INTO THE WOODS...- Page 2

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 2:05pm

"So are rights for Into the Woods restricted for other theatres in the five boroughs while this is playing? What are MTI's rules?"

Not 100% sure but my understanding is that the rights are restricted in the 5 boroughs except for the Bensonhurst neighborhood in Brooklyn and the Tottenville and New Dorp Beach neighborhoods on Staten Island. If you do it in those neighborhoods, you're good to go though I recommend you double check.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 2:07pm

legit lol

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:08pm

Not to be "that guy" but how long was the show running last night?

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:14pm

There we go, my persistence paid off. Thank you, FishermanBob.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:15pm

I think first preview is tonight?

[Kad]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:29pm

"There we go, my persistence paid off. Thank you, FishermanBob."

You could've gotten your answer IMMEDIATELY if you had gone directly to the rights management company.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:41pm

When you're hauled off to musical jail, you can always cry "...but FishermanBob said it was okay!".

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:41pm

Eh, Kad, that is true. I will do that next time...

[newintown]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:53pm

Minimalist Milky White.

[newintown]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 3:54pm

Minimalist Witch.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 4:02pm

"There we go, my persistence paid off. Thank you, FishermanBob."

You REALLY should check with them directly. As I said, I'm not sure, though the guy who told me has been pretty on target with his picks for Sunday Night Football.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 11:40pm

I saw this tonight. Sondheim was in the audience and seemed very encouraging.

I really love the concept of the piece, I think it works so well on many theatrical and artistic levels. What I didn't love were the performances. No one was bad, but no one was memorable either. With the exception of a few, the performances seemed very high end community or low end regional theatre. I couldn't tell if it was the direction of the actors, or if I just didn't enjoy the company, but this very exciting concept needs exciting actors to reach it's full potential. It was a fine performance, but that's it. I only drifted off thinking about other, more exciting actors to be in the show a few times. The second act is markedly better than the first.

Updated On: 12/18/14 at 11:40 PM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 5:16pm

I wonder if the lack of "names" in the production combined with actors giving lackluster performances will be a big hurt to it...

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 12/19/14 at 6:11pm

Sadly I think it may. I think it will stay open based on the concept alone, but what whoever is doing this doesn't realize is that by investing so much into the concept, and seemingly not as much into the company and the performances, someone will take the concept and do it with a better cast. I can see this production conceptually shaping how Into the Woods is performed for many years to come, which is amazing, but they've left an awful lot of room for their wonderful idea and work to be taken and done much, much better.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 11:04am

It'll stay open for its scheduled run because it's Roundabout; the majority of houses are already filled with subscribers.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 11:11am

There is not thing that excites me about this staging, though I will no doubt enjoy it because it is Into The Woods. I appreciate "concept" theatre. I detest concept theatre where the concept is at the fore rather than the story, and any concept that requires an audience to have familiarity with the material before seeing it in order to accurately follow drives me mad. It's one reason I detested Doyle's Sweeney.
Minimalist Woods? Fine, let'so go. This concept? I just can't.. "Look at us, we are clever! We are telling a story!"

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 12:19pm

But for argument's sake, isn't Into the Woods all about storytelling? I mean, one of the biggest themes of the show is all about the impact of the stories we tell. Obviously it's a matter of opinion if the concept actually works in production, but it's not like using the frame of telling a story is that far fetched for this particular show.

[FloydJoe2]

Posted: 12/20/14 at 6:12pm

Saw this today and I'm in the same boat as Visceral_Fella. The concept was fine, nothing so thrilling but nothing that was distracting or loathsome. I was actually surprised how little directed the production is during songs and scenes. In my opinion, it felt that they were more focused on directing the concept of the piece rather then directing the performers. The performances were the weakest part in the show, both acting and vocally, though everyone in it seems to be giving it what they got. I did miss the full orchestrations, but I did find it interesting that they really made each person have a distinct sound. All in all, nothing lost, nothing gained.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 1:34pm

I found it to be an extremely charming and different take on the show. It's certainly not the best-sung production, but that didn't bother me. The music is important here, but the focus here is on the text and and its themes. I found there to be a greater emotional immediacy in this production than any other I've seen. The staging, as expected from Fiasco, is inventive and serves the piece, often very well. The second act does lack the inventive spark of the first half, a fault of both show and production, but it builds to a very poignant "No More" and a humanization of the Giant I hadn't seen before.

Surprised the acting is being criticized; I thought the acting was uniformly very good, with standouts being Jennifer Mudge, Emily Young, and Patrick Mulryan.

For those curious: "Our Little World" and the full "A Very Nice Prince" are reinstated, the Narrator is cut and his narrative lines divvied up, and the aphorisms that accompany the midnights in the first act and the final scene are also cut. Of those cuts, I only missed the aphorisms in the finale - it provides a much-needed transition from the Giant's defeat to the final scene and reprise of "No One is Alone."

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 4:17pm

I was there on Christmas Eve and I definitely agree with Kad that it was a charming production. Yes, it's a musical and the music used here is important, but the focus is decidedly on telling stories and making theatre come alive and not so much about the actual plights of the characters, which I think is a totally valid and original reading of the piece.

My problems lay in the lack of inventiveness in act two that is so abundant and wonderful in act one. It feels like the company got caught up in the story and forgot about their concept. It wasn't bad, per say, but it definitely distracted me.

I enjoyed myself and am a little baffled by some posters' lack of open-mindedness.

Updated On: 12/27/14 at 04:17 PM

[RooMcGoo]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 9:27pm

I CANNOT wait to see this version! Especially after seeing and loving the movie I'd love to see it live again, stripped down, and get to hear the full score again. It sounds awesome!
An Incomplete History of Into the Woods

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 12:06am

Id pay $88 to see anything as long as it's good. Hell, regional theatres are charging $60+ a show now. It's sad, since Phantom and Wicked people can't handle theatre unless **** blows up, there's a freaking city onstage or people fly. There was a time when all you had was actors and sometimes a pianist or a band and that was theatre. You listened to the damn music and used your imagination. The people who bitch about minimalism drive me nuts. It's not like they're staging Cry Baby-it's Sondheim for Christ's Sake.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 12:55pm

For the record, I am in favor of minimalism unless it involves the actors playing instruments or Bernadette Peters crying. In which cases, I am not.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 12:59pm

full "A Very Nice Prince" are reinstated

Love that.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 1:01pm

I LOVED LOVED LOVED everything about this production. Well except for Cinderella's Prince, I thought he was just beyond dreadful. I didn't know what to expect going into this but I really was blown away by it. It's definitely something I'll see a few more times before it leaves.