Posted: 8/1/12 at 2:55pm
The Public Theatre's Shakespeare/Park presents INTO THE WOODS -- Discussion — Page 29
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I believe it looked basically like this...as did the mugs, playbill and other merch.
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Posted: 8/2/12 at 9:55am
The biggest issue I found with the set was if you were sitting on the far sides of the stage, it was difficult to see the action on the opposite side. Like I was on the right and could not see the left side well at all. Still didn't completely ruin my experience though. I just wonder if it is easier to see if you are more centered.
I'm also going to agree here that Denis O'Hare is the weak link of the whole cast. His baker was just so dull it made me not care what happened to him. But, Sarah Stiles, Gideon Glick, Donna Murphy, and Amy Adams totally made up for him. The rest of the cast was better too. I just can't remember exact people or characters right now to comment on that.
The costumes didn't totally bother me, but some things were better than others. I just want to know what the idea was behind some. Like the Baker, Jack, and The Baker's wife were all wearing clothes that look like from older times, but the rest of them were not. That's the only thing I wonder about.
The child narrator was an interesting idea and I think it worked. If it had not worked out the way it did, it would be weird, I agree.
I do hope this transfers to Broadway. I would love to see it again.
Posted: 8/2/12 at 1:53pm
Posted: 8/2/12 at 3:44pm
Updated On: 8/3/12 at 03:44 PM
Posted: 8/2/12 at 4:55pm
The set, itself, is something to contend with. Aside from the sheer size of it, I feel like it is difficult for many of the characters to connect, particularly when one person is on an upper level talking to someone below. I dont think this is a reflection of the talent of the actors. The intricacy and physicality the set requires would take much longer than a week-long tech (especially one that was interrupted by rain!) to get used to.
I agree with most of the reviews on here regarding Denis OHares performance I found it lacking. There were moments I thought it worked, but the biggest problem I found was that there was no growth at the end. I would have loved to see him play the dopey mindless baker at the beginning and then, as he is forced to come into himself later in the show, be able to see a real change. But, I didnt see any character arc. His Baker was almost so ignorant it made me uncomfortable at times.
I found Jessie Mueller to be quite forgettable. Beautiful voice, but, just like OHare, I didnt see growth from a girl who cant make a decision in the beginning to a woman to steps up and takes charge when she needs to. (Sure, the character does step up, but I didnt see any motivation for this change in Muellers portrayal.) Overall, I didnt care about her character (or, even, particularly like her) and Cinderella is the character I usually relate to the most.
I was also disappointed with the princes. I loved Hernandez as the wolf, but he seemed to lose all energy and lost a lot of great moments as Cinderellas Prince. I saw the understudy for Rapunzels Prince and found him to be lacking in every way.
The stand outs for me were definitely Sarah Stiles (I think I saw more character growth in her than anyone else onstage and her energy was great - and big enough for such a set!), Donna Murphy (her relationship and feelings toward Rapunzel were strong and clear, which set true motivations for her overall performance, and easily showed the complexity of the Witch), and Amy Adams (a really great and likeable onstage presence).
I enjoyed the direction (although, SPOILER, I almost would have preferred to not know the child had run away until we see his Dad come looking for him at the end) and think its a great, solid production. Would be very interested to see how the show would shift if moved to Broadway (I think it actually might work better as they wouldnt have such a large space to contend with).
Side note, not sure if its already been mentioned in this thread, but I overheard one of the ushers telling someone that they rarely cancel due to rain, only if its thundering/lightening and dangerous for the actors and audience. They said they will sometimes take a break, have everyone exit the seats, clean the seats off, and start the show back up if the rain is hard enough. This was a big relief to hear, as it started lightly raining during the show (just another thing the cast had to think about in terms of a slippery set!).
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