The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion- Page 10
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#225
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:34pm
jv92- I don't think it makes a difference if it's the first preview or the final performance. It doesn't matter if it's a musical or a play, on Broadway or Off, or even if the show was brilliant or a steaming pile of sh!t.
She works in the industry (or would like to continue doing so), and she needs to be aware that the cast and crew could be former or future colleagues. Publicly she should have nothing but praise for any production. She doesn't like something she should publicly keep her mouth shut. Behind closed doors she can trash actors, authors and creative teams all she wants, but not when making statements for public consumption.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#226
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:35pm
Morgan James also brought us this tweet on the day Tony nominations were announced:
https://twitter.com/morganajames/status/197334842160058368
@morganajames
wow. 3rd year in a row
7:41 AM - 1 May 12 via web · Embed this Tweet
I guess she felt that Addams Family, Wonderland, and Godspell were all snubbed of Best (Revival of a) Musical nominations?
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#227
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:38pmok i'm sick of hearing about this morgan girl. where are the reviews?
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#228
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:39pmHuge diva. Like everyone is saying, she is probably just bitter about not getting to be a part of the production. Did anyone in the Broadway community bitch tweet about Wonderland or Addams Family or Godspell? Not that I remember hearing about.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#229
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:40pm
Whizzer, I agree. I was trying to make reference to the fact that at a first preview it is in EXTREMELY bad taste.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#230
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:41pm
Unless they've drastically change their concept...there is no way this production is offensive sexually. I'm sorry that SPOILER..the wolf eats Grandmother.
morgan james
?@morganajames
@ScottAlanNet I'm sorry to offend. It's not about 'not supporting'. The prod/dir was offensive (sexually) and it just wasn't for me.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#231
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:43pmCould she mean either the Wolf/Little Red or The Prince/The Baker's Wife?
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/1/03
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#232
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:44pm
That was really rough. I felt for the cast. They clearly have not had enough time in the space. I hated the staging; everyone is constantly out of breath from running up and down the stairs. It's aimless and messy and people are pulling focus from the action. It's never clear where to look. The Witch isn't able to pop "magically" into scenes because she has to go slowly limping offstage, which takes awhile. But there were many flubbed lines, huge issues with the orchestra, etc, most of which I can chalk up to not enough time in the space. Everyone really needs to go over their lyrics. With Sondheim in the house, I was getting super secondhand-embarrassed.
Donna Murphy flubbed several lines and apparently got something stuck in her throat during Last Midnight - she started coughing and clearing her throat in between phrases. She seemed totally lost to me. Denis O'Hare just isn't likeable. He's sort of a quirky mishmash right now - not a clear character at all, and certainy difficult to connect to. Amy Adams is fine, but Jessie Mueller is the clear standout. Her acting was excellent and she sounded lovely when not out of breath from running up and down the stairs.
What really bothered me was the backphrasing and tempo issues, but a lot of that is probably due to the lack of tech runs. I would be interested to go back when they have firmed it up, but I still think I'll hate the staging.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#233
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:45pm
The producer and director were offensive sexually? 'Cuz that's kind of what that tweet says. In any event, maybe it's good she missed the original production with the giant wolf penis.
Updated On: 7/24/12 at 11:45 PM
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#234
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:46pmThanks for the review ShbrtAlley44!
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#235
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:46pm
James’ retort to Scott Allen. WHAT WHAT WHAT?!
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#236
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:47pm
Maybe it's good she missed the original production with the giant wolf penis.
Amen.
Questions for those who have seen it: Are they using the full Lament and extended Children Will Listen like they did in London? Also, is Last Midnight sung to the baby, with some back and forth lyrics of both versions at the end?
Our Little World is not being used, right?
Updated On: 7/24/12 at 11:47 PM
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#237
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:47pmWhat did Oskar Eustis ever do to you Morgan?
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#238
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:48pmI imagine the set is something the actors will grow more comfortable with. If you watch the Regents Park recording, the staging doesn't seem awkward at all, and the actors all seem perfectly fine, granted they may have built up their stamina.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#239
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:49pmI missed what Hunter did!
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/1/03
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#240
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:50pmYes, they used the extended song."Our Little World" was in the playbill but was not performed. And they used the baby lyrics from the revival and she ended it with "Mother, here I come," but used the "Give me claws and a hunch" section.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#241
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:51pmHow's Chip Zien?
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#242
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:51pmNOOOOO! Not the "revised" "Last Midnight!"
Understudy Joined: 6/5/10
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#243
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:51pm
it still needs work. the staging is very busy and a lot of things need to be tightened up but i still enjoyed it despite that. i know they were having a lot of technical problems last week with the weather, and honestly i was expecting a lot worse. the design elements were of course extraordinary, once it started getting dark that set was downright magical.
just a few thoughts on the performances: sarah stiles was the unexpected standout, little red has never been a favorite of mine but her interpretation was very funny and very different from danielle ferland's. jessie mueller was also wonderful. denis o'hare was the biggest disappointment for me, he flubbed some lyrics and while he had some good moments i wasn't really feeling his characterization overall. donna seemed to be having some vocal problems, she was coughing during "last midnight" and was holding back on a lot of the big belting moments. amy adams was good but not a revelation, her take on the role is very gleason-lite at the moment.
that said, i was sobbing like a baby at the end and i'm dying to see it again later in the run.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#244
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:51pmThanks! That's what they did in London. But such a shame that "Our Little World" is not being performed.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#245
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:53pmOrchestra's live, right? And how does it sound? It's not Gemignani conducting, right?
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#246
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:53pmWhat were the costumes like?! Dying to know about them.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#247
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:54pm
Gemignani is listed as the Musical Director.
Also, does it sound like Donna Murphy is using the original keys? I wonder if she'd benefit from the lower Vanessa Williams keys.
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#248
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:57pm
Bwayphreak, someone said this on ATC.
" The funky/punk costuming is a mixed bag"
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2086712
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion#249
Posted: 7/24/12 at 11:58pm
There were many misses and bumps along the way. I'm sure those will get worked out as this is the first preview. But I don't truly understand the concept, the staging and storytelling is confusing, and I think it's near impossible to do the show without a conductor bringing in the actors.
For those keeping score, the revival lyrics of Last Midnight are used, they added the lost verse of Children Will Listen after the first verse, and Our Little World was listed in the Playbill but not sung.
Amy Adams and Denis O'Hare are fine on their own, but their relationship needs tweaking (in the theatrical sense). Their argument in the second act was somewhat rewritten. I don't think it had the same impact as the original lines.
Donna had a bit of a rough act 2. She was not with the orchestra at all at points in Lament. She had a pretty bad coughing fit when she was singing to the baby in Last Midnight. She also forgot a line in Children Will Listen.
There were numerous times when the actors were not with the orchestra. Now I know this is a notorious score and it's near impossible to hear what's right or wrong, but as someone who knows this score inside out, it was very obvious that the actors were struggling to hear their entrances or beat without a conductor physically in front of them.
The direction is just confusing. Yes, transitions were rough and awkward and that stuff will get worked out, but it's not really clear what is going on in the first act. And the craziness in the second act seemed tame. The approaches to each act should have been reversed. And the boy narrator...I just don't get it. It's not really clear why he's the narrator or why the characters depend on him and in this concept, it doesn't make sense why the story even continues after they feed him to the giant, which just felt wrong.
Also, No One Is Alone was probably the biggest mess of the show. Lighting cues were off and Jessie and Denis were not together at all. Jessie kept missing her cues it seems. Could she not hear? It made Denis seem wrong whenever he sang even though he was on top of it. In fact, Denis O'Hare sang every correct note and rhythm as Sondheim wrote it, something I haven't heard from other Bakers. It made his parts in You Fault and No More illuminated. He sang every one of Sondheim's strange intervals and sang them correctly. You have to commend him for that.
Chip Zien in No More. Everything was right in the world when that happened. Just all and every emotion.
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