Into the Woods Revival? Anytime Soon? — Page 9

I actually still have not revealed what Meryl is supposedly doing in the park.

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...that would actually be incredible. They could easily adapt Free For All into a show like that.

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"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"

And not one of those names has ever completed a "sold-out" run at Shakespeare in the Park. Even the starry Seagull with half the names mentioned above had seats available most nights.

Okay, it's been awhile, but the OP did say "ever".

Meryl Streep and Raul Julia's TAMING OF THE SHREW had people camping out over night and arriving at breakfast time just for a chance at a ticket. The three times I saw it, there were still lines after the curtain went up, because Leach's staging of the play-within-a-play involved moving people from the back row to seats on stage; there were always yet more people waiting to refill the back row.

I don't believe they had many empty seats for Ronstadt, Lansbury and Kline in PIRATES OF PENZANCE either.

If THE SEA GULL didn't sell out, it may have been the venue. No disrespect intended toward Chekhov; my point is that sitting on asphalt in the heat all day doesn't really put me in the mind for his full-length plays. I love THE SEA GULL, but I'd rather see it indoors.

I seem to remember pandemonium for SEAGULL tickets with people lining up at 6:00 pm the evening before.

"I seem to remember pandemonium for SEAGULL tickets with people lining up at 6:00 pm the evening before."

I camped out overnight in Central Park to see The Seagull. I saw the show three times, but only camped out once. The reason is that tickets were available each night. The publicity arm of The Public whipped that show into a frenzy making people think it was a hard ticket to get, but you could go and get on the cancellation line and get in. Also remember they extended the show a week, minus Marcia Gay Harden, and there were empty seats during the performance I was at the week of extension.

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The script has a line about the Witch being restored to her previous 'youth and beauty' but I think age is less important than the character having a certain cold authoritative glamour.

Thus, I could see someone like Meryl Streep or Glenn Close conceivably pulling the role off even though they are arguably too old. I personally don't think LuPone is right for the Witch but think she'd be an amazing Jack's Mother.

Murphy would probably be sensational as the Witch, but doubt she'll do this production.

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 03:33 PM

This interpretation of the Witch is much more physical during the first act, as well.

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Honestly, I wish they wouldn't record the voice of the Giant's Wife. I think one of the weakest aspects of that production was the fact that you had pauses between the cast and the recording, and Dench's line readings were AWFUL.

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I'm surprised Ravinia never did it in a concert version for her. Maybe they still will. (Audra could play The Baker's Wife--she did recently add "Moments in the Woods" to her concert repertoire) But having her play The Witch now would be akin to a drag act.

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I don't know i could still see them going after Audra for the wife or the witch. Didn't someone mention her run in P&B ends around the time this starts. I mean rehersals would be a great squeeze but still. She also has done work with the Delacorte in the past.

As for fay as the witch from what i've heard she's done some singing in her past though it's just high school choir stuff. Though with some help, i think she'd be a big enough name.

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 06:43 PM

Also, I very quickly thought of Anne Hathaway for this production, but isn't she still vocally and physically prime for Cinderella? As Laura Benanti showed in the last revival, it is no throwaway supporting part, and I could imagine Anne going even further to bring Cinderella stage center if given the chance. I'm not sure she's at the age/life experience to be playing a woman so desperate for a child.

Let's throw her on there, and get Toni Collette or a similar early 40s/late 30s actress in the Baker's Wife part.

Well Helen Mirren did Prospero. And I remember a production where an actress did King Lear.

Also, would Streep do Gertrude in Hamlet? Would her son play Hamlet?

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Gothampc, I specifically mentioned that, excepting traditionally male-cast roles, which some of our greatest classical actresses have taken on, there are few if any roles for a woman of Streep's talents and star power throughout Shakespeare. Perhaps Cleopatra, though that seems far outside her purview or interest, and, of course, Lady M.