Into the Woods Bath, UK edition

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/18/22 at 10:43am

Just saw the almost perfect Broadway edition last night and will be seeing this one in a couple weeks.

https://youtu.be/QxDw-d2Gaag

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 8/22/22 at 3:13am

Oh, how I WISH I could see this production, but I couldn't afford going I don't think, and I don't even have a passport yet. The direction, sets, and costumes look freaking incredible!!!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/22/22 at 10:07am

I’m just praying that the rumors of the West End is transfer are correct. I need to see this!

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 8/22/22 at 10:28pm

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/22/22 at 11:35pm

This looks eccentric and lovely.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/23/22 at 2:34am

Love this 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/23/22 at 7:22am

God, this looks incredible.

[BJR]

Posted: 8/23/22 at 7:25am

I love how Europeans approach musicals like operas and swing big!

Hopefully the production is as imaginative as the design. But it looks fantastic.

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 8/23/22 at 1:07pm

In the video I found the Narrator very creepy, and very effective. I really hope they do a pro-shot of this for people who couldn't see it.

I love the design overall. I always love when they go 18th century for Cinderella characters, and the stepsisters actually both have very different dress, they aren't just different colors, so yay for that! I really love all the Cinderella story costumes, I hope we see the rest of those. And I just noticed the stepsisters have casts on in "Ever After"! Jack's lederhosen is a genius idea. And it's very clever to make the Baker and his Wife so modern looking, as they are the most modern characters.



I don't like Little Red Ridinghood's British school girl uniform getup with those weird cape closures, but oh well, it's not that bad. What I find bad is the way the Witch was costumed. In her ugly form she looks like a previously well-to-do church lady who became homeless, and in her beautiful form I find her way too modern. She's a Witch older than anyone in the play, why do they always make her look like she was born after everyone?!:

Updated On: 8/23/22 at 01:07 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 8/24/22 at 11:55pm

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/woods-theatre-royal-bath-review-terry-gilliams-hallucinogenic

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 2:11am

Are they supposed to be mini toys or figurines?

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 10:08am

^ I think so. And the Giantess looks like a Raggedy Ann or other doll. I love the idea of Rapunzel's castle being canned vegetables/beans/"garden" peas and Cinderella's mother tree being a flower vase. I love the Victorian, gaslit darkness of the aesthetic here, similar to the original London production. I agree that the Witch's Act 2 costume clashes with the rest of the costumes.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 8/25/22 at 12:51pm

Reviews are positive but not thrilling - 4* from The Stage & Telegraph, 3* from The Guardian, Times and WoS. Still, nothing tragic enough to prevent a West End transfer

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 8/26/22 at 10:43am

blaxx said: "Are they supposed to be mini toys or figurines?"

The conceit of the show is a little girl plays with her grandfather's Victorian Pollock's Toy theatre. So the sets and characters are all toys, and whatever else she found around the place, it seems.

MikeInTheDistrict said: "^ I agree that the Witch's Act 2 costume clashes with the rest of the costumes."

I'm glad we partly agree. I think she needs to look more like a fairy tale witch.

Updated On: 8/26/22 at 10:43 AM

[¿Macavity?]

Posted: 8/28/22 at 10:45am

Saw this last night, and I'm still spinning. The show needs a few polishes, and some things didn't entirely make sense to me, but overall it's wonderfully unique, and I can't wait to see how it improves if (when) it transfers to London.

This will be a very long post; I’d like to give a decent documentation for those who cannot make it to this production. I apologise now for any errors. 

If you're going to see this production, I recommend ignoring my post. I'll be going into details that are better experienced for oneself rather than read.

Here's a rundown, and like I said above, SPOILERS.

 

The set is a large false proscenium made to look like a Pollock Toy Theatre, which is like any toy theatre, although generally made of sturdy paper. There are boxes on both sides with people printed on them, a conductor at the lip of the stage, and a large tab of at the top of the inner-arch saying "CUT HERE". For the preshow, the safety curtain was down, but it worked with the set. On stage is an actual Pollock Toy Theatre, and as the show begins, a little girl runs out and beings setting up the show's characters. She plays with a thumb-puppet cow briefly before putting it on the toy stage. To her left, there is a vase of flowers, a couple of cans of Heinz Beans, and a humanoid figurine wearing all black, complete with a black veil.

She plays with the characters on stage while the curtain rises, and we, of course, see the set of her small theatre on the real stage. The characters stand frozen in darkness. She stops for a moment, and a man mirroring the figurine dressed in black walks on stage and smiles at her. She takes the figure equivalent and looks at it for a moment before placing it on top of the toy theatre in a place overlooking all of the other characters on the toy stage. She looks at the actual man, stands up, and asks him, "are you ready?" He says, "Yes." She turns to the audience and asks, "Are you ready?" And there's a hesitant "Yes.." "Once upon a time..." And we're back the show as written. The girl leaves, and now the dark figure takes his place as the show's narrator and mysterious man. The Witch has a mask as part of her costume until her transformation, which somewhat obscures her facial expressions. As a result, I couldn't emotionally connect until post-transformation.

The woods in Act I are very dark and foreboding. The lighting is dark, and the trees are scraggly and frightening. A very tasteful projection provides the moon and additional trees. These woods feel haunted and spiritual. When the mysterious man (who walks around with an hourglass filled with crimson sand attached to him) warned Jack about trading his cow for beans and Jack said the line about there being spirits in the woods, I got genuine chills. Animals are shown as people dressed in all black and wearing head-covering masks of their respective animals. Surreal and quite eerie. The animals move props, change scenery, and cause mischief. For example, they snatch the gold pieces from the Baker that Jack gave him and in other scenes, try to take the items they’ve acquired. They also appear as the princes' servants during Agony.

Cinderella's mother's grave is, as you've seen, a giant vase of flowers that shed pedals for Cinderella to make a dress from. The slippers are handed to her by animals.

The Wolf wears the same sort of mask as the other animals, though his mouth is exposed, of course. I don't care for this sort of mask for an acting character; no chance for facial expression, the same problem as the witch. The song features flowers that drop down from above and then spring right up during the lyrics about looking at all the flowers - very charming.

The scene with the Wolf at Grandma's house was something else. The bed's curtains snap shut, and the bed starts romping around the stage in a very cartoon-like fashion while we hear them fighting inside. The Baker comes in, cuts into the Wolf, and Red and her grandma appear out of the Wolf covered in blood and guts. I was shocked at the gore - really like it, though.

Rapunzel's tower is a stack of bean cans, and it looks stunning. It spun around so we could see inside and they even had massive beans on the floor - well done.

During both First Midnight and Second Midnight, the sound a cuckoo clock would sound, and a door at the top of the false arch would open up to show a giant cuckoo. On top of that, a giant pocket watch would swing back and forth.

Giants in the Sky is performed by Jack as he climbs down the chain of the watch and eventually down to the floor.

Milky White is lovely - very funny without upstaging scenes... except for one... It Takes Two was well staged, except Milky White bobbed along. The audience loved it and cackled, but I felt it upstaged the song. Milky White gets into an altercation with the hen that lays golden eggs (a very Montey Python-esque chicken body on two very human legs in gold tights) and is pecked to death.

The Mysterious Man is not the Baker's father in this production, just a narrator and observer with occasional input... at least in Act I… Any line about him being his father is cut, and he doesn’t die at the end of Act I. It is now Jack's idea to feed the strands of corn to Milky. 

After the Witch transforms, the Baker and Baker’s Wife scurry off-stage, very excited, and right before they’re out of sight, we see the Baker lift her skirt from behind - oh my.

The step-sister's scene is disgusting but very funny. The mother would lop off the piece of their respective feet from the box on house-right (the boxes on either side had doors that could be opened and accessed from either backstage or from onstage via a ladder that blended into the wall), and blood would run down the side towards the stage. If that’s not bad enough, the stepmother would then eat the bits. When they would walk down the steps, they’d leave a horrible trail of blood. A great little moment happens when Cinderella comes down the stairs and slips on the blood, but doesn’t fall after her numerous usual pratfalls throughout Act I.

Act I Finale is performed in front of a Disney-like castle backdrop. Towards the end of Ever After, the characters start exiting joyously while a magnificent bean stock climbs out of the floor. The little girl from the beginning comes out and says the “to be continued” line. Blackout.

Act I was pretty good, many brilliant moments, though it took a little while to find its feet and had some other issues. Act II was where it really shined. In the spirit of the original London production, it was dark.

The safety curtain is back in place throughout the interval, and a baby doll has been placed where the toy theatre was during the preshow. When the lights go down, the baby starts to cry, and the little girl comes out and comforts it. Once it stops, she says something along the lines of “We’re going to have lots of fun.” The curtain goes up, and the stage is much like it was before, though now the flats of the three houses have the Disney-castle backdrop towering behind them and, of course, are fancied up from Act I. The narrator comes out, and once again, she asks, “Are you ready?” “Yes.” To the audience, “Are you ready?” A much more enthusiastic “Yes!” The show goes on.

The Act II Opener ends with the Baker’s house flat falling on him, and he goes through the paper a la Buster Keaton, and the Disney-castle drop is revealed to have a massive tear in it. The characters then disappear one by one into the gaping void as the song whimpers to its finish - thrilling.

The dense, dark woods of Act I are gone, now it is a wasteland of sparse trees blanketed by a rich twilight. The sound of an empty, desert-like wind sneaks in throughout the remainder of the show. Another sound that sneaks in throughout is the sound of giant steps off in the distance.

Rapunzel now lives in a tipped-over can of Heinz Beans, with massive beans spilling out from the half-opened top. Like the tower, it looks great.

When the giant appears, it is a genuine jaw-dropper. It’s the baby doll from the preshow, albeit just the legs and skirt which go from floor to top of the stage. It proper WALKS on stage, with each step causing a thunder that disorients the characters. The giant is voiced brilliantly by the little girl. The narrator’s death is done very well, a giant arm picks him up, and he is violently dropped. They argue, Jack’s mom is killed, and the Mysterious Man now appears at the top of a ramp as the image of death, holding a jagged scythe while Rapunzel is stepped on. This happens in full view in front of everyone, and the Witch’s Lament is sung to her dirtied corpse.

As Royal Family attempted to run away to the hidden kingdom, the Mysterious Man ominously crossed the stage, scythe in hand. The back wall then displayed a silhouetted projection of the family being picked up by the giant, saying, “That’s cheating.” before being killed.

Any Moment was a comic highlight, and the scene after was quite raunchy. They go behind the ramp platform and moan loudly. Cinderella finds them and exclaims “Ah!” on the offbeats of their moans. Very funny, and Cinderella’s genuine horror kept it grounded.

Moments in the Woods was well done and made her following death heartbreaking. After she finished the song, the scythe-wielding Mysterious Man appeared, and she could actually see him. He smiled and started waltzing toward her with a hand out to join him. She began screaming and crying and tried to climb up the ladder to the house-right box but fell as the lights went out and a crashing noise played.

Your Fault was staged with great kinetic energy - it was ultra-satisfying - and was the perfect lead-in to Last Midnight. She starts with the baby in a stroller, then holds it, then puts it back in the stroller and violently rolls it in towards the group. Towards the end, the animals came out and arranged the ramp platform to face down-centre. Hard to explain why, but their inclusion at this moment gave me chills - well timed and super creepy. Then when she sang the glorious final bit, the pocket watch swung out, and she disappeared behind it as it went back up. When it swung back down again, the glass was broken, and there was blood on it, so I believe the intention was that it hit her. Effective indeed, but could use a polish.

No More had the Baker at a tree talking with the Mysterious Man, who is now just with his usual hourglass. He reads a note from the Baker’s father to him, which is just the regular dialogue. The Baker snatches the note, reads it for himself, and they begin the song. During the Mysterious Man’s portion, the Baker finds a rope with a noose in it and desperately tries to throw it around the tree branch but fails.

Before No One is Alone, Jack is particularly furious, and the song is spent making preparations to kill the giant. Throughout the song, the Baker is trying his best to calm Jack down while helping him but is unable to do so until the very end. I thought the staging was very well done and mirrored his inability to calm his own child beautifully.

They blind the giant and use petrol to make it slip. Once it is on the ground, they set it on fire (fog and orange lighting), and we see the silhouette of Jack furiously hacking away at the giant with an axe while its legs twitch onstage. Once it’s finished, he rolls the head on stage. They sing the Act II Finale, and on the last note, the gigantic eye winks at the audience. Blackout.

 

Overall, I thought it was stunning. Performances were pretty good. Princes were both a tad over the top for my liking and had my least favourite costumes in the show. The Baker was good, but not up to the level of the Baker’s Wife, played by Alex Young, who I’ve seen in South Pacific at Chichester and as the Mayoress in Anyone Can Whistle at the Southwark Playhouse - she’s always brilliant. You may remember her as Young Sally from NTLive’s Follies. The little girl was terrific, as was the Narrator/Mysterious Man played by Julian Bleach, who was probably my favourite. Little Red was great, and the actor’s Scottish accent worked well with the character. 

The main thing that I think needs some work is the emotional core. The Witch’s and Wolf’s masks, as stated above, disrupt their performances, and it really took away from the emotional punch of the Witch’s Act I numbers and, as consequence, her Act II numbers. Aside from that, some deeply affecting moments were rushed through, and the Baker needs a little more time to get his character and vocals together.

It can only get better; the bones are terrific, as is much of the flesh.

Updated On: 8/28/22 at 10:45 AM

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 8/28/22 at 11:27am

Wow, thanks ¿Macavity? for the description! 

I always wonder if the shows needs a concept because I feel like it already has a concept. There's already a built in framing device and one of the points of Act II is the characters suddenly lose that framing device, becoming truly lost. That's why the Regent's Park/Central Park production didn't really work because with a child as the narrator and a functionary of the plot (being ultimately revealed as the Baker's son), when he's killed, the concept goes out the window logically speaking. Does the little girl add anything to the show itself or could it have been staged nearly the same way without her, sticking with the same creative design but without putting a hat on a hat?

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/28/22 at 4:32pm

TheQuibbler said: "Wow, thanks ¿Macavity? for the description!

I always wonder if the shows needs a concept because I feel like it alreadyhasa concept. There's already a built in framing device and one of the points of Act II is the characters suddenly lose that framing device, becoming truly lost. That's why the Regent's Park/Central Park production didn't really work because with a child as the narrator and a functionary of the plot (being ultimately revealed as the Baker's son), when he's killed, the concept goes out the window logically speaking. Does the little girl add anything to the show itself or could it have been staged nearly the same way without her, sticking with the same creative design but without putting a hat on a hat?"

I beg to differ. The Regent's Park productions is the greatest "Into the Woods" I have ever seen or ever hope to see.  The modern little boy who is hiding in the woods in that production is the narrator because he's lonely, a little scared, so he takes his action figures and begins to play with them, "....Once upon a time.". Act Two is clearly his nightmare. He's now probably scared to death, in a sleeping bag (obviously another actor hidden in the bag) in the middle of the forest.  So even though his narrator persona "dies" in the second act, one can die in a dream and still continue the dream.

Though it seems the Bath production does something similar, I'm doubting it goes the depth of the Regents/Central Park production. There, if you noticed, when The Bakers Wife is ever referred to by the Narrator, he seems very, very angry at her.  It becomes obvious that this little boy's mother has died and he is angry and lashing out at his father and has run away. But when his modern dress father (played by the actor who played the Baker) finds him, the little boy hugs him and excitedly begins to tell his father of his marvelous, scary dream as the Baker's Wife and the rest of the cast look/sing on, thus the child (and father) begin to heal.  I am tearing up right now as I write this in remembrance. It was gorgeous.  I did not go to see the remount in Central Park as the Regent's Park was so special to me that even with Amy Adams and Donna Murphy I was afraid it wouldn't be as good and might somehow ruin the memory of it's origin production.

[A Director]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 1:15am

Sondheim ALWAYS included James Lapine when talking about INTO THE WOODS.  Guess the BBC in Bath doesn't know James Lapine.  It is not a good sign when the et and costumes UPSTAGE the actors.

Where the script changes approved?

[¿Macavity?]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 5:58am

Referring to the change of venue from the Old Vic, one of the producers said: "We feel privileged to be working on this wonderful work and we are extremely grateful to Steve and James Lapine for their support as we searched for a new home for this production."

That's what I could find just now, but I could have sworn they had both Sondheim and Lapine's blessing. I don't know where to find that now.

 

 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 8:22am

"Into the Woods" has been mounted many times in the UK (of course) over the decades and our European aesthetic and long tradition with these fairy tales always makes for a more sanguine take on the material than it is usually given in the states. This sounds fascinating. Does the production use the song for the Witch and Rapunzel introduced in the Original London staging?

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 10:21am

Owen22 said: "I beg to differ. The Regent's Park productions is the greatest "Into the Woods" I have ever seen or ever hope to see. The modern little boy who is hiding in the woods in that production is the narrator because he's lonely, a little scared, so he takes his action figures and begins to play with them, "....Once upon a time.". Act Two is clearly his nightmare. He's now probably scared to death, in a sleeping bag (obviously another actor hidden in the bag) in the middle of the forest. So even though his narrator persona "dies" in the second act, one can die in a dream and still continue the dream.

Though it seems the Bath production does something similar, I'm doubting it goes the depth of the Regents/Central Park production. There, if you noticed, when The Bakers Wife is ever referred to by the Narrator, he seems very, very angry at her. It becomes obvious that this little boy's mother has died and he is angry and lashing out at his father and has run away. But when his modern dress father (played by the actor who played the Baker) finds him, the little boy hugs him and excitedly begins to tell his father of his marvelous, scary dream as the Baker's Wife and the rest of the cast look/sing on, thus the child (and father) begin to heal. I am tearing up right now as I write this in remembrance. It was gorgeous. I did not go to see the remount in Central Park as the Regent's Park was so special to me that even with Amy Adams and Donna Murphy I was afraid it wouldn't be as good and might somehow ruin the memory of it's origin production."

I guess for me, while I agree with that it's emotionally resonant, I feel like it messes with the shows internal logic in a way that's detrimental. My brains started twisting itself into pretzels to justify the child narrator's death within the context of the story. I don't typically continue sleeping if I die in a dream; I wake up. I did recently watch the London proshot, having seen the production in NYC, and I noticed for the first time there's a sleeping boy throughout all of Act II. It still doesn't fully work for me. I find the show as written pretty much perfect and I don't think it needs extra embellishing. I'd rather see director's hand work within what's on the page rather than add things to make their concept work. There's so much to like about the Regent's Park production otherwise and I'd love to catch this current one. 

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 11:39am

Those are some pretty massive changes involving the Mysterious Man. Huh. 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 8/29/22 at 12:51pm

"I feel like it messes with the shows internal logic in a way that's detrimental. My brains started twisting itself into pretzels to justify the child narrator's death within the context of the story... I find the show as written pretty much perfect and I don't think it needs extra embellishing. I'd rather see director's hand work within what's on the page rather than add things to make their concept work. There's so much to like about the Regent's Park production otherwise and I'd love to catch this current one."

Yes, exactly. The Regents Park production is quite lovely as it is but it feels like a great "version" rather than the definitive Into the Woods. 

 

[DrewJoseph]

Posted: 8/31/22 at 3:15am

I think it actually all sounds pretty haunting and wonderful. Can’t wait to see it!

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 8/31/22 at 8:58am

¿Macavity?, thank you for that description of the show. Personally, it sounds like an amazing concept, and really interesting. The original London production always seemed so interesting to me, who for the longest time only saw the phots included in the cast recording book.