INTO THE WOODS Previews- Page 4

[UWS10023]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 3:36am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "UWS10023 said: "The community chorus had to do with the mission of City Center, a theatre for all people of NYC, so it is no surprise that the concept is not part of this production given that it was not fully realized."

Is it the mission of City Center, or the mission of Lear who comes from the earthy crunchy Public Works world? Encores productions had never used Community Choruses before that I'm aware of.

Either way: the idea could have worked at Encores with better execution, but just ended up being unnecessary. I'm sure it's a stronger ending without."

Mayor LaGuardia came up with the idea of turning the facility into a performing arts center and he wanted the theatre to be accessible to all New Yorkers. That is why City Center has outreach programs that go into the schools and community centers and a Fall For Dance program that is affordable for everyone. Perhaps Lear was inspired by this well known bit of history. Even if the community chorus idea was not fully realized, Lear proved herself to be a talented director.

 

Updated On: 6/30/22 at 03:36 AM

[BJR]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 7:51am

Saw this last night. The crowd is still in rock concert mode, clearly repeat audiences from City Center.

And as you'd expect, little evidence of it being a preview performance. D'arcy James is already giving an exquisite performance. You'd not only think he'd been playing the role, but it's shocking he hasn't played it before. He's wonderful, even pulling some focus from Sara in the early part of Act 1.

On the other end of the spectrum, Miller needs some time. She has lovely moments, but the performance feels tentative and not fully lived in yet. But it was the 2nd preview - so, as it should be!

Sara indeed truly is a bonafide Bway actress now. Her Moment in the Woods is perfection.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 9:04am

Brian D’arcy James has played the Baker before. 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:59pm

Has anyone here won the lottery yet?

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:07pm

Beautiful show. Amazing direction. Can we get Sara in a Secret Garden revival? The weakest link was Patina, but I see room for growth. Can we get her a new wig and outfit? She looked like Jan Brady. Her transformation was dissapointing. No clue what the narrator was saying half of the time. Run to see this.  In time this will be a sell out 

Updated On: 7/1/22 at 05:07 PM

[itsshowtime2]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:51pm

Saw the benefit matinee performance today. The audience (guessing lots of Broadway actors attended since they don't have matinees today) was insanely enthusiastic. Lots of entrance applause. The cast was phenomenal. Loved Sara, BDJ, Phillipa, Patina, Joshua, Gavin, Nancy and Annie. Also impressed by the newcomers playing Little Red (she's a star) and Jack (first time I didn't find the character super annoying). Also, Milky White was fabulous!

I am probably going to try and squeeze in a 2nd visit this trip. Rare to see this many stars in one show!

Was thinking before the show started about the fact that Phillipa replace Denee when this moved to Broadway and that Denee replaced Phillipa when Great Comet moved to Broadway. Also, Phillipa is married to Steven Pasquale who was married to Laura Benanti who played Cinderella in the last Broadway revival. Guess Pasquale's type is Cinderella!

[bstoll1]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:55pm

Yes, for Thursday afternoon but couldn't go 😭

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:57pm

itsshowtime2 said: "Saw the benefit matinee performance today. The audience (guessing lots of Broadway actors attended since they don't have matinees today) was insanely enthusiastic. Lots of entrance applause. The cast was phenomenal. Loved Sara, BDJ, Phillipa, Patina, Joshua, Gavin, Nancy and Annie. Also impressed by the newcomers playing Little Red (she's a star) and Jack (first time I didn't find the character super annoying). Also, Milky White was fabulous!

I am probably going to try and squeeze in a 2nd visit this trip. Rare to see this many stars in one show!

Was thinking before the show started about the fact that Phillipa replace Denee when this moved to Broadway and that Denee replaced Phillipa when Great Comet moved to Broadway. Also, Phillipa is married to Steven Pasquale who was married to Laura Benanti who played Cinderella in the last Broadway revival. Guess Pasquale's type is Cinderella!"

Laura Osnes played Cinderella in the last Broadway revival. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:59pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Laura Osnes played Cinderella in the last Broadway revival."

Laura Benanti played Cinderella in the '02 revival of INTO THE WOODS. R&H's Cinderella is irrelevant here :)

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 6:17pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "LauraOsnesplayed Cinderella in the last Broadway revival."

Laura Benanti played Cinderella in the '02 revival of INTO THE WOODS. R&H's Cinderella is irrelevant here :)"

Ah, I see. To err is human. :)

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 10:02pm

They now have window cards:



 

[barcelona20]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 11:36pm

Saw this today. There's no hyperbole in saying that Brian D'arcy James is the best baker ever.

And Joshua Henry's voice, insane.

[tdupuis14]

Posted: 7/1/22 at 9:17pm

I'm looking for some seating advice. I'm looking to buy tickets to see this in August, but I'm having trouble deciding what section/row to select. I'm looking at Row O in Mezz on the aisle or Row B in Balcony. I normally use View From My Seat, but the few pictures and descriptions that are up for the show contradict each other. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks! 

Updated On: 7/1/22 at 09:17 PM

[inception]

Posted: 7/1/22 at 9:35pm

I sat Row B balcony for Frozen, it is very high up.  I brought the small binoculars I use at the Opera.

tdupuis14 said: "I'm looking for some seating advice. I'm looking to buy tickets to see this in August, but I'm having trouble deciding what section/row to select. I'm looking at Row O in Mezz on the aisle or Row B in Balcony. I normally use View From My Seat, but the few pictures and descriptions that are up for the show contradict each other. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!"

 

[smallworld]

Posted: 7/1/22 at 10:26pm

I'm just hoping for some sort of extension. I'll be in NYC the week after it closes. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 12:10am

I’m on cloud 9 again, the same way I was after the show at Encores. This really is an almost perfect revival of my favorite show and, as I said before, my quibbles are so minor they’re not even worth mentioning here. 

 

For the new cast members, Patina is radiant. It took me some time but I finally figured out who she reminded me of. With her hair and her pant suit and her ripped upper body, she’s the spitting image of Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and I LOVED IT. But as for her performance, I had forgotten what a joy it is to hear her sing live. I’ll be seeing this quite a few times over the next 8 weeks so I’m looking forward to see how she evolves in the role but she’s giving a very solid performance right now. 

 

Brian…. well he’s just everything I knew he would be. A totally different performance from Neil that was much more grounded and “real”. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Neil but I found Brian’s Baker to be more what I wanted from the role. 

 

Josh Henry is hilarious. I loved his addition in the finale which answered a question I never even knew I had about the show. 

 

Nancy Opel. Oh, Nancy. Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. Only someone like her can take a truly thankless role like that and make it memorable. Styled exactly like Moira Rose, she gave it all she had and I live for it. I want to see her as Mrs. Lovett more than any other human being. 

 

Phillipa Soo is stunning. Again, I’m curious to see in 8 weeks how she’s evolved in the role but, like Patina, even right now she’s fantastic. I do think there’s a few areas where she’ll develop the humor a little more as time goes by and she feels it from the audience but again, minor quibbles. She sounds glorious and brings a radiance to the role that I didn’t get from Denee (not that that was a bad thing, just different) and she just makes me happy. 

As for the returning cast, give Sara the Tony. 

GIVE. SARA. THE. TONY. That’s all I have to say. She’s just that good. No, I’m wrong. She’s just that perfect.  

Gavin has perfected his role as well. He even had a flubbed line tonight and the coy look and the “whoops” he said after were totally in character for him. It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen him do and I do think I’ve seen pretty much everything he’s been in.  

 

And now we need to talk about Julia Lester (whose last name my iPhone is choosing to spellcheck as “Leatherface” which shows how much I talk about horror on other forums). The role of Little Red is one of the hardest in the show because everyone tries everything they can to NOT be Danielle Ferland which equals those comedic moments being lost and just thrown away 9/10 times. What Lester does though is iconic for this role. She keeps those lines funny but does them in a totally new way which I’ve never seen done. She also is able to add humor (don’t get me started on the new ending to “Hello Little Girl”, I almost pissed my pants) to places that I’ve never seen it before with just the switching up of a line or two. This girl is a genius and someone whose career I’ll be tracking very closely. 

 

As for the rest of the returning cast they’re all giving the same strong performances making  this the revival I’ve always dreamed of being able to see. Cloud 9, guys. Cloud 9. 

 
Edit -

Theres something I want to add. I was speaking with someone the other day who said they liked it but didn’t like there was no real set. While I understand the critique I actually look at the striped back production as a metaphor. The entire show has been stripped of over 30 years of rewriting and editing and additions and just endless tinkering that’s (in my opinion) lessened the show and made it indistinguishable from the masterpiece it was back in 1987. This allows that brilliant writing and storytelling to be told and seen again, as it should be, for the first time in decades. So I love the look of the show for that reason. 

Updated On: 7/3/22 at 12:10 AM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 11:34am

Just checked a bunch of random July dates for some tickets and sales look like they have been picking up.

[ImAProphet]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 3:10pm

https://mobile.twitter.com/SaraBareilles/status/1542268380970995712

Any ideas what this is referring to? Jason Forbach said he's doing August 3, 4, and 5. I assumed another understudy was doing the remaining dates but I guess not...

[UWS10023]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 3:26pm

Perhaps Gavin reworked his schedule and will not be gone as much. I think he had a cruise ship obligation but I could be wrong.

[joshdog2014]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 6:40pm

UWS10023 said: "Perhaps Gavin reworked his schedule and will not be gone as much. I think he had a cruise ship obligation but I could be wrong."

Gavin Creel is performing his show “Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice” 7/30-8/5. Anyway, “but might make those days where he is missing prettttty coooooool” definitely does not imply he will be missing less days

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 9:50pm

I saw the matinee today. I was in the front row (BB) and masks are required and enforced in the two first rows. 

 I enjoyed the show more than I did at Encores, likely because I had a much better seat. The stage wasn't too high, and it was a lovely view. 

Sara has only gotten better. BDJ is perfect, and his "No More" brought me to tears. He is also very funny. Patina Miller is sensational, and reminds us why she is a star. I think I enjoyed her more than Headley, who was too serious during act 1. Miller nails many of the laughs in act 1, and her transformation was perfection. Her "Lament" was heartbreaking.

I also enjoyed Soo more than Benton. Soo was lovely throughout, sang beautifully, and was funny when needed. I did really miss Ann Harada. Aymee Garcia does a nice job, and has a more serious take on the role, but I missed Harada's daffier interpretation. 

It can't be stated enough how impressive Sara is in this role. It is such a beautiful match of actress to character. I wish Sondheim was here to see her performance, because I can truly see her becoming a Sondheim interpreter. Sadly, I don't think there's many roles for her in his cannon, and it would've been nice if Company had run long enough to have Sara replace Lenk, another Sondheim role she would've matched nicely. Her Baker's Wife would certainly be a strong Tony contender if this opened in the Spring. Her "Moment in the Woods" has developed and deepened nicely, she absolutely nails the character's conflict during the song. 

As others mentioned, the staging is nearly identical to what was seen at Encores, but given the quick transfer, it makes sense. It's a joy seeing a stripped down version of this show, and like Jordan mentioned, it really is a beautiful homage to the original 1987 version. I did not really enjoy the Shakespeare in the Park or Fiasco versions of the show, so it's refreshing to see a production present the show exactly as written.

The audience was absolutely wild for it, but not in a distracting way. There was such an electric enthusiasm throughout the theater. Most children in the audience were well behaved. I am not used to being around children at a Sondheim show, lol. 

I definitely look forward to returning to this revival again soon. The reviews are going to be absolutely stellar, and I hope it becomes a financial success. 

Updated On: 7/2/22 at 09:50 PM

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 7/2/22 at 11:29pm

Saw today’s matinee and for the most part, I understand the hype and agree that it’s warranted. Sara Bareilles was glorious - my favorite in a cast that had so many standouts. Gavin was a total ham and a lot of fun. His fellow prince, Joshua, was good but not great. That part is a waste on that voice (not his fault) but he felt less campy than Gavin and more kooky with crazy eyes. Patina was very good. Loved her voice on Last Midnight and Children Will Listen, but I wanted a bit more crazy from her. She was almost there but I felt she stopped a little short or reaching it 100%. I felt the same way about Brian as the baker - very good but wasn’t completely enamored. The Baker also isn’t the most exciting character, but he did a lot with it to bring him to life and give him dimension. Rapunzel is a thankless part, but Phillipa was a glowing Cinderella. She lights up a room. Jack and Little Red were the ones I had the most trouble with. Jack was good, but I wanted a bit more innocence from him and I felt that way with Little Red. Everyone has been raving about her and I didn’t enjoy the sassy Little Red. She made me laugh a bunch, but I missed that innocence. I don’t know that I want my Little Red deadpanning for 3 hours because what has she learned now that she hasn’t known before? She seems pretty wise and alert.

The audience was roaring for this one. It was as loud as the audiences from when Broadway first reopened, and it’s always fun to have such an enthusiastic group! Great time at the theatre!

[g2]

Posted: 7/4/22 at 7:33am

Also saw the matinee Saturday, after having seen it at Encores two months ago.

I pretty much loved it, and of the new cast members I particularly loved D’arcy and Soo after having been disappointed that NPH and Benton didn’t transfer. Bareilles has possibly improved in an already Tony-worthy performance. And her chemistry with D’Arcy was excellent. Also, at the end I found myself thinking I could actually see D’Arcy’s Baker and Soo’s Cinderella one day appropriately becoming each other’s second go at love, which was touching. 
 

Almost universally, the cast delivers. Creel was hilarious and now with Henry the first Agony truly stopped the show. Opel gets all the laughs and the new Jack’s Mother acquits herself well. I do have to admit Miller was the one replacement I found inferior to her Encores counterpart. Headley had a gravitas and truth I missed from Miller, and I think Headley also got more and better laughs when I saw it. Still, Miller sang the role very well, and looked great — I did think the transformation look was superior to the look they had for Headley.

After having seen two previous New York revivals, I would say this one is definitely the best cast overall, but it disappointing not to have any sets or magic. I get it’s just the Encores staging, but to get such a great cast doing the show on 44th Street even if only briefly … it’s hard. You walk out the door and are confronted with the marquee of Phantom, the show which beat ITW for Best Musical and has one of the richest physical productions in town, including theatrical magic tricks. 


But if you are willing to use your imagination, it’s such a strong cast it’s a really persuasive and moving production.

[inception]

Posted: 7/4/22 at 9:48am

g2 said: ",  … it’s hard. You walk out the door and are confronted with the marquee of Phantom, the show which beat ITW for Best Musical and has one of the richest physical productions in town, including theatrical magic tricks.
Imagine an alternative reality where Into the Woods is still playing in its original production at the Martin Beck theatre as the longest running show in Broadway history,  instead of Phantom?  What else would be different?  

Perhaps in 1996 Encoree would have done that 80's flop Phantom instead of Chicago?

 

 

[starcatchers]

Posted: 7/5/22 at 12:53am

Jordan Catalano said: "Talk to me about Phillipa and Brian."

Philippa was delightful. Cinderella is very much in her wheelhouse, and it was fun to get to see her dip into a little more comedy than she usually gets to.

Brian is one of my favorite performers in general, and for me, was the best of the new additions. He's got such a wonderful presence, and he and Sara are a dream together. No More absolutely gutted me in the best way.