The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion- Page 12

[Kad]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:29am

There are 11 players, ljay. It sounds great.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:43am

I think they will eventually sound great. They were not together at points (what people are referring to as tempo issues).

I think Denis O'Hare will definitely grow into the role. I didn't mind his singing. As I said earlier, he is actually a very careful musician and has learned every bit of Sondheim's intricate intervals and rhythms. It shows. Is he the best technician? No. But was Elaine Stritch? No, and it didn't matter. I think the same can be said about Denis. And no, he is not doing the same performance he did in Sweet Charity. He didn't rely on his manic gestures or pacing or anything of the sort. He plays a very grounded Baker who finally lets lose when his wife dies. It's not perfect yet, but he's on the right track I think.

[VampyreCamp]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:46am

I'm sure many of you who were in the audience with me tonight agree that the pacing was a little slow but I didn't mind it so much because I get it... its a first preview/the weather has been sucky so teching must have been hard/the show is a mammoth... etc. etc. etc.

I truly believe in this production and I cannot wait to see it again in a couple weeks as the performances settle in and the entire company has time to rest. They got through it fully and I'm thankful for that. Listen, it didn't cost me a dime to see this production so I'm going to be forgiving of a few flaws here and there. Its live theatre. $#!T Happens.

But here were my likes in no particular order:

"It Takes Two"... singing wasn't great... ok... but I was smiling the whole time. This was the first time that Dennis O'Hare and Amy Adams found great chemistry.

"Last Midnight"... I wasn't sure if Donna Murphy's hacking was a character choice but by the umpteenth time I was confident she either got a bug in her throat or swallowed fog or her voice was just getting tired. Despite that... when she went THERE it was GREAT! Especially at the end. A couple of nice surprises there. I won't ruin it for you and I hope no one else on the board does.

Glen Close and the Giant... the puppetry was cool and very well done. Miss Close is the first Giant's voice I was frightened of. Sorry Miss Dench and Miss Lansbury and of course Miss Louise (the original) but Glenn Close has the trump card here.

Sarah Stiles as Little Red Riding Hood... she's just fantastic!

Gideon Glick... he's funny... anyone else hear a twinge of John Cameron Mitchell in his singing?

Chip Zien is a great Mysterious Man and totally makes it his own!

And Ellen Harvey as Cinderella's Stepmother is a great stand out in my eyes. Some may disagree but I just thought she was great.

That's all for now. I think is a great production with wonderful potential and I cannot wait to see it again after its worked out its troubles a bit... which hopefully won't take long.

[April Saul]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:48am

Okay, in reading this thread, I am starting to feel sorry for this Morgan James person! It sounds like the consensus is that the show is kind of an under-rehearsed mess at this point--although I can't wait to see it and it could eventually be terrific!--and that her big mistake was that she said as much, but unlike most posters here, signed her real name to her comments?

Enlighten me, guys...why was she so reviled for that tweet? Not trying to stir the pot, just not sure I understand...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:53am

I think the band sounds great, lots of cello, very full for that size. I will say I remember when you knew where the music was coming from, (and the actors were wishing they knew also).

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:54am

I think the show is almost ready. Unless it was just because this was a first preview, they don't seem to be going for the same "feel" as the original. This version is a bit more serious. I can feel it being stronger in about a week and of course the cast probably wasn't in full voice. I think O'Hare has been miscast. His acting was fine but vocally he just didn't work for me or my guest. Amy Adams was quite good and hope she gets better. Her "Moments in the Woods" was delivered almost flawlessly and I bet by next week it could be flawless. Standouts, so far are Stiles, Glick, Broderick and Zbornick in my opinion. I am sure others will be added to the list in the coming days.

We wondered if a bug found its way down Murphy's throat during "Last Midnight". She coughed a few times to clear her throat and finished the song with no problem. But as mentioned elsewhere, seeing her on that platform in the green dress when the wind kicked up was a moment.

The set is pretty cool but kind of gets in the way. Very inventive things happen on it though. I think you have to go in not thinking you will see the original or the revival. The costumes are not what you would expect and there have been a lot of little additions to the characters' behavior. Having the kid be the narrator was genius. (Did they do this in the B'way revival?) The ending was very nice. There was also an extra verse in "Children Will Listen" at the end that was wonderful.

It clocked in at about 3 hours with the intermission. It was interesting that mostly all of the comedic moments that we know got polite laughter but there were other monments that got a bit more. I would love to see this again after opening night. For not having a dress rehearsal I think they did a fine job. I bet they are still getting used to the set. It didn't blow me away but it wasn't the worst I have seen. And I am betting that Murphy will get better. She just seemed to be holding back a bit, which I expected. I also hope O'Hare gets better, I like him but he didn't really impress me this evening and it was kind of frustrating listening to him not do justice to "No More" with Mr. Zien right there onstage with him. I just wanted them to switch. Just my random thoughts.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:55am

I will go and say that I just did not like the way they handled the harp. And when they were going to sell the harp?! Just all sorts of rudeness. I don't want to ruin it if people don't now how it's handled.

I think they need to find where the jokes are. Very little landed, but it just sounded like they didn't trust in Lapine's humor. Maybe it's the direction too.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 12:59am

April, I think a lot of people are upset because it's just bad form to criticize a first preview so harshly and so publicly. Should Morgan James have just lied through her teeth and said it was brilliant? No, I don't think anyone thinks that. She could have stated her opinion a bit more diplomatically though.

Sondheim is a bear, the tech period (like any tech period) was less than ideal. By all accounts, the show needs work and I'll bet money everyone involved in the production knows it. It's not Morgan James place to come in and lob such a vicious criticism at people who are already exhausted, most likely sick, and riding some of the highest expectations of a show this season. I think that's why people are upset: just gives these folks some time before we decide they've killed "musicality and acting."

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:01am

I think it is the direction and just the fact that it is a first preview. And yes, the harp thing was not something I expected. I also found this producton to be a bit more sexually blatant.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:05am

This production needs to rely on the material a little more. Seems to want to make it something that it's not.

One of Donna's special effects, shall we say, was pretty great though. Better than any other time I've seen it in a production.

[Sinfonian4life]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:06am

Looking forward to seeing this show. I have no doubt that with the professionalism (not referring to incident just stating that they are professionals) of the cast, crew, and NY Public Theatre, that it will all come together. I am sure they have a very early call tomorrow.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:06am

Haven't read all of the post so it may have ben mentioned that Sondheim was there. He was sitting in the second section up kind of center/left.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:08am

"Hello Little Girl was pretty sexual. I can see how some can be offended. "

Isn't it usually? I mean the original production had a wolf's penis on his costume.

Speaking of, I'd be curious to hear how the costumes differ from the UK one. The set looks virtually the same.

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:12am

The whole post was just so haughty....to say acting is dead based on a first preview? And from somebody who has never done anything of value and she is saying it about among others a 3 time Oscar nominee (who by all accounts is doing fine...) Yikes! Career ending blunder for Ms. James.

[HBP]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:12am

A few things I forgot to mention in the review:

Jessie Mueller was very good as Cinderella. Due to the poor staging choices, though, she was always very far away from me and I hardly saw anything but her back. That's not to say I had a bad seat, I was just blocked by the set/other actors, etc.

I am surprised to hear that the orchestra was only 11 players strong. They sounded great!

The puppetry for the giant was very cool. And the beanstalk. Really great use of the set.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:14am

There was actual gyration and simulated sex positions though. Those were not in the original staging. When he ate Little Red, they used one of the other definitions of "eating" in the staging.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:15am

Tey dropped the penis and went for more sexual advancement. They also did the same with Moments in the Woods. I gasped at the beginning of that song.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:18am

Thanks for the clarification. More so than on the London filmed video?

[Kad]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:24am

Not really, no.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:26am

My review:

From initial glance, the set is gorgeous. It's expansive and blends beautifully with the park. As I'm moving to my seat, I'm already getting excited. As the lights are starting to go down, I hear whispers Sondheim is there and I was able to get a glimpse - it's true people, God was there!

Then, the show starts and I started to realize the set that appears beautiful would actually be a bit of a hindrance. The prologue was actually one of the bigger messes of the evening. It's so over choreographed to the point where the actors are running up and down spiral staircases, shouting out lyrics, doing a few spins and then shouting their next line out of breath. I wonder if this an issue with the cast themselves. Perhaps they haven't built up the stamina the physically-demanding movement requires. However, when every single cast member seems to be having frequent issues with being out of breath, I'm inclined to blame what very well may be impossible direction.

There are a lot of other issues with the prologue. I know the score inside and out and knew all of the characters and the way it's directed, I frequently didn't know who was singing or speaking. Part of the issue I think is that there's constant movement. It almost felt like Into the Woods on speed. People who aren't singing are frequently running about and are so distracting that it almost became a game of "find the singer." Moreover, lighting could have been an effective means of highlighting who was singing but since the prologue takes place before sunset, if the lighting was there, it wasn't helping.

Some of the staging really works marvelously. The spiral staircases are used to great effect in the more intimate scenes as green umbrellas are spun around the staircase to illustrate a growing beanstalk and tree branches interwoven through the staircase can make Cinderella's mother's grave. Truly brilliant and one of the highlights. The giant was also staged very cleverly and effectively.

Amy Adams was decent. She certainly has the voice but surprisingly lacked charisma. For a three time Oscar nominee, her presence almost felt nonexistent. In past seasons, when a commanding star took the stage, I felt it. Amy Adams was kind of just there. This could be because ITW is really an ensemble piece and also because she was getting swallowed up by the expansive set and crazy choreography.

I actually really enjoyed Denis O'Hare's performance. He flubbed some lyrics but his voice sounded great and I thought he really had the characterization of the Baker down beautifully.

I am a huge Donna Murphy fan so I may be a bit biased but she is simply regal. She had some sort of weird coughing fit during "Last Midnight" which at first I thought was a character choice but it quickly became clear something went wrong. That notwithstanding, she delivered a tremendous performance in what is easily the most exciting role in the play. She had the comedic timing down quite well. She was beautiful in "Children Will Listen!" The dress is beautiful and so is she, so I have no idea what that supposed controversy is about, by the way.

I'll second a previous poster's complaints about "Agony." The number is funny. It doesn't rely on cheap gimmicks like insipid hand gestures. It's kind of offensive to assume the audience won't "get" the material and needs to somehow be prodded to laugh. Worse than that, their random hand gestures meant the audience was laughing in all the wrong places, often over some of the most clever lyrics. It really wasn't the fault of the audience, they laughed clearly when they were "supposed to." No idea what that was about.

Little Red's scene: Apparently this is getting discussed a lot as being sexually explicit. I actually thought the choreography here was one of the highlights. The wolf is supposed to be a pedophile, just look at his costume in the original Broadway production. Yes, it was a bit graphic, but despite the appearances, ITW genuinely isn't a show for all ages. It's a bit more mature and I thought the scene worked well.

Sarah Stiles, Jessie Mueller, and Chip Zien were surprising standouts.

Cues were missed, lyrics were flubbed, but it was the FIRST preview, with a shortened tech week. All of that can be forgiven. So, in the final assessment, we're left with a bit of a messily directed and choreographed production with a very good, but not quite excellent, cast. The show is still beautiful and a great night at the theatre.

Updated On: 7/25/12 at 01:26 AM

[lida rose]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:32am

for what it's worth, this morning the line monitors were going through and warning families that brought their children about the mature content. i guess they want to avoid disgruntled parents that were expecting a family-friendly fairy tale.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:35am

Very thoughtful, broadwaydevil. I pretty much agree about everything. The faults of this production lie in the direction. I have no trouble overcoming technical issues on a first preview. (Although I think a lot of the musical issues would be solved with the orchestra in a pit and the conductor conducting in front of the stage. This is not the easiest of scores to be performing with a conductor behind the set.)

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:48am

Doesn't anyone else think Mueller's costumes were ugly and very unflattering to her?
And that harpy girl also.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:49am

A few other random thoughts:

The child narrator works very effectively. I know some purists have been criticizing the idea but it really works. It makes the feeding of the narrator to the giant resonate even a bit deeper. It certainly helped that Jack Broderick did a very good job.

The witch's transformation is painful. It's supposed to be a mesmerizing visual effect but it looked like something a low budget high school production would have done. They blew leaves around and the lights dimmed a bit while she basically just changed in front of us, the whole thing took a painfully and uncomfortably long time.

And I know most people will gloss over it because the role is so tiny but Ellen Harvey was very good as the stepmother.

Updated On: 7/25/12 at 01:49 AM

[HBP]

Posted: 7/25/12 at 1:57am

I can't believe I didn't mention the narrator! I loved the child narrator concept and think it worked wonderfully. Jack Broderick was GREAT, and I'm usually very skeptical about child actors. He sang well and did surprisingly well for his age. He was right on cue and looked like he was having fun.

I do agree about the witch's transformation. But I think it took extra long because there seemed to be a problem with her wig, I think. Can't be sure. I'm sure it will be smoother once they work out the kinks. Side note: I still can't get over her one exit. It was the highlight of the show for me.