INTO THE WOODS 2022 Broadway Cast Recording Thread — Page 4

What a great recording! I echo most of what’s been said here…

For those interested, the Apple Music and Amazon Music HD streams give the highest resolution (24bit/48kHz). Spotify Premium (320kbs) and their free tier (160kbs)…neither comes close to CD quality.

We’re all pretty lucky to be handed two exemplary Broadway recordings in a week’s time with THE MUSIC MAN and now INTO THE WOODS. I’m feeling a little spoiled, but I love it!

Updated On: 10/1/22 at 04:15 PM

a weird thing happened when I bought it off itunes this morning, it spilt it into 2 "albums"... I need to make a playlist for it to be a complete "album".... not that it is hard to do so I just thought it was weird

Mine did this too and I was quite annoyed. If you make the album artist (NOT just song artist) all the same (say, Into the Woods Broadway Cast) it will sort them correctly.

I love this album, and I'm endlessly glad Sara's performance was captured. Having seen both Sara and SJB, I much preferred Sara. I love SJB, but not for this role. I also much preferred Patina's performance the second time I saw it, so maybe it just takes a bit of getting used to. The moment when *SPOILER* Rapunzel was crushed was devastating. I've also never really enjoyed Agony until this version. Beautiful recording.

thank you! it's not letting me redownload it... weird

You’ll need to go into your account under hidden purchases and it should let you re-download it

thank you again... it did get hidden for some reason. All good now! thank you

There are a few highlights for me, but overall I do not enjoy this recording. Some of it is performances, some the sound quality, the orchestra, the pacing feels so slow, a lot of misses for me even starting with the Prologue.


To each their own, I’m glad people have a recording they enjoy! I will continue to enjoy previous cast albums.

PS, does his voice crack at the end of Giants In the Sky? I can’t tell what I’m hearing at the final “in THE sky”.

Updated On: 10/1/22 at 11:09 AM

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "There are a few highlights for me, but overall I do not enjoy this recording. Some of it is performances, some the sound quality, the orchestra, the pacing feels so slow, a lot of misses for me even starting with the Prologue.


To each their own, I’m glad people have a recording they enjoy! I will continue to enjoy previous cast albums.

PS, does his voice crack at the end of Giants In the Sky? I can’t tell what I’m hearing at the final “in THE sky”."

Lol - def not a crack.

Listened to it yesterday, and it's just about perfect. It stays true to Sondheim's score while having enough differences to make it fun to compare and contrast.

Some individual notes:

• Gavin Creel plays The Wolf with a higher vocal register than I'm used to for the part. It's not something that's better or worse, but different.
• Patina Miller as The Witch isn't going as broad as other portrayals, a touch I appreciate.
• Julia Lester as Little Red *is* going broad, and I'm not sure the way she does so is as successful.

HeyMrMusic said: "Interestingly, these are also the tempos indicated in the score. They really did try to honor it as best as possible, but it’s just not what we’re used to."

Reminds me when some people were complaining on ATC that Bernadette’s Buddy’s Eyes tempos were too slow and indulgent. I get why you’d say that if you’re used to the OBC but if you get out a metronome and look at the score it actually is quite slow.

In terms of singing quality, one thing I really like about this recording is that everyone seems to be able to hit those high notes reasonably well when called upon. If I recall correctly, some of those high notes with the OBC (Baker's wife "Justifies the beans" or some of the high Cinderella notes for example) sometimes felt a little strained or effortful whereas here everything sounds much cleaner and effortless.

It makes the score feel a little bit more melodic to me, which I would probably not typically describe as Sondheim's most melodic for me at times (more focus on intricate rhythms and lyrics to my ear at times than melodies or harmonies. Given the popularity of the show I can imagine it feeding into the stereotypical perception that Sondheim is a stronger lyricist than composer [one of course I couldn't disagree with more strongly] - even though for me I would say Into the Woods is rather exceptional/unusual in its focus. Though of course it has more than its fair share of magical songs too (e.g. Giants in the Sky, Stay With Me, Moments in the Woods, Last Midnight, No One is Alone and Children Will Listen)).

Updated On: 10/2/22 at 07:55 AM

I love this recording. The orchestrations are full, the cast is lively... Gavin and Sara are brilliant.

I only wish we got Heather Headley on a cast recording. I had the pleasure to see both her and Patina, and there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with Patina per se, but Heather was really just something else. Extraordinary. It redefined the role to me, and it breaks my heart I can't hear her sing these songs again.

Another shout-out to Cole Thompson, who I can't get enough of.

halfhourcheckwithmerman said: "I love this recording. The orchestrations are full, the cast is lively... Gavin and Sara are brilliant.

I only wish we got Heather Headley on a cast recording. I had the pleasure to see both her and Patina, and there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with Patina per se, but Heather was really justsomething else.Extraordinary. It redefined the role to me, and it breaks my heart I can't hear her sing these songs again.

Another shout-out to Cole Thompson, who I can't get enough of."

You captured a lot of my feelings with this. I enjoy the recording so far, but it doesn't capture the magic of the live performance. And I so very wish it were Heather and not Patina.

Andres LaFrazia said: "Into The Woods Broadway 2022 Vlog & Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjhUMGBwUsE&t=26s"

I enjoyed your review! I agreed with a lot. The direction and acting were amazing and I prefer Stephanie J. Block's Baker's Wife to Sara Bareilles'. One thing, though. The director of Into the Woods is Lear deBessonet, a woman, not a man.

Updated On: 10/3/22 at 12:21 PM