The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion- Page 20

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:08pm

Milky White looks more pig than cow.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:17pm

Milky White in the Regent's Park production

[broadwaydevil]

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

From my vantage point, it looked like the mask covered her whole face the entire time. I was about halfway back and certainly her face didn't look as exposed as it did in that picture.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:24pm

She definitely dons a more obscuring mask in the scene of the transformation- the mic is a bit muffled because of it. Murphy also becomes more aged and tired sounding.

I just took it that once the quest is in motion, the curse is advanced- that way the stakes are raised for the Witch, as well. If the Baker fails, then she suffers as well.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 1:44pm

Ya, she becomes more wood like as the spell takes over.

I know this is silly but as she get progressively older sounding, does she sound like Mother Gothel?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 2:08pm

I love Amy Adams, but if she's fading into the ensemble, it isn't because of the part. Joanna Gleason never disappeared. At least not until, well, you know...

[wicked1492]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 2:10pm

The photo of Amy really doesn't show what her wig really looks like. It actually appears to be inspired by a "Gibson Girl" style. It's a huge flat bun that encompasses her whole head and looks a bit like this:

I was actually at the first preview and haven't put my 2 or 5 cents in yet, so here goes:

Sure it was a sloppy, nerve-ridden first preview, but I really think that when all the kinks are worked out and all of the "tricks" are figured out and sped up, it'll blow people's minds.

Cast-wise, the stand-outs for me were as follows:

Jessie Mueller...that voice is unreal and the fact that she has such incredible, real acting chops to back up her glorious voice is all the more impressive to me.

As mentioned several times before, the unexpected direction that Sara Stiles takes with Little Red is hysterical, refreshing and kinda sexy at times after she "Know[s] Things Now." I also didn't hate Little Red by the end, which I usually do, so HOORAY!

Ok, now don't come after me, but Dennis O'Hare was such a perfect Baker. Sure he doesn't have the most beautiful voice, but his portrayal was really great. I thought he handled his wife's death very well, waiting to deal with his grief in private.

Jack's Mother is one of my all-time favorite characters in all of musical theatre. I'm not sure why, but just go with it. Kristine Zbornik did an excellent job of creating a fresh interpretation of the character, however her interpretation was very brash and one-note, which cause a lot of her great jokes to fall short or even flat (which is consistent with several actors in this production)

Not much to say about these two, but two characters that usually don't leave much of an impact (Rapunzel and Cinderella's Stepmother) were more defined and impressive than I'd ever seen them, thanks to Tess Soltau and Ellen Harvey.

We all knew Donna would bring it and she sure did, it was just a little underwhelming that none of her choices seemed to surprise me. Most everything she did seemed like something I expected. And it was, of course, the first preview and she'll discover more as the run goes on. As for her mask that grows after each midnight, I definitely prefer the one here to the London one. For the majority of Act I her face is visible, which I much prefer to the Regent's Park production where 3/4 of her face was covered the whole time.

Amy Adams came off very musical-theatre-y and just not very real. Which is odd, because what I usually love about her film performances is her humanity and real-ness. First preview, she'll grow, blah blah blah.

The two princes were so typical for such an "out there, innovative" production. If you're going to take different directions with the character interpretations, why leave out the princes? I really loved how they handled the princes in London. Same with Gideon Glick as Jack. He was cute, sure, but nothing special like Ben Stott in the Regent's Park production.

Costume-wise, I felt like all of the costumes were coming from their own world. INTO THE WOODS is a mash-up of various fairy tales, but it is a cohesive story and I think the costumes should reflect that. I think that with some costumes and moments of direction, they sacrificed the original book and loyalty to the world to be innovative and edgy.

I wasn't a huge fan of The Baker from the London production, but one of the things that really stood out to me from that production was the obvious tension and need for a child that came from he and The Baker's Wife's performances and relationship. You could tell that they were not in a happy marriage and that this child was absolutely necessary to help mend the marriage. I didn't feel that tension or necessity from Amy Adams or Denis O'Hare.

Overall, I had a great time, but think tightening, more specificity and staying closer to the book that works SO well are necessary.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 2:18pm

Is it just me or does anybody else sick of the phrase "raise the stakes!?" As a writer/actor/director I TOTALLY get the meaning and neccesity but I feel there are a ton of directors out there who make terrible choices or feel the need to change things just to change them and use this as a justification. Like "Let's make Adelaide get progessively more and more pregnant as the show goes on! It'll raise the stakes and drive her necessity to marry Nathan!"

I actually loved the staging/concept/etc of the Regent Park production (have yet to see this one though). Just wanted to pick apart that phrase that sticks in my craw. haha

[wicked1492]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 2:20pm

Also, E. Davis, I've seen Tangled many more times than I'd like to admit, so of course when Donna would say "Rapunzel" or anything along the lines of a Mother Gothel related phrase, I couldn't help but think of Tangled. As the midnights progressed and she transformed more, I thought she sounded more and more like the aging Gothel.

Another thing about the mask before her transformation: this one covers most of her face and muffles her voice through that scene, so hopefully they can sort out a way for her to be more clearly understood.

[Holster2]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 4:48pm

I am almost positive that the witch's "muffled" voice was an intentional choice made by Murphy. The mask they removed didn't cover up her mouth.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 4:49pm

But it does cover her mic.

[Holster2]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 4:57pm

Oh? How do you know this? Are you a part of the production team?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:05pm

Man asks a lotta questions, don't he?

The why is not important.

Updated On: 7/26/12 at 05:05 PM

[wicked1492]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:11pm

Also, common sense is really useful sometimes. Mics are traditionally threaded through the hair and placed on the forehead (sometimes cheek or below the ear), which is covered by the mask, therefore obscuring the the mic.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:16pm

...Well, one cannot, without obstructing the mouth or mic, created the muffled effect on Murphy's voice in that transformation scene. She is speaking lower, sure, and with exhaustion. But it is the mask that is creating the muffled sound- it is covering much of her face. She's still perfectly audible, or at least I find she is.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:33pm

does the mask look like the Regent Park one?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:36pm

I have been watching various clips on YouTube of different production of Into the Woods, and I was wondering why some productions have the Witch holding the baby during Last Midnight and others do not.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:38pm

It may very well depend on which lyrics they are using. The "You're so pure..." lyrics sort of demand that she be singing to the baby.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 5:39pm

Regarding picture taking...kudos to the ushers at the Delacorte. They were on it with the picture taking. They were making people delete photos all over the place.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 7:34pm

Yeah, at least in the UK video, the Witch's concept seems to be kinda like the stage Beauty and the Beast (stay with me...) with the curse transforming them more and more.

Henrik said: "Didn't realize the period was updated from the original. How do people who've seen it feel about that (I say this not having seen the Regent Park production either)? "

It looks like, judging from these few photos, they toned it down costume wise from the original, where the costumes have a similarly fairly modern "thrown together" look but with a more punk sensibility (headphones, goggles, nose ring). In that production it worked for me--though oddly I never really thought about it being updated era wise, but I guess it is. It goes with the whole concept I think of the boy, who is meant to exist "now", and how he imagines these characters using ideas from people he would see on the street and kinda muddling them together.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 7:38pm

In that production it worked for me--though oddly I never really thought about it being updated era wise, but I guess it is. It goes with the whole concept I think of the boy, who is meant to exist "now", and how he imagines these characters using ideas from people he would see on the street and kinda muddling them together.

I felt the same way about the Regent's Park production. The semi-modern/eclectic costume design worked well for the production. I could have done without the headphones on Cinderella, but other than that I didn't mind it.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 8:54pm

I don't think the mask growth is that obvious or needed, it's just excess baggage, da Murph is a great enough actress to show that time is running out without an octopus growing on her face. When she entered for the transformation scene I thought, oh her face is covered because it's a different actress and Donna is titafying for her reveal, but her voice was def coming from her and it was just more junk to take off her during the transformation which is a total fail. First night her hair looked like it had been under a wig cap for an hour. It wasn't untill her next entrance when her hair looks all fiery and fantastic. Amy's wig is huge, makes her look smaller yet, but I liked her after sex look of a wispy looser coif.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 8:56pm

What does Donna's post-transformation dress look like?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/26/12 at 9:14pm

So I take it they're singing the revival lyrics during "Last Midnight"? Ugh, I find those lyrics pretty atrocious and unnecessary, but then again, the original version is one of my favorite Sondheim songs and definitely my favorite song in the show.
Murphy looks absolutely wonderful in the picture, not loving Adams' wig but it does serve to frump her up a little (is that necessary for the character? definitely a different question). Very excited to hear how this production evolves throughout the preview process.

[ClydeBarrow]

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

This is somewhat off-topic but I thought I would ask it here since it's still Sondheim related.

Does anyone know why several songs from Sondheim on Sondheim were cut from the soundtrack (including "Ever After" from ITW)? "Ah, But Underneath" was the highlight of the show and also what Vanessa Williams performed on talk shows so I was especially surprised to see that not make the cast recording. I could have used those songs instead of every bit of dialogue.