Into the Woods- Regent's Park Discussion Thread

[EvelynOakleigh]

Posted: 5/29/11 at 8:38pm

I just finished watching the wonderful production of Into the Woods from Regent's Park and as the Pre-order thread is getting long, I thought it best to start a new thread for comments or questions about the show.

I'll start
I thought it was a fantastic show, one of the best if not the best production of the show I've seen. I absolutely adored Hannah Waddingham as the Witch, she was so different (in a good way) then Bernadette. I also loved Jenna Russel as Baker's Wife. I'm probably in the minority here but I much prefer her to Johanna Gleason. (But that's just me) I thought the Baker was great, nearly brought me to tears several times and for the first time I didn't want to murder Jack. Little Red was hysterical and heartbreaking at the same time. And Cinderella grew on my as the show progressed, but I did not much care for her vibrato in "No One is Alone" and I didn't understand why she had a nose-ring, I thought it was unnecessary. But otherwise for those minor inconveniences I was quite content :)

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 5/29/11 at 8:48pm

This show has just won The Olivier Award (British equivalent to the Tonys) for best revival, fully deserved I saw this four times last year and the production was splendid.

Such a great space The Regent Park outdoor theatre, if anyone is over in London this Summer, it is really worth checking out.

http://openairtheatre.org/

[rougeduck]

Posted: 5/29/11 at 9:18pm

Having thoroughly disliked her as Glinda/bad word of mouth for this production, Helen was surprisingly brilliant as Cinderella. I actually loved this concept of cinderella being low class and not pretty. And her voice fit the role very well.
As stated in the other thread, I loved how everything tied together with Baker/Baker's Wife/Narrator but didn't quite grasp the Witch's role in it.
Speaking of witches, yeah, Hannah is by far the best Witch. Every lyric sung had extreme emotion and reasoning behind it. She never hammed which is one thing I never enjoyed about Bernadette's performance. And her vocals were outstanding! Especially Lament.
I loved the actors doubling as the set. The applause in the beginning of Grandmother's House was very much deserved.
The Park is naturally the best possible setting for Into the Woods.

So many other thoughts about this spectacular production that I will probably post later.

[EvelynOakleigh]

Posted: 5/29/11 at 11:06pm

rougeduck- I agree with everything you just said :)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/29/11 at 11:45pm

So is this worth the money to download on the site? Also, will it play on my Mac okay?

[rougeduck]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 1:13am

It will play just fine. And its so worth it!

[EvelynOakleigh]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 10:32am

I'd get the standard or the VOD, cause thats guaranteed to work.

[EvelynOakleigh]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 6:17pm

I have a question; because my HD doesn't work quite right it doesn't play some parts, is the narrator still thrown to the giant? How does it work? and if he's dead, (spoiler) how does he come back at the end?

[rougeduck]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 6:44pm

Yes he is. And that kinda is iffy but I guess it fits with the whole nightmarish dream spin on act 2. And I guess with the death of his mother, the topic of his own mortality is in his mind.

[EvelynOakleigh]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 6:55pm

how does he get thrown to the giant

[CurtainCall]

Posted: 5/30/11 at 6:58pm

The narrator dreams he is thrown to the giantess. He's asleep in the sleeping bag - which remained onstage throughout the second act - I can't remember in the video if you see the sleeping bag move, as if the child is disturbed by the dream, but it could be seen when you were in the theatre.

[rougeduck]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 1:09pm

What are all of the roles double cast in this production?

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 8:15pm

Again, the greatest production of "Into the Woods" I have ever seen or ever hope to see.

[rougeduck]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 8:23pm

Once again, hype could cause a transfer.

[xxdrewboy85xx]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 9:04pm

I thought the production was absolutely brilliant ( well worth the price for the VOD option). The narrator as a Kid and the whole ending was just pure genius.

Jenna Russell was equally as good as Joanna Gleason, The Witch was the best Witch of any production of ITW, EVER, Cinderella really grew on me ( didn't care for her at first), but to me another huge stand out was Rapunzel's Prince. I thought he was hilarious and the littlest things he did made me laugh. Jack was another Stand out.

I really hope this does transfer.

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 6:15pm

I'm not sure a transfer outside of that marvelous setting would have the same affect. I've never seen the video (ironically they taped the matinee I actually saw) but I wonder if even that captures it. Of course what really makes this edition so spectacular is the directorial concept.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 8:50pm

I would love to see some pictures! Please?

[BeingAlive2]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 9:49pm

its not pictures but this may help...there are also other videos of their rehearsals on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES2ut6L_l7c&feature=related

[Square Peg2]

Posted: 2/11/12 at 4:37am

'Hey all, I know this is an ancient thread, my apologies. I have been wrestling with Digital Theatre, trying to watch this for a week or two now, with their tech support emailing useless suggestions and then taking a day or two to respond to my emails saying they don't work.

I know people had issues last year when it was first made available. Did anyone come up with a solution? (I've tried both the download and the "rental", and I live in Australia.)

Or, alternatively, is there some magical way this wonderful production could end up in my inbox? Does it exist anywhere else digitally?

Apologies for begging, I do realise it's undignified!

[artscallion]

Posted: 2/11/12 at 7:58am

The resolution to the original problems was that they developed a new player you could download. You're the first person I've heard of having a problem since then. I do remember their customer service being horrible though...days on end before answering your questions, if at all. I know this is not terribly helpful. But at least you know the original problems were resolved and yours must either be a new problem...or you've downloaded the old, faulty player by mistake?

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 4:48pm

I just downloaded and watched this yesterday and...WOW! I was a little disappointed to find out that I canNOT put it on my phone and watch it there, or on my T.V. (without hooking up the laptop to the TV) but I really liked it alot. I liked the witch, but more in the second act. I also like that some elements of the score not present on the Broadway video like the middle part of "The Witches Lament." I was glad "Our Little World" was present, but I don't like the arrangement as much as it is the same as the Broadway revival. I really like "OLW" on the London Cast Recording.

Updated On: 8/21/12 at 04:48 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 1:29pm

Hey, ChiChi, how were you able to do watch the video on your phone and TV? I was wondering the same thing... Thanks!

[ChiChi]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 1:49pm

So sorry Jake. I didn't spell out the entire word. I CANNOT put them on my phone or T.V. If we could do that I would be thrilled.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 7:34pm

Thanks for the info on this thread! I hadn't heard of the Digital Theatre site before, and am looking forward to downloading ITW. It looks amazing, with a bit of quirkiness to it that is different than the original. And actually, I just watched the original on Netflix this past weekend so it will be great to see a different, newer production.