The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion- Page 18

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:48am

Good to hear, Kad. All they needed was one under their belt for some of those transitions and stuff.

I couldn't tell last night... Is there a conductor cam for the actors? If not, I bet that would be very beneficial.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:48am

Kad -

Does Denis know more of the lyrics? I kind of felt badly for him last night.

Also, the whole Donna Murphy coughing/choking thing during "Last Midnight" was unintentional, correct? It seemed unintentional but I wasn't sure if it was some sort of weird characterization the director was going for. I assume that didn't happen tonight.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:51am

@denisohare
Just finished our 2nd preview of Into The Woods. Such a kick. Gorgeous weather. Singing Sondheim.

---------------

@faemasgurl
@denisohare literally have almost every line from #IntotheWoods memorized. #favouritemusicalever.

?@denisohare
@faemasgurl omg--better than me--I'm still running to the script!


Hope the show went more smoothly tonight; sounds like for the most part it did, but there are still a few wrinkles that need to be ironed. lol.

[dramageek1211]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:52am

I saw the show tonight - won the virtual lottery and had seats in Section O, all the way to house left but great seats in my opinion. I liked the production as a whole. From what I can tell after seeing the filmed production, I really like the costume changes. Donna Murphy's Act 2 look is MUCH more attractive than the one used in that production. I haven't read all of the many pages of this thread since I wanted to avoid all the Morgan James talk (who cares at this point...?), but here are a few of my thoughts/observations:

- Pacing seems a little slow to me. The show was almost three hours tonight. I know it is a lengthy show but that seemed a bit long for me. Things could definitely be picked up.
- There were a few lines flubs - nothing too major - most were dialogue and all had quick recoveries but they were things I noticed. No doubt in my mind that they'll be worked out within the next few performances.
- The witch's transformation at the end of Act 1 was different and not necessarily bad. It did, however, seem to take a minute or so. Hopefully they will get the speed figured out during previews and it can go a bit faster once the show officially opens.
- People I loved: Donna Murphy, Sarah Stiles, Gideon Glick, Chip Zien, Jessie Mueller,
- I think that Amy Adams was kind of forgettable as the Baker's Wife. I love the woman but her voice was a bit lackluster and she didn't command the stage much.
- Denis O'Hare was nothing to phone home about. His voice was also a bit underwhelming.
- I'm not totally sure how I feel about the Witch's disappearance after Last Midnight.
*SPOILER*
Donna Murphy was definitely looking for the right spot to stand toward the end of the song and then when the part of the stage opened up, she had to visibly step down which kind of takes a bit of the excitement out of it. But I'm going to hope that in the next few weeks that transition gets perfected.
- I definitely did not put together all of the extra plot details that people seemed to infer about the production. I love the idea of them - I'm not sure they translate necessarily. But that's also part of the magic of theatre for me, everyone's going to get something different out of it.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed the night. Most of the issues I had will hopefully be resolved within the preview period and we'll have a really solid production on our hands. Looking forward to seeing this production again post-opening.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:52am

I'd assume it was unintentional, Donna's coughing fit. I felt bad, it's like one of the only songs to not have a vamp to cover that kind of thing.

keb2, the book is pretty much identical. It's usually just played straightforward without any of the father/son action. The Narrator and Mysterious Man aren't connected. (Or are they?)

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:53am

Denis was much better tonight in all aspects. I'm not entirely sold on his Baker, it's certainly so much different than Chip Zien and the.. Regent's guy, who certainly was... milquetoast.

I'm not sure if it was nerves or exhaustion last night, but it was almost an entirely different performance. No flubs. Less petulance and whininess. Still has his weird slurry thing going on, but I'm guessing that's his "actor voice"?

I love his sort of slow burn about the death of his wife. It visibly takes him time for it to really sink in, or that he lets it really affect him. It's like when he says that she did all the planning, it really hits him.

MrMusic- I don't know about the cam. I don't believe there is.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:54am

And yeah, Donna's coughing was unintentional. It weirdly worked for the moment, though.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:56am

Kad - that's exactly why although I was 90% sure it was unintentional, I wasn't positive. She handled it very well though as she got right back into the song and finished very strong.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 12:59am

She should have switched to singing "Mother Knows Best" after her coughing fit.

[HBP]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:16am

My friend walked out of the theater singing "Mother Knows Best" last night... haha

[theaterisdead]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:21am

I wonder how early people will be lining up after opening...I remember people getting in line the day BEFORE for Pacino.

[katief]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 2:02am

Word has it on Tumblr that it was a bug that made her cough, poor thing.

Based on what I've read from last nights show, tonight went a lot smoother. Donna slipped on a few lines, but hardly noticed any lyric mistakes from Dennis, a couple of minor entry and timing issues though but I'm sure that will be fixed.

Also, for those who have seen it, how brilliantly bratty is Sarah Stiles as Little Red? My show highlight.

Can't wait to see it again to see how it progresses.

PS Kad I too got the same message about the Baker & Son/Narrator parallel, don't know if I was even correct, but it was sweet all the same.

[MarkieSunshine]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 3:37am

I have to know, does Jessie Mueller do the trill in the Prologue and sing legit? The trill was cut in the London production and I was bummed. I know Jessie has a beautiful legit, I hope it gets used. See her singing classically by clicking on the link:
soooo pretty

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 7:29am

Do you mean when she calls the birds? That was in if that's what you mean.

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 9:16am

I didn't see this NYTimes article posted anywhere else. It show a few of the costumes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/theater/amy-adams-and-donna-murphy-in-into-the-woods.html?_r=2&ref=theater&pagewanted=all

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 9:19am

I'd never seen Into the Woods at all before tonight. I'd listened to it and followed along in "Look, I Made a Hat," but never actually seen it (I have no clue how, but I hadn't)."

Keb, "Look, I Made a Hat" is from..... oh you mean the Sondheim book.

Nevermind.

Interesting that you and several have mentioned that if they didn't know the show, they wouldn't have known exactly what was happening at points. I had distinctly the same feeling at certain points of the Follies revival (particularly the Broadway Baby/Rain on the Roof/Ah, Paris scene). Perhaps Sondheim stagers need to step back and realize a) the need for clear storytelling, and b) not everyone in the audience comes to the show knowing anything about it, let alone each twist and turn.

(However, with the death of the Baker's Wife, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be clear that she has been killed at the time she's overtaken by the giant's wife. I don't recall it being spelled out in that scene in the original production; there may still have been a bit of a mystery as to her fate at that point.)

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 9:39am

I saw it last night, and I think that thanks to some of the criticism that sprung up from the first preview my expectations were tempered, which ended up making it a very enjoyable evening.

I'm glad to hear about the number of rehearsals with the orchestra, Kad, and have confidence this cast will eliminate some of the phasing issues there. I felt like the roughest part of the production was the opening number. There were entrances that were just a little off throughout that made me feel like the company and the orchestra just weren't in sync. BUT, they made it up with how tight Your Fault was in the second act. Having played the show a few times, I know how tough getting that one to sit right can be.

In addition to the orchestra/company phasing during the opening, I think that's the one area where the staging doesn't quite work. There's so much going on, bouncing from character to character, that it's so hard to find who's singing in the set, since we're just getting introduced to them in this expansive environment.

Went in with a raised eyebrow about the narrator, but ended up really enjoying it. I was sitting far house left and more than halfway up and I think he still reads 11-12 up there, so I don't think being close to him makes that much of a difference.

Visual elements that were great: the growing beanstalk, the giant, Donna Murphy's final exit.

I felt like all of the performances were much stronger than described during the first preview. O'Hare's Baker is probably my least-favorite, but I think it was good and will get better. I think I would forgive him more if the chemistry was better between he and Adams, but their relationship seems weak. O'Hare seemed to connect more strongly to Zien/Murphy. Strongest chemistry was between Glick and Stiles, for sure. Their Jack/Little Red interactions were funny and touching, as were their performances.

Sexy wolf didn't bother me, but man did he bother the guy sitting next to me! Definitely a more overt take on that role than I've seen before. Both Agony numbers got the solid response they always seem to get - enjoyable.

If last night was the improved Witch's transformation, I can't imagine the first night. After it already felt "too long" to me, I started counting "one banana, two banana..." in my head. I got to "18 banana" before it was over. However, did Donna Murphy look fantastic when it was over? Heck yeah she did.

Overall, I was really pleased with the evening and am super glad that my boyfriend sacrificed his day off to sit in line for tickets. We'll certainly be virtual lottery-ing later in the run, hoping to see this once it's tightened up a bit.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 10:33am

OK, so word was from the first performance that it was pretty messy and in need of A LOT of tightening. Well, I must say, I did not get that AT ALL from last night's performance. I think it already must be in a lot better shape than the first night. First public performance jitters I guess?

Now, there were a few minor line flubs. I counted four, one in the first act and three in the second. And there were a few very minor sound issues. So it's not quite there yet but I was definitely never thinking "this needs work." I think it'll probably be pretty set in a few days time.

I must admit that INTO THE WOODS is probably my least favorite Sondheim show. Whoever said earlier in this thread that the book is more successful than other Sondheim shows, I completely disagree. I think the book is very weak. Perhaps it is more accessible.

Now, because ITW is not sacred to me, that means two things. I don't know the score in and out like I do for most Sondheim shows, so perhaps I'm a little more lenient than others may tend to be. Also, I any sort of additional framing devices would probably bother me less than someone who adores the piece.

So that being said, I liked the "concept." The child narrator works well. I'm not going to say that the last scene/framing device particularly adds anything thematically to the piece. But I thinks it's interesting and rather clever.

The cast, I think is very good for the most part. I adore Amy Adams, she's one of my favorite film actresses working today. So it was great seeing her perform Sondheim. I've been waiting for her to do theatre forever. She doesn't stand out necessarily, but I think it's due to the nature of the piece. The Baker's Wife is not exactly a star role.

Denis O'Hare has always seemed like an odd choice for me. His singing is nothing to write home about, that's for sure. But his acting is fantastic, especially his comedic timing in act one. Donna Murphy is great, I feel like I don't even need to say it. She's perfect for the role. As I said, the whole cast is very good. Sarah Stiles as Little Red stood out to me. She brought a fresh take on the role and she's very funny.

The only thing that I'm kind of confused on is the costumes. I liked the witch's costume and Murphy looked awesome after the transformation (which is anticlimactic and long). As for the rest of the costumes, they were consistent with each other, but I'm not really sure what they were going for.

The show ran just over three hours, and definitely felt long at times. But I think it's due to the issues I have with the book.

Overall I enjoyed it a lot.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:19am

What in the world is with Adams' wig?? What is that?
And is that really how Murphy's Witch looks? I think Waddingham wore a mask in London. Updated On: 7/26/12 at 11:19 AM

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:20am

TalkinLoud - I think Into the Woods is always pretty long, while there's tightening up to do with this production, It's just not a "2:30 with intermission" show.

[dtzumbrunnen]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:23am

Adams wig didn't look quite that out of control, but close. Not a fan. That is what Murphy looked like (I think), it was hard to see exactly what her face looked like from row O on the side, but it didn't look like a full mask.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:26am

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. WTF is up with that wig?!?!

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:27am

By the time of her transformation, the Witch is wearing a larger mask. I believe they wanted the curse to get progressively worse as the midnights wore on.

[kyle4]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:29am

katief !!!

hey, how are ya?!

it was, indeed, a bug... specifically a GNAT...

i address this in my BLOG post...

GNAT"S ENTERTAINMENT !!!

http://thetheaterbuff.typepad.com/the-theater-buff/2012/07/into-the-woods-first-preview-thoughts-1.html

hope you guys are having a great day... i am running to the gym. talk later !!!

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 11:30am

I believe they wanted the curse to get progressively worse as the midnights wore on.

Oh, that's a pretty cool idea.