Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
#1Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:10pmDoesn't it seem like they could have done a better casting job, I was just listening to the recording and thinking. There could have been tons of other actors or actresses who could have done a better performance?
#2re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:12pmThe world may never know why they made some of the casting decisions that they did.
"Leave Walt Disney Theatricals new sparkling production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway alone!!!"
lakezurich will be played by Paul Groves in the BWW musical
NoDecencyLeft
Swing Joined: 7/1/05
#2re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:29pmI don't think it was that badly cast at all. John McMartin is A-list and was perfect in the role(s). Laura Benanti and Greg Edelmann were wonderful together. Mary Louise Burke was fun. The kids they cast for Jack and Little Red were talented. Kerry O'Malley and whoever played the baker were solid if nothing special. Vanessa Williams was stunt casting but there's no question she knows how to hold her own on a Broadway stage.
NYC_or_Bust
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/8/05
#3re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:30pmThanks Paula Abdul..
NoDecencyLeft
Swing Joined: 7/1/05
#4re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:35pmThere were also wonderful moments in this production that you can't appreciate from listening to the recording if you didn't see it.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#5re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:37pm
Vanessa (Witch), John (Narrator/M.M.), Laura (Cinderella), Gregg & Christopher (The Princes) and Chad (Milky-White) were all amazing.
Kerry O' Malley (Baker's Wife) was...serviceable. It's very hard to satisfy in that part, since Joanna Gleason basically has a copyright on it.
And Stephen (Baker), Adam (Jack), and Marylouise (Jack's Mother)? UGH. Can't bear to listen to them. I've made my distaste for this particular revival well known in the past, but I have to do it again. Most of the casting was simply horrendous and hiring someone like Adam Wylie, who has the most grating voice on the planet, or Marylouise Burke, who doesn't even have a voice, is a huge slap in the face to all the talented gypsies out there who COULD handle those parts. Hell, a upturned broom with a bucket for a head could get laughs as Jack's Mother, and you could fill the Gershwin with all the Broadway actors who could handle "Giants in the Sky".
Ole Chum
Leading Actor Joined: 12/6/07
#6re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:38pm
i saw the show in college and i dont think it was poorly casted at ALL...
standout in my memory was marylouise burke and christopher sieber. vanessa williams was fine in the role... i saw laura benanti's u/s (duh) but im sure she was fine as well.
didnt love the show, but didnt think there any big missteps in casting.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#7re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:43pm
I mean, the recording's pretty bad too, but the show wasn't completely AWFUL.
The Good:
-The ending lyric changes to "Last Midnight"/Vanessa's final transformation
-The complete destruction the stage was left in, which not only made the last part of Act Two heartbreaking, but called to mind the all-too-recent events of 9-11
-The cast members I mentioned before
-The dancing cow
The Bad:
-Random tempo changes. WTF? James Lapine, if it ain't broke...
-Vanessa singing to the baby
-Ribbon dance during "Ever After". DOUBLE WTF?
-Ending change to "On the Steps of the Palace"...OK. Not only does it denigrate Cinderella's big song, but it makes no sense. Jack and Little Red already had their "I learned" songs, so why do they have to butt in here?
-The dancing cow (got distracting once in a while. That can be fixed by something we like to call DIRECTION)
#8re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woods?
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:43pmI'm still the only person in the world who loved Adam Wylie.
heo1128
Broadway Star Joined: 7/9/08
#9re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:45pm
"Thanks Paula Abdul..."
Bahahahahah!!
gypsy4
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/07
#10re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:45pmI really liked the revival cast.
#11re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/18/09 at 10:45pmI never saw the production but from the sound of some of their voices it just seemed like some dull and nothing special casting for the majority of the cast
#12re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 2:33amAm I the only one who doesn't mind Marylouise burke singing everything an octave lower? I think it works.
PiraguaGuy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/08
#13re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 7:34amShe didn't even sing!
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#14re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:03am
>Ending change to "On the Steps of the Palace"...OK. Not only does it denigrate Cinderella's big song, but it makes no sense.<
"I Know Things Now," "Giants in the Sky" and "On the Steps of the Palace" have the same accompaniment figure running throughout them, so Sondheim has musically linked them with each other. And of course, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and Cinderella do end up as an extended family with the Baker at the end, although we don't know that at that point. I think the end of "On the Steps of the Palace" in the revival was meant to to just thematically tie those characters together in the audience's mind, even before Act Two happens.
#15re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:34am
I liked the revival a lot and thought the cast was great... until I saw the DVD of the original cast. The OBC was far superior to the revival cast, with the exception of Laura Benanti as Cinderella and Vanessa Williams (though I'm not really a fan) as the witch. I'm not saying that Laura and Vanessa were BETTER than the originals, just that they were fine.
And I liked the dancing cow.
#16re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 8:56am
At the time, I didn't know more than half of them, but after having seen the show twice, I wouldn't say anyone was 'miscast.' Just... different from the OBC who basically own the roles... at least in my mind.
I liked the way they did Milky White in the revival better, though 
timesquare01
Stand-by Joined: 10/6/07
#17re: Was anybody else puzzled by the casting of 2002 revival of Into the Woo
Posted: 1/19/09 at 9:20am
I listened to the CD probably for 5 months and then found a bootleg of the show. So I guess you can say I've "seen" the production.
Vanessa Williams made some very interesting choices with the role acting wise her vocals on the CD were fine, but watch any live performance on yt and its nothing promising at all.
Laura Benanti I LOVED, not as much as Kim Crosby, but I did love Laura's interpretation of the material so much. All of her "he's a very nice prince.." lines were all so unique and clear in meaning.
Stephen DeRosa and Kerry O'Malley were BLAND and FORGETTABLE. not the people I would ever choose to carry a show. Kerry sings/speaks like a Disney Princess in DisneyWorld half of the time and it leaves little emotion in her voice.
Adam Wylie. Well, PiraguaGuy2 said it best, "you could fill the Gershwin with all the Broadway actors who could handle "Giants in the Sky"." And Adam would not be in that theatre. During the Act two opening his voice stands out as flat in my right ear bud. And he drops out of the (added) chord at the end of Steps... I assume he didn't do harmony well, either? Idk, maybe I'm harsh on him, but Jack is the number one dream role for me, it's so close tomy heart that I'm critical of every Jack I've seen. lol
Gregg Edelman & Christopher Sieber had PERFECT comedic timing with these roles, but I don't like their voices or the way their voices sound together. There was nothing royal about their voices, they sound like high schoolers at some points.
Melissa Dye was a knockout as Repuzel, though. I loved the tone in her voice that was so drastically differant than Pamela Winslow. She was a stronger comedienne, too.
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