Dear Santa, I Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally Want a 25th Anniversary INTO THE WOODS Reunion- Page 5

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:15am

Thank you all for your great reviews. Awesome that everyone enjoyed it! Genuinely happy for all who went.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:32am

Man, I was exhausted after yesterday and last night. Most of what happened there was already discussed so I'll mention  few of the things I noticed different from the 2pm and 7pm shows. 

First, I just have to say, in hopes that someone from BAM will read this in addition to the people at the theater I talked to - the sound in that theater is TERRIBLE. I mean, it's atrocious. For the majority of the talking portions, it sounded like they were in a tunnel speaking through traffic cones. The usher at first said "Yeah, it's bad..." and I then said "Well, can you ask someone about it?" and she said "Um.....(long pause) my boss?" 

Ok so anyways, as much as that was annoying it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the day/night. At the matinee I saw and met Jennifer Grey who was there with her Dad and most surprisingly, Ina Garten was there with Jeffrey! At the night show, I was so so so thrilled to see Joy Franz in attendance. I was hoping some other cast members would be in the audience, but she was the only one I saw. 

So the shows. At the 2pm show, Mo Rocca brought out a note from Edmund Lyndeck's nephew who said his Uncle lives in Upstate NY with him now and is too old to travel, but he said his Uncle wanted the cast and Mr. Sondheim to know what a privilege it was working with them and him on SWEENEY TODD and INTO THE WOODS and asked if the people on the stage could spare a thought for his Uncle today. It was very touching and really moving. 

Also, Chip Zien's story about how he was cast in the show was COMPLETELY different from the 2pm show to the 7pm show. In the afternoon it was a loooong story involving going to Lapine's country house and having a summer BBQ and a MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG revival happening on Broadway and then not happening with Joanna at one point jokinglys saying something like "C'mon, we don't have all day for this", but at the 7pm show, I think when they asked him it was more of a "I got a phone call and said yes" type story. LOL

Overall the two shows were verbatim exactly same. Down to the little aside comments that seemed off the cuff, so I was shocked at just how scripted this entire thing was. Even down to little things like

"We were all sitting around a table"

"No, we were on a couch"

"Oh, that's right!"

or

"I remember you came in and you were from Nebraska"

"Missouri"

"Oh, yeah"

I just found it funny how scripted every bit of their informal talk was. lol I loved that.

At one point towards the end, Rocca asked everyone what line from the show means a lot to them now, all these years later. Peters said in both shows that hers was from "Children Will Listen", and others gave similar type answers. In the afternoon Zien said something along those lines and gave a nice little explanation for it. At night when asked the same question he just said "It's the witch from next door" and I was rolling with laughter. That to me, was the funniest thing anyone said the entire day. 

I'm sure I'll think of more during the day but I'm still exhausted. :)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:38am

Also, Patti LuPone's audition for Cinderella was only mentioned very briefly in passing. I was so hoping Sondheim would go into some detail about that!

[Kad]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:49am

Was there any discussion of the cut songs like "Second Midnight"?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:51am

Only in passing when they were talking about little cuts made. But nothing about any cut material was gone into in detail, sadly. 

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:53am

"It's the witch from next door"

And then he said, "Because there always is one."

AND THERE IS!

My favorite of the little dishy things was Joanna Gleason's resolute insistence that she would NOT say one thing about the Witch who was replaced. Did she say anything at the 2 PM?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:54am

No that was pretty much verbatim what was said at 2pm. But I would have appreciated some dirt on that!

[EthelMae]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:23am

Thank you Jordan for mentioning the sound. I wasn't going to post something about it because I didn't want to write anything negative about such a memorable evening.
I thought I would hear something about it from people on the way out but not a word.
It's just as you stated-it was like they were in an echo chamber. From the minute they spoke I thought, God, BAM has sound like this? The musical portions were better than the talk.
I wonder if it was because I was in the Balcony. There were times when the audience was laughing but I missed what they said. It was just so surprising for a theatre enterprise like BAM to have sound like a Showcase house.
But, again, it did not take away from the tears rolling down my face during the last musical moments of the show-No One Is Alone into Children Will Listen-a longer version of it-into the final Reprise of the title song.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:27am

Exactly. I really wasn't going to let it take anything away from this day that if been looking forward to for the majority of my life. 

But they need to fix that sh*t.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 12:44pm

Wow . . . what a gift this must have been.  I've seen many memorable professional productions of ITW and too-many mediocre amateur attempts.  Nothing can match the original cast.

 

Jordan, whatever services you offered Santa to make this happen, I'd appreciate it if you could offer a repeat performance for the promise of a repeat performance.  Extra credit if you get them to record it for those of us who live outside an easy commute.

 

And Dramamama, this and 20th Century on the same day! That's like finding Disneyland, chocolate, and Bradley Cooper all wrapped up in gift basket on your doorstep Sunday morning.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 2:12pm

There were cameras set up all over the back of the orchestra so they were filmed. Hopefully those tapes will leak out soon.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 2:55pm

I was at the 7pm show. Wonderful evening celebrating one of my favorite shows. I was wondering if anyone knew why they keep most of the characters unnamed (Baker, Witch, Cinderella's Prince, etc)?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 3:00pm

I'm assuming because they are seldom named in the actual fairy tales.

[darling3]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 10:27pm

It was an incredible, beautiful experience! So many people around me were crying -it was definitely a once in a lifetime performance. Incredible that their voices all sound so clear and beautiful. Loved Ben Wright and Bernadette killed it.

To second other people's comments: I was pretty upset at the sound quality, especially at the end, when people started clapping along to the finale as it basically covered the music/their voices. Also, not sure if it's just me and an indicator that my eyesight is failing, but I found it really hard to make out their faces from the balcony, which was really disappointing. Can we please have a 30 year reunion?!

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:14pm

I didn't keep up on the cast or song list, but was Agony performed?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:32pm

No, only Robert Westenberg (Cinderella's Prince) was there.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:45pm

"There were cameras set up all over the back of the orchestra so they were filmed. Hopefully those tapes will leak out soon.

"

Ooooh!! Hopefully for eventual release. If they put it up on iTunes for $6 or $7, I bet they'd make a mint.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/22/15 at 11:48pm

I was sad that they didn't do "Agony" in L.A., even though Chuck Wagner was there (in the audience).

Oh, and it's funny - I was going to start a thread called "Dear Santa, I Reeeeeeeeeeeeeally Want A Caroline Or Change Reunion", but I spoke to Jeanine Tesori after a performance of FUN HOME last week and she said that her and Tony Kushner have been seriously talking about mounting a Broadway revival of it soon. So...thanks, Santa!

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 6/25/15 at 12:24pm

I was there at the afternoon show and agree with everyone’s sentiments. I’m not sure I will ever be able to put into words just how meaningful the experience felt to me. It was truly perfect. I was crying throughout and full-on bawling by the end. During my walk to the subway afterward, I had to stop on the side of the sidewalk to pull myself together. It was just such a fulfilling experience and I feel lucky to have been there.

The way in which the actors just jumped right back into their performances was amazing, especially the incomparable Bernadette Peters. After she performed “Stay With Me,” the rest of the cast came onstage to do “Your Fault/Last Midnight” and in that transition time where she was getting thunderous applause and the other actors were streaming onstage, Bernadette stayed in that character, getting in the headspace for “Your Fault.” It was amazing to watch. Everyone was excellent. It was especially gratifying to see them perform the songs as if they were within actual piece, as opposed to singing a song separate from the rest of the show (as one might adapt their performance of a song performing it as a part of a cabaret as opposed to within the show). 

It was also beyond gratifying to be in a room full of people who you know have all been touched and moved by “Into the Woods” as much as you have. There was a palpable shared energy and enthusiasm and it was exciting and satisfying to be in a room with a group of people all with the same passion.

The experience was everything I could have asked for outside of them fully staging the original production.

I saw the cameras, too, and the entire time I was praying a recording will be released somewhere. I’d love for others to get to see this and to watch it all over again.