Into The Woods with 10/11 People

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 4:42pm

Hey my school is doing Into The Woods this year and we only have 11 people. We are going to try to base it off the recent off bway revival. Did anyone see it ? How did the Narrator/Mysterious Man work?

[Kad]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 4:48pm

The off-Broadway revival by Fiasco excised the Narrator as a standalone character- his narration was divvied up amongst the actors, and his death was cut completely.

It was remarkably effective, actually.

Updated On: 11/18/15 at 04:48 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 4:50pm

The actors paying the (1) Witch, (2) Baker and (3) Baker's Wife only played 1 character.

(4) There was an actor who played The Mysterious Man and Cinderella's father

(5) an actor playing Little Red and Rapunzel

(6) An actor playing Jack and the Steward

(7) An actor playing Cinderella and the Granny

(8 .) An actor playing Cinderella's Prince, the Wolf and Lucinda

(9) An actor playing Rapunzel's Prince, Florinda and Milky White

(10) An actor playing Jack's Mother and Cinderella's Stepmother

 

The narration was divided up between all the actors. The Narrator's section in Ever After was done by (11) the music director/pianist. I believe they cut the section where the narrator dies. Cinderella's mother was done by several of the female actresses singing in harmony around the "tree." Many times the actors had to switch back and forth in the middle of the scene, when they played 2 characters who are onstage at the same time. 

Updated On: 11/18/15 at 04:50 PM

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 5:13pm

Doubling, puppetry (or the use of objects as stand-in), and general costume trickery are basically an Into the Woods tradition, so 11 people is extremely feasible if you're creative.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 5:51pm

Thanks guys! We were actually ready to do Sweeney Todd School Edition when some of the parents freaked out :/ so we chose into the woods as our backup. I know Woods like the back of my hand but it's gonna be interesting doing it with 11.

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 6:35pm

A Minneapolis musical theater company, Theater Latte Da, did an extraordinary "Into the Woods" earlier this year with ten. (It was not the same version as Fiasco's but a similar idea.) Totally doable.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 7:05pm

Kad, I'm interested in hearing about how the Narrator-less production was "remarkably effective." I'm assuming they got legal permission to cut his death? That's kind of an important part, and they would have also had to edit the Witch's lines during that scene ("Some of us don't like the way you've been telling it" and the like. Can you lay it out?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 7:13pm

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "I'm assuming they got legal permission to cut his death? 

 

I would assume that also. 

 

That's kind of an important part, and they would have also had to edit the Witch's lines during that scene ("Some of us don't like the way you've been telling it" and the like."

 

They just cut all those lines about it. It was pretty simple. Instead of doing it, they just went straight into what happens after it :) 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 2:34pm

How did they do Rapunzel's death? With the actress being both Rapunzel and Little Red?

[Kad]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 2:54pm

Ado:

By eliminating the Narrator as a unique character, the removal of the death was very easy, as it is the only time in the entirety of the show that the Narrator does anything more than, well, narrate. The scene skipped over the Narrator's interruption and went into the entrance of Jack's Mother- which made sense, as the scene begins with the discussion of how the Giant wants to find Jack and her need for vengenance against him.
I have to say that without the metatheatrical digression of the Narrator's death, the subsequent deaths of Jack's Mother and particularly Rapunzel carried more weight for me.

Broadwayboy223:

The actors in the Fiasco production changed character in many cases several times in a scene. There are long stretches of that lengthy Giant scene in which Little Red simply doesn't speak, which allowed opportunity for Emily Young to throw on her Rapunzel costume pieces and assume the role when she needed to.

[JM226]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 3:17pm

While it's great that everyone is being super helpful, I want to remind the OP that 90% of these suggestions are illegal and in breach of your licensing contract. Fiasco clearly got all of their changes approved by Music Theatre International (and its authors). You must submit all changes to them for approval. 

 

Good luck! 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 4:54pm

Cutting the narrator and his death would definitely not be allowed. But there shouldn't be anything wrong with the super double-casting, would there? Is the double-casting/cast size from the original required? 

[JM226]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 4:59pm

But if he/she does that, it means they have to reassign lines and presumably adjust some of the dialogue. That is technically in breach of the licensing contract. Every significant change must be outlined, submitted and considered for approval! 

 

I also agree that it's unlikely a random high school would get approval to remove the character of Narrator and their death. That is probably a change that Fiasco received approval from directly through Sondheim & Lapine.  

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 11/21/15 at 2:31am

Thanks guys! Don't worry we haven't finalized anything. If we for sure do Into the Woods we won't be cutting the Narrator. Thanks for the advice everyone.