themselves in an experience that will disappear almost as quickly as it arrives.
Perhaps that is the final lesson of Into the Woods. We spend so much time wishing for what comes next that we sometimes forget to appreciate what is right in front of us. For one evening at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, I had the pleasure of experiencing a musical I thought I already knew, only to discover how much more there was to enjoy.
And after all these years, and all those miles listening to the soundtrack in my car, I finally made it into the woods.
Into the Woods continues October 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, 71-560 San Jacinto Drive, Rancho Mirage. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $55 to $100, plus applicable fees, with reserved seating and premium table options available. Food and beverages are available for purchase; dinner is not included. For tickets and additional information, visit desert-theatricals.com or call 760-620-5993.
About the Author
Marty Treinen is the co-founder of Universal Creative Intelligence LLC and the co-creator of Universal Creative Intelligence™ (UCI), a groundbreaking framework that teaches people of all ages the creative, emotional, and cognitive skills needed for lifelong success. An artrepreneur, arts/museum educator, and project leader, Marty draws on a decades-long career spanning fine arts, theater, film, design, and museum education.
They are currently developing Introduction to Universal Leadership Education programs for individuals, students, educators, colleges and universities.
Their mission is simple: equip people with the creative intelligence to build the future they envision for themselves. Universal Leadership Education will give them self leadership abilities. As a columnist for The Palm Springs Tribune, Marty covers theater, film, visual and performing arts, human-centric AI, arts education and cultural events throughout the Coachella Valley. His reviews are known for their honesty, authenticity, clarity, and deep respect for the power of the arts, to enhance our lives.
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