Why was the Into the Woods revival.. — Page 2

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#26

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 9:31am

I hate the lyric change, it cut out the BEST part of that song for me.

PLEASE! Do not post anything negative or dramatic! DidYouReallyHearMe has LOST the ability to ignore such posts and he will comment! Please, help him.

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#27

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 9:35am

i've been back and forth on the lyric change...the original definitely SOUNDS better, but the revival recording definitely emphasizes a HUGE theme in the show...

"The good news is I have an excellent Tony speech. The bad news is I've had it for forty-five years."-Elaine Stritch

#28

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 9:52am

I wanted to see this after I learned what it was about. Probably not gonna get revived again anytime soon?

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#29

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 9:52am

I didn't mind the lyric change, as it made perfect sense in context.

I am one of the few people who greatly enjoyed this revival, including Vanessa Williams, whose Act 2 Witch I thought bested Peters'.

Greg Edelman and Christopher Seiber, in particular, should be doing standup comedy together. They had fantastic chemistry onstage.

The only ones I didn't like were Marylouise Burke (but she never should have been cast in the first place) and the Baker and his wife. DeRosa was just imitating Chip Zien, and while O'Malley was lovely, no one is ever going to do that role as well as Joanna Gleason.

#30

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:21am

Could someone post the new lyric?

Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken

#31

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:29am

Joanna Gleason owns that role, in fact, I think she stole the show from Bernadette. The revival Baker's wife was a hollow shell in comparision, especially against the star power of Williams.

#32

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:33am

THe new lyrics. It's the same up until the Witch threatens to take Jack (bear in mind she is cradling the Baker's son in her arms at this point)

No...
You're so pure
But stay here
And in time
You'll mature
And grow up
To be them
So let's fly
You and I,
Far away!

I'm the hitch
I'm what no one believes
I'm the Witch
They're all liars and theives
Like your father
Just like you will be, too-
Oh, why bother?
They'll just do what they do

(stays the same until)
I'm leaving you my last curse:

I'm leaving you alone
Squirming in the mess that you've made
Fix it on your own
Time for me to go, I'm afriad.

Back to what I know.
Back to long ago,
Safe inside the world that I'm from
Better ugly and spurned with my powers returned-

And I fear
Midnight's here
Time to disappear
Mother, here I come!

During all of the last part, she's been eating beans, and on "returned" she pulled out part of her hair, and revealed one arm to be turning ugly again. I think the changes fit more thematically.

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

#33

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:34am

The first change was that any of the "we"'s that the Witch sang were changed to "you." She more clearly separated herself from the others. The other change was in one particular verse.

She sang the new verse, posted above, directly to the child, whom she as holding in her arms. I thought the change was quite effective.

ETA: No need to post the lyrics, someone beat me to it.

Updated On: 6/21/08 at 10:34 AM

#34

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:40am

Did she take the child with her? Or did she give him back to the baker.

Wow. The Witch has some issues with needing children.

Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken

#35

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:43am

I love when people question the casting/direction/rewrites in the revival. They seem to forget one thing:

THE MAN WHO WROTE THE SHOW AND DIRECTED THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION ALSO DIRECTED THE REVIVAL!!!

I think somehow James Lapine the director knows what James Lapine the playwright had in mind when he wrote the damn thing.

#36

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:55am

The witch gives the child back.

While I prefer the OBC/original production, the revival was great on mnay levels.

Bernie and Joanna own those roles IMO.

"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES--- "THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS

#37

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:57am

Jon-
Well, he also did go on record by saying that the only reason he revisited the piece, was it was his only show (to that point) that had made any money. :/

The Witch does give the Baker the child before the bean scattering starts.

She has the child b/c (as I remember) he starts crying and she picks it up, and "Last Midnight" begins as a disturbing lullaby.

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

#38

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:57am

I absolutely hate the lyric change in "Last Midnight," I agree that the best part of the song was ruined.
The casting was awful all throughout, except for Williams, Benanti, Edelman, Sieber, and McMartin.
Vanessa Williams is no Bernadette Peters, but who is? She does an alright job as the Witch, and I find her to be tons better than McKenzie's awfully mannered and affected performance in the '91 London recording.
I think the problem is that, IMO, even those who are good on the recording, can't even begin to touch the magical original cast. Benanti makes Cinderella her own, but the humor and vulnerability that Kim Crosby brought to the role isn't matched by her.
I absolutely cannot stand the kid playing Jack, nor that awful Molly girl who attempts to play Little Red Riding Hood (and everybody talks about Joanna Gleason, but Danielle Ferland's shoes are just as hard to fill), and don't even get me started on the Baker and his wife.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

#39

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 11:04am

See, Benanti fell very flat for me. I didn't find any of the warmth or humor in her Cinderella.

The revival cast was very flat, and I still think the only thing that really stood out as being the best of it, was the set and costume design.

I actually was very bitter at the revival and it's de-materializing tour for a long time.

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

#40

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 11:31am

I thought this was a very good production, was fine with all the casting - especially Benanti, who was better in "Woods" than she is in "Gypsy". Furthermore, I thought the lyric changes helped "Last Midnight" a lot...a lot smoother and more thoughtful than the original ones.

#41

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 11:55am

Besides the addition of "Our Little World", the having an actor play Milky White, and the aforementioned lyric changes and the different physical production, was the revival ALL that different from the original?

What I mean to say is that why did Lapine get nominated for the revival?

"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music "Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70 "Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba

#42

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:06pm

Well, the "Our Little World' addition was a cut down version of the actual song.

Wasn't 2002 a week year musical wise again?

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

#43

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:10pm

Well there were only 2 nominated revivals that year. Oklahoma and Woods.

#44

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:42pm

I saw the original cast (on DVD) before I saw the revival. But I have to say that I love the revival.

The lyric change: I just listened to both now (and read them) and I have to say I have absolutely no idea what Bernadette was saying at all at the end. I also hate her singing voice. If I had to create a witch, I would want her humor but Vanessa's voice.

Jack: the guy in the revival actually sounded like a boy. the guy in the original sounded like he could be the Baker's brother.

the cow was better in the revival.

also, the original Last Midnight seems to go so fast. or it just could be because of Bernadette's vibrato.

Your Fault (the original): didn't have enough emotion. It's played on one level and that's it.

the princes: funnier in the revival

the best part of the original was that it came out. And Joanna Gleason.

<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.

-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
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Updated On: 6/21/08 at 12:42 PM

#45

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:47pm

Wow Dre, I completely disagree.

Of course it may not have been the original intention, but having Jack be played by someone who does not sound like a little boy, shows the irony in his character. He's naive, but he should be old enough not to be. Plus, he matures at the end of the show, and I did not feel the same way with the revival.

The cow was better in the revival? It took away from some of the moments. Hilarious? Yes. Necessary? No.

The Prince's (while conveying even more symbolism) were not as funny in the revival as in the original.

I respect what Lapine did in the revival, but I think the original was far, far better.

As for Bernadette, well I love her voice and her interpretation. But then again, I've loved every performance of hers!

"Light the candles! Get the ice out! Roll the rug up, it's today!"

Updated On: 6/21/08 at 12:47 PM

#46

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:51pm

When I was in the third grade I bought the revival cast recording Not knowing about the OBC recording and I have
to say the OBC cast is so much better but I do like the song
"our Little world"

#47

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:52pm

Third grade?????? How old are you now?

#48

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 12:54pm

On a whole, the OBCR to me, has low energy. Great recording, low energy.

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

#49

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 1:09pm

I actually thoroughly enjoyed the revival. I thought it was more slickly designed with a more "fun" and "twisted" look to it whereas the original production, I thought, took itself a bit too seriously. I thought Vanessa Williams was excellent (again not as good as Bernadette but great in her own right) and Laura Benanti was stunning...

I had issues with it as it wasn't a perfect production, but it was highly entertaining, and featured some really sharp performances. I liked it very much. (PS: I've always had many issues with the material, which I think has some moments of sheer brilliance but is way too long and at times a bit plodding.)

#50

re: Why was the Into the Woods revival..

Posted: 6/21/08 at 1:12pm

I enjoyed the revival and I loved Williams' "Last Midnight", including the lyric change,

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