Sara Bareilles, Christian Borle, Ashley Park, and Heather Headley to Lead Encores Into The Woods — Page 16

The theatre was quite warm last weekend. Wear layers that you can shed.

It was obvious that City Center has not had a show with this kind of attendance in a long time and they were wildly unprepared for it. Apparently they ran out of Playbills in the balc by Sunday. There weren't enough ushers, so people weren't brought directly to their seat or even to their approx seating area: there was some confusion between Grand Tier and Mezz, and people who had to move seats as the show was starting. A long entry bottleneck for getting into the venue because of tickets and vaccines. Some Sara B fans who were pissed off that they couldn't buy merch with her name on it.

Back to the transfer talk now that we know previous comments have been deleted: anyone know when the announcement is happening?

and BTW, bless those souls who provide this information. I don’t think BWW realizes that this is one of the main reasons they get traffic: reliable sources.

Play Esq. said: "Back to the transfer talk now that we know previous comments have been deleted: anyone know when the announcement is happening?

and BTW, bless those souls who provide this information. I don’t think BWW realizes that this is one of the main reasons they get traffic: reliable sources."

This week. And you’re welcome!

What theatre and approximate timeframe?

If that’s true, then this would mark the first time in 24 years that Sondheim’s music can be heard in this house.

Could it be a similar situation to Sunday in the Park with George where they remove themselves from Tony contention to not have to comp as many tickets? Although next season is not at all filled out yet, so the stated reason for Sunday wouldn’t be the case here

Ke3 said: "A summer run is interesting to me. This could easily see tons of Tony attention, but will the momentum last them from closing in august until announcement day in may? not that it’s *about* getting awards."

All comes down to talent availability and money. This could be a SUNDAY situation where they don't even invite the voters/nominators so they don't have to give away all those comps.

Sara Bareilles and NPH would be the sole financial reason for this moving to Broadway for 8 weeks, because they are the people who are selling full-priced tickets beyond the Sondheim-heads. Whoever is producing will have to produce it dirt-cheaply or reusing most of the Encores design pieces if they want any chance of making their money back.

Sara Bareilles and NPH would be the sole financial reason for this moving to Broadway for 8 weeks, because they are the people who are selling full-priced tickets beyond the Sondheim-heads. Whoever is producing will have to produce it dirt-cheaply or reusing most of the Encores design pieces if they want any chance of making their money back.

I disagree. The main reason that this is moving is because it’s the hottest ticket in town and they got a rave from the Times. I’ve told numerous friends about this production and they haven’t been able to get in without paying ridiculous prices (and some have). I’m fairly confident that a two month run will be at high capacity.

Personally, I intend to buy tickets on Sunday (should the rumors be true) for two performances, at least.

Sure, it's the hottest ticket in town BECAUSE of Sara Bareilles and to a lesser extent (because he was announced late) NPH. It's an added bonus that it happens to be an excellent production that got raves, and that it's Sondheim's most accessible show (and there's more cultural convo about him after his death).

If this was a "normal" Encores production of WOODS with a cast of all Broadway-calibre folks, there would be no talk of moving it this quickly, and tickets would not be selling at that high price. They see there's momentum and want to capitalize on that. But Sara Bareilles + Into the Woods is the cause of the momentum.

Remember, the Public ITW was "coming to Broadway" until Amy Adams said no and then it died. Many iterations of the film died over the years. This all comes down to the onstage talent involved.

Updated On: 5/10/22 at 07:36 PM

Kad said: "Transferring this way is more or less a de facto extension of the production as it is now. It'll be a brief enough run to sustain largely on local interest, bolstered by summer tourism. You are very much underestimating the amount of buzz over this production in the city right now- it's not just Bareilles or NPH. Ticket prices have soared only recently, because of the demand caused by word of mouth and critical reception.

And this transfer is a done deal, whether or not people here believe it."

yeah, i was gonna say. sara has been attached to this since day one and tickets were very much not sold out until a few weeks ago. if she was the driving force behind the mania that’s developed around this production tickets would’ve been sold out by november.

Ke3 said: "A summer run is interesting to me. This could easily see tons of Tony attention, but will the momentum last them from closing in august until announcement day in may? not that it’s *about* getting awards."

It's likely they'll pull a SUNDAY and remove the production from Tony consideration.

I finally saw the show tonight. Magic. I've always said it's my favorite musical and holds a very special place in my heart and this production was everything I hoped it would be and didn't even think it could be. I've avoided this thread because I didn't want to know anything so maybe I'm saying things already said a lot. But it proves that you don't need Sondheim's unnecessary cuts and edits and additions and bells and whistles, that the show AS IT IS is good enough and perfect. I've been very vocal at how I'd never seen a Baker's Wife that I enjoyed (besides Gleason) until 2019 when Kate Shindle did the concert at Town Hall. Well Bareilles showed that she has what it takes to finally make me ADORE someone else in that role. NPH, I don't even have words for. I find him hit-or-miss a lot and this hit was a home run. He found humor (Sara, as well) in places I didn't even know there was any to be found. Just all around he was perfect. If this transfers without him, it will be a shame.

And the QUEEN. My Heather Headley. I hope if this production continues she can work and find that humor (especially in act one) that I think she almost seemed to avoid. But overall she was remarkable. I can't wait to see her again this weekend. I'll have more thoughts after I sleep on it tonight but like I said before, just trusting the material is all you have to do to get this show to work. (The weird chorus aside).

I was also there tonight; I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said in this thread, but I absolutely loved it. This was probably the most excited I've been walking into a theatre since my first show post-shutdown, and to have this production live up to my lofty expectations was a total thrill.

The entire cast was on tonight (no understudies), and all of them were excellent. I, too, was pleasantly surprised by the chemistry between NPH and Bareilles, and enjoyed what both of them were able to do with their roles. I was among those excited to see Borle's take on the Baker and was a tad disappointed to see him replaced, but this was some of the best work I've seen from NPH. A very honest and emotional performance, but one that still managed to find the humor (without leaning too heavily on his usual schtick).

I don't have enough superlatives for Heather Headley. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Totally brilliant. Wow.

If the rumors of a transfer are true, I'll absolutely be seeing this again. Also, can I just say how nice it is to see the first high-profile production of a Sondheim show in a post-Sondheim NYC turn out so beautifully? This is a wonderful tribute to his work and his legacy, and I like to think he'd be just as thrilled with this production as the rest of us are if he were still around to see it.



Oh, and give Milky White the final bow already.