Into the Woods Revival

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Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 10:49pm

Alright, I just dug up my revival cast recording of this show, and I have to ask:

What the hell happened?

They changed lyrics and sped up tempos for no reason, cast two lackluster performers as the Baker and his Wife, and Adam Wylie as Jack may have the worst, most grating voice of any Broadway lead I've ever heard. Vanessa Williams and Laura Benanti fare fine, although I'm unclear on why Williams has no difference between her "old" witch voice and her "young" witch voice. It basically just brought back bad memories of the actual production, the only good change that was made being a couple of the lyric changes to Last Midnight.

Formerly SirNotAppearing - Joined 3/08

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 10:54pm

I personally don't mind the tempo changes. But the lyric changes (that seem to be made in order to be more "PC") just irk me.

Rant, Wickud, Rant, Wickud, Rant! We're not gonna pay Rant! 'Cause everythink is Wickud!

"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"

lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical

Updated On: 11/29/08 at 10:54 PM

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:00pm

It was an unmemorable, unremarkable production.

I will say that 2 things stuck out - the dancing cow and the fact that the sets and characters came out of their respective books.

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:20pm

While the revival was visually stunning, Laura Benanti and Vanessa Williams (who overcame Sondheim's hideous lyric changes to "Last Midnight) were the only remarkable things about it.

I feel like most of the flaws had to do with the fact that James Lapine came back to direct it after directing the original production.

The show needed a fresher perspective, something I hope it will get on Broadway in the coming years.

Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:23pm

I liked the staging with the set, too. And the extra involvement from the Narrator (bird mobile, anyone?).

But I did *not* like the dancing cow. It became a show about a dancing cow and distracted from the story. People couldn't wait to see what the cow would do next and not care about the characters.

"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:23pm

I like the recording quite a bit.

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:25pm

ljay, I agree. I didn't see the actual show, but I really like the recording.

I want to apologize for some offensive messages posted on this board under my name. The night 0f 12-15-08 I did not have internet access, and someone had used my name to post something offensive. My avatar was also changed. I dont' know what else was posted, or if anyone recieved bad PMs, but I want to apologize for that. I've changed my password, and even though I was not the one posting these messages it still needed to be corrected.

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:29pm

I did not see the show either. And, besides the previously stated lyric changes, I do, for the most part, enjoy the cast recording.

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:34pm

I hate the recording and most of the leads. The Baker's Wife, who sings one of the best songs Sondheim has written ("Moments in the Woods"), was just ruined by that lady. None of the leads save for Vanessa Williams (whom I love, but I don't think she managed to bring any of the complexity of a Bernadette Peters), Laura Benanti (great singing, lacked any of the humor and quirkiness than Kim Crosby injected in Cinderella), and Sieber/Edelman were even remotely tolerable in their roles, at least on recording.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

#10

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:52pm

I have never been satisfied with any actress playing Baker's Wife after seeing Joanna Gleason do the role.

#11

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:57pm

Yeah, she pretty much has the corner on that market.

#12

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 2:32am

Strange, I was actually watching the OBC of this today. I have never seen the revival, so I don't know, but I do like the recording of it.

"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005 "You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy. Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates

#13

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 10:12am

The thing that stands out the most was the very odd...and weak casting choices. The Little Red, Jack's Mom, The Baker and his Wife were just HORRID. Ugh, the poor actress who played Jack's Mom, just SO SO out of her league. The production was nice to look at, had some nice special effects...the witch's hair turning to snakes and her transformation for example, but as casting is SO SO important, I just sat there and thought....how great it would have been to have seen the original WONDERFUL cast in this production. The princes were good though and so was Benati...though not so charming as the original. UGH!!! Jack's Mom!!!!

#14

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:04pm

The production was really unfortunate, in my opinion. I thought Vanessa, though a fine voice, was a horrible choice for the Witch. The additions to and cuts from the script and music made no sense and only hindered the overall beauty of the story.

whatever and ever amen - ben folds five

#15

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:05pm

Yeah, the casting was SO odd... I cannot stand to listen to Adam Wylie sing, and the lady playing Jack's mom was very interesting to say the least... Not a very big fan!

#16

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:10pm

Video Google

I'm just sayin'

Formerly NGD2225 & Defyingravity07

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#17

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 1:20pm

Seriously, what is wrong with Adam Wylie's voice?

Formerly SirNotAppearing - Joined 3/08

#18

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 2:10pm

I agree about the dancing cow being distracting. It takes away so much from the story. When I was in high school, the drama dept. did a production of Into the Woods. Instead of having a fake cow, like the original production, a girl was cast and put in a cow costume. It was kind of fun, but she would dance during "It Takes Two" and people would be laughing and no one would pay any attention to the two actors on stage, who were awesome. So, closing night, the director asked the girl playing the cow to just sit and listen and not dance. She threw a big fit and cried and all of her friends were mad and everyone was mad at the girl playing the Baker's Wife, who was a good friend of mine, because they thought it was her fault that the cow couldn't dance anymore. It was such ridiculous high school nonsense, but the cow really was a distraction.

#19

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 3:59pm

I must be the only one besides his mother who likes Adam Wylie's voice. Haha! I think it really fits the character. I'm not sure if it would work in any other instance.

#20

re: Into the Woods Revival

Posted: 11/30/08 at 4:04pm

i didn't think the cow was distracting... i think it's more the cow was the most interesting thing about it that you had to watch it... i mean if the whole show had been just as inventive as the cow then i'm sure we'd all be paying attention to the other stuff...

as for the revival... yeah it lacked the magic of the original... but i thought it was OK... the only thing i truly hated was the addition of the three little pigs and the two wolves... i loved the sets, and the involvement of the narrator (and i LOVED the bird mobile... i thought that was hilarious and him throwing the flowers onto the ground)... as well as the projection of the giant and cinderella's mother

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