Into the Woods Nominations
Into the Woods Nominations
Into the Woods Nominations#1
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:02pmIn 1988, was there a lot of "discussion" (lack of a better term) when the nominations and awards were announced for Into the Woods. The reason why I'm curious is; im surprised Peters chip Zien and Danielle Ferland were not nominated at all for Tonys.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
re: Into the Woods Nominations#2
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:07pmThe lack of a nomination for Bernadette was somewhat controversial, although she was not in the show for very long. (I think she was in for about four months?) I don't recall much fuss about Chip Zien or Danielle Ferland not getting nominations.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#2
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:09pmWhat made it so controversial?
re: Into the Woods Nominations#3
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:10pmWere people in shock when Joanna gleason won over Patti? Everytime I watch the Into the Woods DVD, I always think of how upset Will is from Will and Grace about Patti LuPone not wining the tony and the letter he writes to the committee.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/25/07
re: Into the Woods Nominations#4
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:10pmWasn't Bernadette not even submitted for consideration?
re: Into the Woods Nominations#5
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:10pmWas there a contractual reason why Bernadette was not nominated? I "heard" something along those lines however I'm not sure if it there is any weight to it or not.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#6
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:21pmI'll never for the life of me understand the Tony Nominations. Larry Kent gets nominated for Company. Judy Kaye dosent get nominated for On the 20th Century. It is crazy.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
re: Into the Woods Nominations#7
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:25pm
I don't think there was any contractual reason why she wasn't nominated. And she probably deserved the nomination over some of the other women in the category.
But because Bernadette is just about the classiest woman in show business, she showed up anyway to the 1988 ceremony... and presented the Best Actress in a Musical category.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#8
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:32pmI wish someone would upload Joannas Tony Win on Youtube.com
re: Into the Woods Nominations#9
Posted: 12/29/08 at 10:59pm
If Peters were in the show longer she would have been nominated. She took the role as a favor. While I'm sure she enjoyed herself, I don't think the lack of nomination was as disappointing as losing for her Rose.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#10
Posted: 12/29/08 at 11:29pmWasn't there someone else playing the Witch before Bernadette Peters (previews)? Maybe something hadn't been worked out by opening night for the committee to consider her.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
re: Into the Woods Nominations#11
Posted: 12/29/08 at 11:34pmjust a brief threadjack since it is related to the subject, I just noticed a major good on the back of the into the woods dvd. The first sentence reads "Tony® Award-winners Bernadette Peters (Best Actress- Sunday in the Park with George)...." While having 2 tony's neither is for sunday in the park...
re: Into the Woods Nominations#12
Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:16am
rjjn-
Ellen Foley played it in the Old Globe Try Out. But was filming Night Court (I think) and couldn't do Broadway. Betty Buckley had been the original choice, but something kept her from it. They needed a witch, and Bernadette stepped in for 4-5 months. Phylicia Rashad took over, then Betsy Joslyn, Nancy Dussault, and Ellen Foley again.
I *had* a NY Times article saved at one point that discussed Bernadette and Robert Westenberg being the two real newcomers.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/31/03
re: Into the Woods Nominations#13
Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:18amBetty Buckley was playing the Witch during the first part of rehearsals for the Broadway production. They rehearsed for a few weeks, then took time off so Sondheim and Lapine could do more re-writing, and then resumed rehearsals before staring previews.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#14
Posted: 12/30/08 at 12:31am
I have sources that say Buckley was DIVA-TASTIC and would frequently show up late.
And then when she showed up significantly late to dinner with Sondheim and Lapine to discuss the role, they fired her on the spot.
Ouch.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#15
Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:21am
Thank you for that picture, Smaxie 
I was glad Joanna won, but even as a young girl, I wondered why Bernie hadn't been at least nominated.
The revivial winning was a good thing, too.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#16
Posted: 12/30/08 at 10:24am...Even though it was mediocre.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#17
Posted: 12/30/08 at 1:39pmThis seems to pop up here at regular intervals. According to Variety, the producers of INTO THE WOODS felt that Joanna Gleason had a really good shot at winning. Peters had stepped into the lead for a limited engagement (I believe she had a movie scheduled) and by mutual agreement it was decided not to submit Bernadette as a nominee in that category. (She had left the show by the time of the Tonys.) It was not a snub, nor an error. And there was no controversy at the time. Gleason was favoured to win, although if it had not gone to her it would have gone to LuPone.
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Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
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Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
re: Into the Woods Nominations#18
Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:46pm
Interesting, that ever since, the Baker's Wife is not perceived as the centerpiece, the way it was when Gleason played it -- so brilliantly. (O'Malley was unmemorable in the revival -- will someone disagree?) The Witch remains the coveted role. And the Baker, while requiring a lot of hard work, has its thankless component. My son played the Baker in high school; it's a killer in terms of focus (never a moment's rest in the wings, awaiting an entrance), but without a solo, and in many ways co-dependent to the other characters (tho admittedly, he gets the moving ending with the baby...) It's an ensemble show that tips one way or another based on casting.
There are contraditory stories about Buckley. I don't think she has the lightness of touch (!) for the first act, though we all know she could break our hearts singing over her lost child. The Witch requires a musical comedy diva -- Ebersole would of course be brilliant. But if the role is played heavily, with too much attention to the overwritten Lapine thematic material, it's not much fun to watch. Peters made it look effortless -- and even put forth "Last Midnight," one of the few Sondheim songs that just cannot land.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#19
Posted: 12/30/08 at 4:57pm
I liked Kerry O'Malley just fine, then again, I liked the revival just fine. I agree that Gleason was the luminous centerpiece of the original production, while the revival felt more like it was an ensemble piece. I think one of the reason's the Baker's Wife was such a stand-out (besides the magnificence of Gleason) was because it came smack dab in the middle of the Baby Boomer Era of "wanting a child so badly we'd do ANYTHING to get one". You know, Phil Donahue having guests talking about alternative insemination, and surrogacy, and womb rentals and all that. By the time the revival happened, it was less of a cultural touchstone.
Benanti's Cinderella was way more of a stand-out than Kim Crosby's in the original, in my opinion. And I loved Stephen DeRosa's revival baker way more than Zien's, who I'd found grating since the days of "Love, Sidney."
Joined: 12/31/69
re: Into the Woods Nominations#20
Posted: 12/30/08 at 5:00pmI think it's a very interesting show- and an "ensemble" one, also. I remember thinking how odd it was at the end to see four supporting characters carry the climax- but they aren't really, are they? A lot of it depends on performance- I've seen amateur productions where the narrator comes off as the star.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#21
Posted: 12/30/08 at 5:54pmI just saw the video but I think Peters and Zien should have been nominated and maybe even the guy who played Jack. Gleason was amazing though.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#22
Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:10pm
Peters deserved a nod of course, her Witch was incredibly impressive, but I understand why they wouldn't submit her name.
If anyone from WOODS got robbed of a nod, it was Kim Crosby whose portrayal of Cinderella is magnificent in many ways and IMO even surpasses Laura Benanti's.
re: Into the Woods Nominations#23
Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:11pmI would love to see a revival with Kristin Chenoweth. I think she is getting old enough and she has the comedic ability
re: Into the Woods Nominations#24
Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:54pm
Auggie-
I could not disagree with you more on either Ebersole as the Witch, or "Last Midnight" being an unlandable song. If your Witch can not land it, and build it properly, she should not have the role. It's not *that* hard of a song to land.
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