Kennedy Kanagawa Gives Life, Nightly, to a Milky White Cow

metroweekly.com:

Into the Woods is a pleasure to behold. The way in which Milky White responds — with resounding sadness at being taken to market by Jack (of Beanstalk fame), or with sheer exuberance, giddily shaking its head side to side and literally smiling during the ensemble’s reprisal of the title song, is the kind of thing that makes theater undeniably magical.The simplicity of the arrangement, with Kanagawa in full, unconcealed view, literally at one with the object, only solidifies the strength of the illusion.“This was my first puppet,” says Kanagawa, whose credits typically veer toward the more traditional side of musical theater (Jesus Christ Superstar, Falsettos), thanks to a silvery tenor that possesses a sturdy, to-the-rafters belt when needed.“Milky White is such a unique puppet that I was able to go in without any preconceived notions of how a puppet was supposed to be operated,” he continues. “What do we have?

We have a handle on the head. We have a handle on the butt and a little lever that opens and closes her mouth. How do we utilize those tools to make her do whatever we need her to do?

Just figuring out the combination of swinging her legs with gravity and modeling her physicality more after a dog or a cat than an actual cow was really useful in endearing her to the audience.“Because cows are really boring in real life.

They’re not interesting to watch.”Kanagawa has been personifying Milky White since the show’s debut as a City Center’s Encores!