Apologies for my long absence from this spot -- the last month I've been recovering from my trip to London, making weekend visits to the Humana Festival in Louisville and to August Wilson's 20th Century at Washington's Kennedy Center, and keeping up with all the theater Pittsburgh has to offer, including some high school musicals.

I'll get back in the On Stage saddle shortly. But first off, I want to alert you to the best high school musical I've recently seen, one you'd expect to be too difficult for a high school to pull off: Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's "Into the Woods" at Hampton in the North Hills.

Miraculously, Hampton preserves the show's wit and does a capable job with its intricate music, led by a remarkably sound student orchestra. Sets and costumes are opulent and the stage crew (dressed as garden gnomes) kept the show moving with hardly a pause.

This is just an advance word-to-the-wise, since it has just two more performances, tonight (Fri.) and Sat. I'll have a review in next week's North section.

And I'll be back here, soon.