Into the Woods Revival? Anytime Soon?- Page 7

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:28pm

Yeah, I was talking about the $150 donation, I guess you would call it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:36pm

I'm pretty sure Block will be with the ANYTHING GOES tour.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:45pm

Can we finally get Patti LuPone as The Witch?

What about Raúl Esparza for Cinderella's Prince (I think he's too icy for the Baker).

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:48pm

CZJ may make a Broadway career of replacing Hannah Waddingham in high-profile transfers.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:49pm

Didn't LuPone do it at Ravinia? Or am I making this up? She would be excellent but she's a little (a lot) long in teh tooth.

She's not a star but Rachel York would probably make a stunning Witch or Baker's Wife.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:51pm

"She's not a star but Rachel York would probably make a stunning Witch or Baker's Wife."

York played the Witch at a regional production in Boston and won an IRNE Award for the role.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 11:25pm

No, LuPone as yet to play it. And with the right makeup and hair, Patti can actually look much younger. When I saw her in concert last year and she did "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" the years fell away. It was quite impressive.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 12:59am

Though they obviously won't, it's a shame they can't just bring over the principal company from the Regent's Park production. Hannah Waddingham was absolutely stunning as The Witch, and Jenna Russell was the most ideally cast Baker's Wife I've ever seen.

That being said, there are a lot of fun possibilities that should be in play for this incarnation given the short time commitment. Personally, for the heck of it, I'd love to see:

The Witch- Toni Collette
The Baker- Ewan McGregor
The Baker's Wife- Laura Benanti
Cinderella- Amy Adams
Rapunzel- Katie Clarke
Little Red- Sarah Bolt (specifically for this production)
Mysterious Man- Jim Dale
Jack- Taylor Trensch
Cinderella's Prince- Will Swenson
Rapunzel's Prince- Santino Fontana
Jack's Mother- Jayne Houdyshell
Cinderella's Stepmother- Mary Testa

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 12:59 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 1:04am

Jack's Mother- Jayne Houdyshell

Ooooh! That could be perfect. She might need to sing it down the octave like Marylouise Burke. But I love this idea!

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 01:04 AM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 1:16am

I'll add that, while they really couldn't do any better than Sara Ramirez for The Witch, I agree that they'll go for a bigger name.

I think it's likely we'll end up seeing either Neil Patrick Harris or Jesse Tyler Ferguson as The Baker.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 1:46am

I wish Julia Murney had a bigger name so her name could be in consideration. She would be INSANE as the Witch.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 2:43am

Can Hamish Linklater sing? I think he'd be an interesting Baker.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 4:01am

In regards to Laura Osnes, while she is divinely talented, there's a sort of sophisticated, almost intellectual self awareness required of Cinderella that I don't know she has. She always does a tremendous job of conveying wide eyed optimism, but everything about her is bright. Yes, she's capable of playing edgier, as she did in BONNIE & CLYDE, but this particular role mandates a very dark sense of comprehension. You want someone who looks like they've lived, not someone who necessarily radiates sun (as Osnes does.) It really is the trickiest role in the show.

If they go with someone from the theatrical community, people like Erin Davie, Leigh Ann Larkin, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jessie Mueller, or even Lauren Ambrose come to mind to me- women who, while fitting the stock physical image of a princess, have an edge that makes Cinderella's journey into the harsh, dour truths of life grounded in reality. Of all the storybook characters, she is the one whose perception is completely upended. That wisdom she grows enough to convey in the second act with "No One Is Alone" definitely necessitates some world weariness, and I don't see that maturity in Osnes. She'd be interesting as Rapunzel, though. That's a better match.

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 04:01 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 6:27am

I hate to say it, but she might be a big enough name now to do it ... and the tie-in of having her play another fairy-tale witch would be great ...

Idina Menzel

[random person 112]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 6:49am

Menzel could do the first act without much trouble i think, but around the second act, starting at 'boom squish', and up to last midnight i don't know if she could handle that.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 7:58am

Menzel is another one who, when lit properly and with the right hair/makeup is really stunning.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 8:31am

Hush i agree.,.. but actually the only staging of this musical that i would truly be excited to see is a filmed version....using computer animation in the way that SHREK used...or even stop motion like TIN TIN used...the filmed version can be as broad and intimate as the show is...both for adults and the children they bring...why not?

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 8:56am

SomethingWicked, I was thinking Taylor Trensch for Jack, as well. I saw him in a cabaret recently (my first real exposure to him) and immediately thought I'd want to hear him sing "Giants in the Sky."

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:14am

Radnor as The Baker has one arguable disadvantage, he's quite tall; but I would love to see him matched with Murney. Not only do I think they'd have great chemistry, but, although I may be off on this, I always think of her as being quite tall as well

But I am totally convinced they can't do better for the Witch than Collette, a great actress, a fine singer, with true star quality. She may not be the biggest name imaginable but it would be wrong to underestimate the woman's popularity. It's time she's back in New York in a musical (my dream role for her is Mame!). She and Murney together would, somewhat curiously, btw, be LaChiusa's and Lippa's Queenies together.

But I like the idea of Plimpton as The Baker's Wife, as well.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:16am

I think Toni Collette would be better as the Baker's Wife than the Witch.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:19am

The thing about SitP is that they don't use A-list names. The starry production of The Seagull a few years ago was only because Streep wanted to do the show. Otherwise, they rarely seek top name actors. And one of the reasons is that The Public Theatre doesn't want to cater to star demands. The shows are grueling because the actors are working outside, sometimes in the heat, sometimes with bugs flying around their heads, always with background noise from the Park and many top name stars don't want to work in those conditions.

So people like Jane Krakowski and Sara Ramirez are definitely in the running to star as The Witch. When the show is cast, you won't see Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Brad or Angelina.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:22am

Bennett, I can see her as both easily. Then again, I've always been a little mad about the girl, plus it's The Witch for which they are reportedly name-hunting.

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 09:22 AM

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:22am

So excited for this!!!

I have been racking my brain for possible cast...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:26am

That's right. They never use big stars. Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Anne Hathaway, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Natlaie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Kevin Spacey Morgan Freeman and Michelle Pfieiffer are a bunch of no-names....

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 9:26am

Menzel as the Witch is another great idea that I could get behind. I have no idea if she'd be interested in doing it, but I think she'd be fantastic.