Along with brilliant actors, the audience is taken high up into a California redwood forest in this story about overcoming grief, the strength of connections, and finding meaning in a chaotic world.
“Redwood,” the brilliant world premiere musical at the La Jolla Playhouse, stars Idina Menzel as Jesse in this immersive production, which takes full advantage of the Potiker Theatre’s flexible design.
On the stage and up in the air for the full two-hour production without intermission, Menzel is surrounded by outstanding actors De’Adre Aziza as Mel, Jesse’s wife, Michael Park as Finn the tree botanist, his tree scientist associate Nkeki Ob-Melekwe as Becca, and Zachary Noah Piser, who plays multiple roles and helps tie the whole story together.
The plot begins in New York City and quickly turns into a road trip for a distraught and angry Jesse, who ends up in Eureka. The video and projections on the blank walls and floor of the stage tease at what is to come when she finds herself in a redwood forest.
The music and lyrics by Kate Diaz add to the sensation that the world for Jesse is beginning to take on a new form. This is also where media designer Hana S. Kim takes us through the forest and up into the canopy to get a better view of the trees and the people who care about them. Sound designer Jonathan Deans adds to the sensation with forest sounds and vibrating seats as the trees tell their story.
Conceived by Tony-winning star Menzel and director-playwright-co-lyricist Tina Landau, this fast-paced story of Jesse’s journey reveals secrets, trauma, fears, and love in a very modern way, incorporating mobile devices, Mr. Google, and other conveniences of the digital age. Spending time climbing a redwood or weeks up in the tree on a simple platform, this script requires physical strength as well as powerful singing that brings the story alive.
The real star of this innovative theater experience is Stella, the two-thousand-year-old tree. We are reminded that though the redwood’s roots are only 5 or 6 feet deep, they can support trees taller than the Empire State Building because of their interconnected root systems. These interdependent redwoods are a symbol of wisdom and resiliency that all of the characters learn from and cherish. At the end, we are all tree-huggers.
While this production, running through the end of March, is currently-sold out, perhaps the reader knows a friend with an extra ticket. Otherwise, plan your trip to catch this story on Broadway.
Barry Jagoda, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, is a contributing writer at Times of San Diego.