Into The Woods. Revival- Page 2

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/6/05 at 11:06am

An amazing production. The technicalities were GREAT! I loved, LOVED the sets and costumes and special effects. The costumes really stood out for me. Susan Hilferty is just wonderful.

[dotmarie]

Posted: 2/6/05 at 11:48am

I caught it in previews in LA and I LOVED it. I was like 13 or 14 years old. It was my first time ever seeing Into the Woods, and I think it also might have been my very first Sondheim show ever.

I agree with you about the costumes, wickedrocks. That ingenius Susan Hilferty!!

The whole cast was great; I especially enjoyed Laura, Greg, Chris, Stephen, and KERRY O'MALLEY who I honestly think has the most brilliant voice and belt.. ever.

[Benzy92]

Posted: 2/6/05 at 11:54am

I really liked the revival also.

Kerry O'Malley stole the entire production. She should have been up for a Tony! She was so brilliant!

Vanessa Williams got better, I saw her in previews and she was alright, but really found the character a month after.

However, I still like the original more I think judging by the video.

[pimpernel86]

Posted: 2/6/05 at 1:00pm

Laura Benanti gave the performance of a lifetime as Cinderella...Holy hell she was sooo good! I still get chills listening to the recording!

[skingdom]

Posted: 2/6/05 at 1:31pm

Laura Benanti stole the show. She was brilliant, the show was much less interesting after she left. O'Malley was fine, everyone else was okay, but Benanti in that role. The music, lighting, sets and Benanti were what made the show.

[coalhouse]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:13am

Kerry and Laura had the most amazing chemestry together on stage. Kinda like too old chatty girlfriend's. 'A very nice prince' was brilliant!

[Whatchmacallit]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:54am

I was not a fan of this revival. I liked certain aspects, but overall I did not leave the theater enthused. I'm a little out of it, so please bare with the following ramblings and random thoughts:

Like some others have said, it felt to be directed in a more 'kid-friendly' direction, which took away from some of the grit that are even in the origianl fairy tales.

I loved Laura Benanti's Cinderella. She was definitely the highlight of the production.

I enjoyed Adam Wylie to a certain extent on the acting side of his role, and John McMartin had some fun moments(not worthy of a Tony nomination, in my opionion)


And of course, Chad Kimball was fun as Mily White.(that was probably the fifth production I had seen with an actor playing Milky, and out of them, I would say it was the most effective)

I enjoyed the sets and the technical aspects.

Vanessa Williams was beautiful to look at it, but I think her performance was laughable. I could have done without the mugging, and I would love some depth in her character. And Last Midnight didn't build to a climax. All the changes to the song didn't bother me, but she didn't even build up to the 'Mother, Here I Come', physically, vocally or emotionally. I don't entirely blame her, I think a great deal of what ended up on that stage was the result of some poor direction.

At times I felt like Lapine was going for gimmicks and quick pay offs that were just distracting.(3 Little pigs, anyone?) By doing so, I think he robbed the show of some of its heart. In addition, I don't think he directed the cast in a cohesive style so the manner of acting, and the approach to the characters varied on such a broad spectrum that the production just felt unfinished.

In some ways, I felt like the whole production was geared to making the production more attractive to those interested in making the long-dead proposed film version, and in general did not do a great service to the property. This show is worthy of a much better revival.

And no, I did not want a rehash of the original production, at all. You don't want to get me started, but revivals who can't bring something fresh to a show, or can interpret the show in a new light, rarely enthuse me. Unless the show has been long gone from the great white way.

Sorry for the rant.

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 11:39am

I can't believe this many people loved the revival!

I thought it a watered-down version that took the bite out of a very barbed script and score.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 2:13pm

My introduction to the muscial was the revival, I have seen parts from the original. I don't really like most of the music in Into the Woods in general, I think the show itself is pure genius but the music is lacking something.

My favorites have always been the two Princes, I personally liked both the original and revival equally. Although I never understand why Cinderella's Prince gets so much more attention when clearly I think Rapunzel's prince (in both cases) is just as, if not stronger than the other.

Laura as Cinderella is perfect. She brought wonders to the part.

I perfer (100%) the original Jack (Ben Wright) to the revival Jack. He was so much better, and brought a wonderful sense of boyish enthusiasm without sounding nasaly and annoying. He had wonderful tone and I don;t think anyone can play Jack better than Ben Wright did.

The Witch: Again I never saw Benadette's performance, and I liked Vanessa's interpretation very much. She did a wonderful job.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 2:27pm

I thought the production was magical. Scenically it seemed more dark and lush. Musically, it was wonderfully sung (except for Jack, Jack's Mother) though I was bothered by the occassional cut bar or re-written phrase. Vanessa's Witch, though meaner, did not have the vocal power to really let loose on her songs. it felt like she was marking the whole time or using her "witch" voice. Benanti - perfection. Additionally, Kerry O'Malley did well by the Wife, but that role was so grafted on to Joanna Gleason and her dry line readings - she lost a lot of personality of the role. I was sorry to see it close as well. There was talk of a tour but I guess it fizzled. I hope someone has the sets stashed away somewhere for rental.

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 2:32pm

I guess the one unforgivable sin of the revival was the casting of Jack and Little Red. It's not that they were bad (well, actually...), it's just that casting actors that young completely defeats the point of both of their big solo moments. Both 'I Know Things Now' and 'Giants in the Sky' are about sexual awakening and the knowledge, power and, in Little Reds case, fear that comes with it.

Posted: 2/7/05 at 2:41pm

I enjoyed the revival very much.
I have to say that there were some parts that i thought were not the best. First of Laura was not in the show when I saw it. Someone behind us was complaining about how this was the third time they had seen it and she was out AGAIN. It seemed she had the Donna Murphy syndrome.

I did like Vanessa Williams in the show very much. She gave the witch a little more attitude. But on the recording she sounds flat. Maybe it was the recording? I am not sure but she was so amazing on stage it was a little bit of a dissapointment

I liked Jack very much. I thought he was well cast.
Other then that a very good show.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 2:57pm

Character-wise Jack was well cast, but when you compare his vocals with the stunning display of Ben Wright's (along with his adorable hunkiness) - it just doesn't meet the grade.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 3:40pm

The original Little Red was so much better than Molly Ephraim (I believe shes in Fiddler now).

The Act 1 & 2 openers and closers were no doubt the best numbers of the show. It was a close call between this show and Oklahoma! for Best Musical Revival *in my mind at least*, but Into the Woods was just wonderful. Vanessa Williams shocked the hell out of me in the show. Laura Benanti's Cinderella was the best part of the show. Her solo (On the Steps of the Palace) was amazing!

[coalhouse]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 9:58am

Rupunzel's prince, was also another highlight for me. Took advantage, of every line and was very strong. funny bloke.

[thibodeaux]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 12:08pm

So, I thought that the revival was... in one word... dreadful.

Vanessa Williams was horrible, I felt; and the biggest diva at the stage door. I had to inform her that she wasn't as good as Bernadette, anyway---not sure if she heard it, but I shouted it loud enough for those around me to take notice.

I thought that revamping the show to make it more geared towards children (and please correct me if I'm wrong in that--I'm fairly sure I'd heard that was the concept for the revival) was the worst decision to make. Let's face it, Into the Woods is not a children's show in any shape or form---sure, Into the Woods, Jr. is, but it's been chopped and cut to bits to where it actually IS. But the show in full force is so drastically adult that to change and alter it to appeal to a younger audience does an injustice to the story. I felt that the addition of the three little pigs was superfluous---and two wolves? It takes away from the two princes, in my book. And casting Jack and Little Red age-appropriately... it just didn't work.

Overall, I felt the production was... lame. I was glad the tickets were a gift and I didn't shell out money for them.


Just my two cents.

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 2:35pm

Wow....some of the comments on here are just.....harsh. Tough crowd.

Anyway, I enjoyed the revival very much....yes it was more family oriented, but I thought that it was still brilliant. I also thought that Vanessa Williams was brilliant as the witch...I enjoyed her more serious, and less distracting take on the Witch. Her "Last Midnight" was brilliant. Stephen DeRosa, actually made me like the Baker, and feel for his character for once. Kerry O'Malley was just perfect as the Baker's Wife and was my favorite in the show. It was fresh to see a Baker's Wife that wasn't so sarcastic, and overly worldly. Johanna Gleason was a wonderful Baker's Wife, but I enjoyed Kerry's take on it so much better. The Little Red wasn't so terrible, I thought that she was right for the role, but the Jack was just terrible. I couldn't stand him. And last, but not least, Laura Benanti was very good as well...It's just that sometimes, she came across as more mature than the Baker's Wife, which wasn't a dynamic that I thought worked. I preferred the innocent and goofy approach to the role a la Kim Crosby.

I still enjoyed this production very much, and wished that it could have lasted longer.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

[LuvUrBatBoy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:34pm

I HATED the Revival recording:

Sondheim himself said in an interview that the parts added to the revival were points that had been cut from the original, and it's no wonder they were cut. The 3 Pigs sequence was useless and the new orchestrations/lyrics seem out of place or just generally wrong.

WHY WHY WHY do Jack and Red sing at the end of Steps of the Palace ending in a completely un-Sondheim-ian chord? And I didnt think Vanessa Williams made as strong a vocal change between old/young witch as is necessary

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 6:24pm

did i mention LAURA BENATI WAS SUPBERB AND WAS TONY WORTHY! i remember, this was the first Tony awards i ever watched and when they read the nominees for best actress Laura was still in makeup backstage and i was screaming at the TV, yelling her name out to win! i hated hated hated what they did to Steps of the Palace which (in my humble opinion) is one of the best (if not THE best) song.

[BreakingTheCircle07]

Posted: 2/9/05 at 1:58am

It was an amazing production in an amazing house. My brother and I sat in the very last row in the balcony and we saw every.single.thing. It blows my mind how James Lapine could direct the same show twice in two entirely (pretty much)different ways. It was gorgeous to look at, stunning to listen to (sans Burke), and flawlessly directed and designed.

[BillyLawlor]

Posted: 2/10/05 at 10:36pm

My school is doing it and I HIGHLY suggest seeing it. It's being performed at the Professional Performing Arts School West 48th st. btwn 8th and 9th avenue in Manhattan April 6th-9th.

We're modernizing it, and it's being done BRILLIANTLY. The opening takes place with each character on the subway, and then through the beginning of the opening, we spread to each individual house. The mysterious man is this tall intimidating black actor, and the role is being played similar to Neo in the Matrix.
Cinderella's Stepmother carries around an ashtray, little red is this freaky city girl, the baker works a deli, and the wolf/little red scene is a flirty duet. That's pretty much all I know about it so far, but the cast is amazing.

And I LOVE that the show could work in a modern setting, and a lot of the stuff this musical talks about it can be applied to today. Into the Woods can really be applied to the city; there are a lot of dangers in both worlds.

I can't wait to see this show.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 2/10/05 at 11:36pm

Wow, I'm surprised the licensing company is letting you modernize it like that. Particularly with Sondheim, they're very strict about how their works are interpreted and staged.

[scotty]

Posted: 2/11/05 at 10:32am

hmmmm....Interesting!

I think that is taking the word 'Interpretation' abit to far... Updated On: 2/11/05 at 10:32 AM

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 2/11/05 at 11:00am

I thought this was a horrible production of the show. I've seen community theaters and colleges with more talent shining on their stage.

EDIT: Then again, I should say...

Saw Cinderella's understudy and The Baker's Wife understudy. They are both my favorite roles. I loathed Vanessa Williams in the role of The Witch and really felt nothing from Stephen DeRosa.

Updated On: 2/11/05 at 11:00 AM

[kangaroo]

Posted: 2/11/05 at 2:41pm

For me personally, it was a musical that I had to watch a few times to really like it. It's not my favorite musical, but it is one that I would consider to be one of my favorites. I like Little Red Riding Hood's role the best, and the two princes make me laugh the most. I didn't really like Bernadette Peters or Vaness Williams as the Witch. I felt most bored when the witch "rapped"... but I still did enjoy the musical. It was interesting to see how they intertwined the stories together.