Roundabout Theatre to present Fiasco Theatre's "Into the Woods"- Page 2

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 3:54pm

I saw this production last year when it was at the McCarter, and it was stellar. Very inventive and, while small, certainly not cheap. I'm excited to see it again at the Pels.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 3:56pm

"Studio 54? Nobody wanted to see the last production FREE in the park starring a four, now five time Academy Award nominated movie star. No on is going to pay top Broadway prices for this."

Nobody wanted to see that?

Really?

Nobody?

[Owen22]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 3:57pm

This was a fantastic production. I was going to go see it again at the Old Globe this summer when I'm in California....now I don't gotta!

[cardamon]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 3:57pm

Here's the trailer from the McCarter production. Definitely looks more suited to Off-Broadway.

Into the Woods - Trailer

[tazber]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:08pm

Morgan James wanted to see it!

[Owen22]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:09pm

Its one of those shows that could play in a small Broadway house or off. At the McCarter it was at the 350 seat sized venue and it was fine. At the Old Globe it will be playing at their 250 seat theatre.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:14pm

"Studio 54? Nobody wanted to see the last production FREE in the park starring a four, now five time Academy Award nominated movie star."

The one that was packed every night?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:15pm

Yeah, but by people who didn't want to see it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:16pm

How come NYC never produces anything original anymore? Has creativity died here? It seems like all we do is import work.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:18pm

"Yeah, but by people who didn't want to see it."

Good thing it's being done by a theatre with a somnambulant subscriber base.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:23pm

I'm glad the show returning to NYC and perfect timing because the movie is being released that month.

Updated On: 3/6/14 at 04:23 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:27pm

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:31pm

I'm assuming Disney is still planning their broadway production after the film.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:37pm

That's been awfully quiet. IF it happens, it probably won't be for another several years.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 4:54pm

^ You're right. They're already working on 'Frozen', 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', and 'The Princess Bride'. If it were to happen, it would not be for several years.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 5:12pm

Right. Which is why it's doubtful this little production would transfer to broadway. Id assume Disney has the monopoly on the rights.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 5:14pm

2 productions in 2 seasons would be silly. I mean, it's not like this is MACBETH!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 5:19pm

I seriously doubt Disney got the theatrical rights to ITW when they got the movie rights... Why would they?

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 5:34pm

Disney knows how to make money. If the film is a big success, why wouldn't they produce it on the stage?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 5:47pm

Ugh I don't want the movie version (from the script) on stage. I dunno though. Disney owned Miramax, didn't they, when Chicago was made and they didn't then get all theatre rights. And they don't seem too keen on licensing stage rights for a show they don't own. And ITW is a very profitable show in rentals, I'm not sure anyone would sell Disney exclusive rights.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 6:08pm

So... basically a piano and some imaginative actors? Why can't Sondheim's music get any respect in NY anymore? Every teeny, tiny reduced orchestra seems to suggest that Sondheim is a lyricist who, oh yeah, also writes some tunes to go along with those lyrics.

I get that the material is strong enough to stand up to to new concepts and I get the economic challenges with producing a production with a full orchestra, but can you imagine if a major NY theatre company produced a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical with just a piano? It probably wouldn't happen because that rich, orchestral sound is part of the R&H experience. But although the greatest theatre orchestrator of our time created the majority of Sondheim's "sound", the same is apparently not true of a Sondheim show. It's as though the music is just incidental or something. It's a bit sad to me that a generation of theatregoers are growing up with this impression that the best way to to produce Sondheim is by stripping away those glorious original orchestrations. Isn't that what small theatres across the US are for, not Broadway and major NY theatre companies? And, yes, I know this production is Off-Broadway, but it's still the most high profile production this work will get in NY for several years.

I guess opera companies and symphony orchestras are going to be the only people producing the complete Sondheim experience anymore.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 6:23pm

I was lucky to see this production in Princeton and found it to be really stunning. Yes, it's small, but the actors (assuming they get the same group, which I imagine they would) were a tight ensemble, and the story was told beautifully. It's the most engaging and quick-paced version of the show I've seen, and the music never feels cheated despite the reduced orchestrations. If anyone's a fan of the show, they really should see this wonderful production.

[binau]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 6:30pm

In this specific case they could bring in a small band (i.e., a full orchestra would never fit). But the roundabout are poor, could they afford to? One might argue that more musicians = greater audience enjoyment = more business = less poor, but at the end of the day how much of a difference in enjoyment does it make?

I would probably guess in the case of a piano vs a small band, enough to justify the expense. A piano sounds like a rehearsal not a performance. I didn't mind the NIGHT MUSIC orchestrations but I think I would draw the line at a piano.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 6:31pm

It just feels very gimmicky to me. Imaginative? Perhaps. But it's missing the art of stagecraft.
I hope tickets cost $10-$20 because anything over $50 would feel like highway robbery.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/6/14 at 6:37pm

One would argue this production IS the art of stagecraft. It's making a world out of common objects. It's what the theatre has been about since Ancient Greece.

I don't see minimalist productions being disrespectful to Sondheim... Hell, he is REGULARLY honored. Sweeney Todd is getting its second Philharmonic concert in recent memory. Company was done there a couple of years ago. He's been represented at Encores twice in three seasons.

If anything, these productions show that Sondheim's work holds up no matter the number of instruments.

Sure, no one does Rogers and Hammerstein with such minimalism... but their work also no longer appears with the regularity of Sondheim's.