Into the Woods Revival: Let's Try This Again- Page 3

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 11/1/08 at 10:15pm

Cinderella - Jill Paice

You all can cast whoever else you want.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/1/08 at 10:20pm

Michelle Pfeiffer? Really? I mean, she wouldn't even take that role in a movie version.

I would love to see this done as a TV movie, maybe like the Once Upon a Mattress one was.

[mastachen2]

Posted: 11/2/08 at 8:30pm

No to Melora Hardin as the Baker's Wife.

She could not handle Fantine at all. How can she handle a more vocally demanding role in the Baker's Wife?

I really think Gleason can still come back to play the Baker's Wife. She really doesn't look THAT much older than when she was in the OBC. She was the original and the best.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/2/08 at 8:31pm

She was fine as Fantine.

[mastachen2]

Posted: 11/2/08 at 8:33pm

Did you see her?

She was one of the few Fantines that I wished would've died earlier. I thought she was bad during the dress rehearsal and she was worse during the actual performances.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 3:43am

Though I think there are so many people out there who could play the Baker's Wife (my it-will-never-happen-but-it-keeps-me-going-with-smiles-and-rice-krispie-treats idea is Susan, just because when I saw her onstage doing her best Gleason twice, I flipped), the problem the revival made clear is that Gleason OWNS this role.

Though I have a special place in my heart for every member of the OBC of Into the Woods, most of the other revival replacements range from adequate to superb (except, of course the dreadful Jack's Mother, but that's another point). But I felt no sympathy whatsoever for the plight of The Baker and (more importantly) his wife. And I totally blame Gleason being so damn lovable for this. So I agree with the above poster, she doesn't really look that much older and since so much of HER plot revolves around her not being able to have a child, this actually would work. True we would hit a slight problem with the logic introduced about The Baker's approxcimate age, but it's a musical based on fairytales, thus realism kind of has to be thrown out the window (or we could just cast an older Rapunzel, an idea I think would be quite funny. Imagine a Rapunzel about ten-fifteen years too long in the castle. A little rough around the edges, not quite a princess. Could work. But now I'm rabling. I apologize. Just an idea.

Oh, and for the witch I absolutely love the idea of Catherine. I think some people are forgetting that the entire point of the witch is that she needs to be BEAUTIFUL. With any makeup and acting prowess, one can do the aged hag well, but it takes a Bernadette or (on a lesser level) a Vanessa to really show off that "I'm Back!" look. And no offense, but some of the people mentioned here could NOT pull that off.

And on a vocal note alone (though I personally do think she's beautiful, she doesn't really fit the mold for the HOLY-CRAP-MAGIC-POTION-WORKED-WELL standard I just set up), I actually agree (*gets ready to get flamed*) that Idina would be kind of ideal in this role. I've heard Kristen suggested and while I love her, I think her voice and general look are all wrong. But Menzel could easily navigate the hag territory and then transcend into Act II with such grace.

Just some cray ramblings though.

Anyhoo...

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 5:55am

"I can't imagine either Eversole or Mazzie as the Witch."

Mazzie was a Witch understudy during the latter part of the original run. I'm not sure if she ever went on in the role.

There have been some truly insane suggestions in this thread.

Anyway, I do think that ideally you want a Witch who can seem reasonably young and beautiful after the transformation, but Nancy Dussault was never a beauty yet she was a Broadway replacement during the original run and she was 52 at the time. And she was good in the role.

Cleo Laine was 61 (!) when she played the Witch on the national tour.

I'm sorry to say this, but the reason Joanna Gleason doesn't look that much older is because of how much work she's had done. Her face doesn't really move much anymore. She didn't stay in the original production very long; less than eight months after the opening, and just weeks after winning the Tony, she was gone. I'd bet she'd have next to no interest in playing the role in a revival.

[timesquare01]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 4:22pm

i really do not like when 'young' Witches are cast. I mean, this is a small minor detail, but if I were to cast a revival of into the woods, this is something that would play a factor.

Assuming that Rapunzel was about 25 during the main action of the play (locked in a tower for 14 years, starting at puberty). The witch would have been ugly for 25 years.

when a 30 year old is cast, that would make the witch approximately five when the beans were stolen and the lightning flashed.

Now I understand. It's a fairy tale, suspension of disbelief, blah blah blah. But I really do think an older, but still equally as attractive, witch could work wonders with the role. Im not saying we need a sixty to seventy year old woman, but a mature, motherly, (fr lack of a better word) 'cougar' type actress>

Someone like Kim Catrall, or Catherine Zeta Jones, or Cristine Ebersole, or Audra McDonald perhaps would be, in my mind, the ideal witch...

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 5:49pm

Well, Rapunzel is clearly younger than 25. It's one of the inconsistencies in the text, as has already been pointed out. She was taken away when the Baker was "no more than a babe," and she's the younger of the sibilngs. So if it's 14 years later (I think they made it 16 in the revival), she's a teenager. So not only is she only about 14-17 years old, the Baker is probably not even 20 yet. But, of course, it makes no sense for the Baker to be that young if he and his wife have been trying for years to have a child.

I always assume (and I think others do as well) that the Witch's magic powers (except when trumped by her mother's superior powers) allow her to look as she wants. She might be 700 years old, but look 25.

Having said that, as I posted earlier, Nancy Dussault, in her 50s and never having been beautiful, did well in the role. What you most of all need is someone commanding.

I think Audra McDonald lacks malevolence and wouldn't be good casting in the role. It was a problem in Marie Christine. I just never believed she'd do those terrible things.
Updated On: 11/3/08 at 05:49 PM

[Weez]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 6:21pm

Beverley Klein was the Witch in the recent London production of ITW at the Royal Opera House. God love her, she's not what you might call a stunner, but she worked well. There aren't many women who don't scrub up nicely once you take warty old witch costumes off 'em and make them all glamour-puss. Besides, as timesquare01 just said, the Witch has been this way for a while. Why not cast an older woman who may not be a stunner now but can give the impression that she was at some point?

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 11/3/08 at 6:28pm

I haven't posted on the boards for a while (just reading them), but I thought I'd just throw out a casting idea.

How about Kate Shindle as the Witch? I believe she's played the role regionally, but what do you think?

Posted: 11/6/08 at 3:51am

"Though I think there are so many people out there who could play the Baker's Wife (my it-will-never-happen-but-it-keeps-me-going-with-smiles-and-rice-krispie-treats idea is Susan, just because when I saw her onstage doing her best Gleason twice, I flipped), the problem the revival made clear is that Gleason OWNS this role. "

I love Gleason in the role, but I think Imelda Staunton (sp?) is equally magic in her different interpretation on the London cast album (but I *love* the dark London version, in some ways more than the original, and I know a LOT of people don't).

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 10:37pm

Bump

I've been been all gaga over this musical lately and I recently had a casting idea (this is risky)
Jennifer Laura Thompson: The Baker's Wife
Cyndi Lauper: The Witch

ETA: Apparently I wasn't the first one who though of JLT

Updated On: 8/7/09 at 10:37 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:00pm

In a few years we really do need a good revival of the show. The problem with it though is that the original performances are so iconic (especially Joanna's) that it's always going to be tough not to compare. I was devastated at how they butchered it in 2002 with that production. It is my favorite musical for many reasons and that was the first live production I'd ever had the chance to see, unfortunately.

Cyndi Lauper is a very interesting choice for the witch and one I'd like to see!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:06pm

I adored the revival. I was devastated with how they butchered the original production in comparison.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:12pm

CATS, you can't be serious.

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:15pm

John Cullum and Eric Idle have been common suggestions, but I strongly believe that no one is more suited to the role of the Narrator and Mysterious Man than the great Jim Dale, a theatrical legend on both sides of the Pond.

Not to mention his Guiness world record for being the best narrator of all time, successfully and popularly portraying literally hundreds of characters in the Harry Potter audio franchise.

Don't believe me? Watch ANY episode of Pushing Daisies and tell me he's not the perfect ITW narrator.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:26pm

I am serious! I thought the design was improved by leaps and bounds with the set, costumes and especially the lighting giving off really eerie feeling at times making you feel like you were really in a forest. Plus I'm one of the very few who actually liked Vanessa Williams as the witch and I liked the changes Sondheim made to "On the Steps of the Palace" and especially "Last Midnight" starting out singing the song to the baby and then consuming the beans. I thought it was terribly frightening when the witch started tearing at her flesh and pulling out all her hair before she vanished. It was a scary feeling I'll never forget.
Updated On: 8/7/09 at 11:26 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/7/09 at 11:31pm

Jennifer Laura Thompson is an inspired choice for The Baker's Wife. She totally has the quirky sensibility that's crucial for the role.

I'd love to see Carolee Carmello or Heather Headley as The Witch and Erin Davie as Cinderella.

Updated On: 8/7/09 at 11:31 PM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 12:15am

I gotta agree with CATS.

I think it was bad timing that was to blame for its closing. It won Best Revival, no?

Laura was definitive.

Judi Dench as the Giantess was tons of fun, as was the Giantess in general.

I think the original dates VERY poorly and some of the performers do not come off as well as we may remember them. Check out the VHS/DVD.

I preferred the revival for many reasons, and I usually do not enjoy all the tinkering with shows like this.

That being said, Sondheim needs to record a commentary for ITW. We get ones for PASSION and SUNDAY but not ITW? WTF?

P

P.S. Cyndi as the Witch is inspired. I'd love to see her finally do Mrs.Lovett (as she once almost did). Updated On: 8/8/09 at 12:15 AM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 12:57am

My dreamcast (seriously, I had an actual dream with this cast)...

Witch: Julia Murney
Baker's Wife: Marin Mazzie
Cinderella: Audra
Baker: Stokes
Narrator: George Hearn
Jack: Me (pretty please? Lol it's my dream)
Jack's Mom: Rosie O'Donnell
Princes: Aaron Lazar and Marc Kudisch
Rapunzel: Erin Davie
Stepsisters: Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block
Stepmom: Joanna Gleason
Little Red: Kelsey Fowler
Cinderella's Mom: Patti's voice
Giant: Whoopie's voice
Cinderella's Dad: Chip Zien

[Hex3]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 1:18am

I know that Lapine and Sondheim had asked Billy Porter to audition for the role of the Witch in the revival and I have always been curious as to how they were planning to work that. And Cyndi Lauper as the Witch just makes me happy! And who ever thinks that the only point to this character is that she has to be a knock out beauty needs to step away from this show cuz damn!

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 1:28am

The story of Porter and his audition process for The Witch can be found in a terrific article from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20020529porter6.asp

Updated On: 8/8/09 at 01:28 AM

[Hex3]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 1:42am

Thanks for that article! I had always wondered if they planned on changing the character's gender or of he would have played the role in drag. As I know, there have been productions that have done both. Thanks again!

[BwayLeadman]

Posted: 8/8/09 at 2:34am

for some reason i thought: Rachel York as the witch