Dude, the puppeteers of the Broadway production genuinely steal the show. Like, I was so skeptical of seeing "puppeteer" in the cast list (I didn't look up reviews or anything before seeing it). But the two puppeteers are truly stars of that show.
@@MrsRen it’s so true!! That part where milky is brought back to life and the witch tells the puppeteer to come from off stage the way the audience applauds for Kennedy the puppeteer was wild! He and his puppeteering is wonderful
My mother pointed out to me that the Broadway version of Milky White really reminds me of my new dog, which is why I might have loved it so much. But Kennedy does an amazing performance (as does the other puppeteer whose name escapes me) and the puppet is wonderfully expressive and hilarious.
Fly over to America and see our production. It's perfection! I've seen it four times and I already have tix for closing night. Also, my friend from high school (who I did "Into the Woods" with back in 1996) is Patina's understudy. I saw her go on, it was her Broadway debut, and she killed it. I'm so in love with this production, I think it may be better than the original. I love the minimalism. It makes you really concentrate on the story.
I've not seen this production but from what you say (as well as other reviews I've come across), it essentially sounds like the biggest misstep they made was doing the one thing you absolutely shouldn't do with a Sondheim show (especially a Sondheim/Lapine show) which is play it as seriously and humourlessly as possible. I don't think it's something that's appreciated enough even within the general musical theatre fandom but Sondheim shows, even the darker ones like Assassins and Passion and Sweeney Todd, have fairly substantial moments of genuine hilarity, often practically begging to be performed in a very "broad comedy" manner - actually, Passion may be the exception but even that has the 'Soldier's Gossip' sections plus some of the conversations between Fosca and Giorgio can be funny in a very *very* dark way... And it's especially true of Into The Woods - there's a *lot* in the first act that intentionally borders on outright farce (even without holding to the high comedy in the original Broadway production as "the standard") and I'd argue it's part of the point of the show that the first act should be done in a very light, playful and comedic manner since it emphasises the complete tonal shift into tragedy and drama that the 2nd act takes; there are certainly moments of darkness in the first act but on the whole, it's an outright comedy. If things are generally fairly humourless/dark/creepy right the way through except when it comes to a handful of performances, it doesn't hit nearly as hard when the characters start dying, nor does it help to show just how thoroughly unprepared the characters themselves are to deal with the deadly serious environment their world suddenly becomes. Your comments about It Takes Two are a great example: if we're not given the opportunity to see the Baker and his Wife have a genuinely fun and happy and loving, if at times difficult, marital relationship and to spend the song focusing on that and that alone (since the vast majority of their time is otherwise spent bickering with each other), pretty much the entire last third of the show ultimately means very little.
I'm so sad for you that this production wasn't well-directed from a cast perspective, because Brian d'Arcy James fucking ripped my heart out through my tear ducts with his "No More" on Broadway. (NPH was good in the Encores production before it transferred, but Brian... oof.)
I can't agree that this was a 3/5. I too am a huge fan of this musical and I couldn't stop beaming the entire way through. It was an intelligent reimagining that took risks and shocked its audience, staying largely true to the original material while putting a suitably dark and wildly imaginative twist on the staging. While I agree with everything you said in terms of the casting, I don't think the lack of heart was sufficient enough to lose two marks.
The current Broadway revival is spectacular (I saw it before the cast change). The show really moves at a good pace and I think that they mined the comedy so well. The production was not going for spectacle or gimmicks which kept the focus on these brilliant performances (including Milky). All the attention and accolades given to this revival are well deserved.
Omg thank you so much. I designed and made Milky White! I’m so chuffed you loved her. I’m sad you didn’t love the show as a whole, I did think it had beautiful moments and adored Jon Abuser’s set design. There had been ambitious plans for the opening that had to be cut at last minute and I guess it never really found a substitute for the initial plan. And the tricky moments that ended up being projections are more a case of literally not having any more space back stage to hide the extensive scenery and giant puppet…I’m told most theatres don’t have nearly as much back stage space as The Theatre Royal Bath.
I'm honestly a bit baffled by how many productions have added a child character to frame the story. It confuses the role of the narrator and makes "Children Will Listen" feel twee and overly literal instead of reflective and melancholic.
I hiked from Bristol to Bath the day I saw this show and the set was just so impressive. Worth the price of entry alone. I agree with the business suit, if they keep it let the audience burn it at the end of each show as a relief from it, it's dire. I will also agree that some of the jokes land flat (some of us don't like the way your telling it, was criminally played flat and harkens back to the disney movie). But milky white and any set based comedy was top knotch. I was not expecting the house fall in act 2 and when the baby giant legs FELL DOWN I couldn't believe they did that. Charming and quaint are the words I would use to describe this performance
I love Woods. I played in the band for a production in 2016 and came to the conclusion that Sondheim hates musicians 😂 His music is soooo hard to play.
I think he did hate instrumental musicians, but loved singers. I've been both an instrumental musician, and a vocal musician. I've sung a number of Sondheim's songs. He writes for acting singers, and it's not insurmountable to sing even his most vocally demanding songs. But he writes music that is very difficult for instrumental musicians to play.
Thank you so much for this video! I’m actually seeing the Broadway revival tomorrow and I cannot wait. There’s just been a major cast turnover and I should hopefully see Stephanie J Block and Sebastian Arcelus and a host of other wonderful actors. I’ve never got to see Into the Woods live, and this is my first trip properly visiting NYC aside from a weekend trip to see Hamilton back when it first transferred to Broadway. So far I’ve seen Hadestown (absolutely wonderful, and it still made me cry even though I’ve been following it from NYTW-Edmonton-London-Broadway) and Little Shop of Horrors (Lena Hall and Rob McClure are the newest Audrey and Seymour and they were sheer perfection, especially with Rob’s physical comedy chops and puppeteering experience, and it is such a gift to see a stacked cast of talented actors in a 270-seat venue). Tonight is Moulin Rouge and tomorrow is a two-doe-shay of Into the Woods and A Strange Loop. Thank you, too, for your channel and content more broadly. I was lucky enough to live in London for a few years and get my theatre fix; normally I would visit every other year, but with life and the panini I haven’t been back since 2015, so watching your videos makes me remember so many happy times and places. I’m hoping to come back in the spring, so you’re also helping me decide what looks good on the menu 😊
It’s a truly crap production played just for laughs. They tramp all over the JAmes Lapine book as if it’s a pure comedy piece. There is zero chemistry between the baker and his wife even though they are married in real life. A waste of time and money. Just rubbish.
@@nanite53 Sorry, I don’t stage door, so I can’t help you there. I don’t know if it’s permitted at the St James, but several other theatres I visited this week explicitly prohibited stage dooring due to Covid.
i also saw this production! it was the first production on into the woods i have ever seen- i haven’t even seen the movie 😅 i really enjoyed the staging and set much like you did, the story was slightly confusing but that probably stems from my lack of knowledge of the the show!! cast wise- jack and little red were probably my standouts, giants in the sky was really fun and also unexpected, and i found little red actually really funny in this 😭 this might’ve just been my audience, but where i feel people were supposed to laugh sometimes, they didn’t- so then it was slightly awkward for a second or too, i pretty much agree with almost everything you said though! :)
I really think the key to gaining the audience's emotional investment in the show it to get them laughing through the first act, and then completely pulling the rug out from under their feet with the devastation of the second act.
I went to see this with my family last week and I totally agree with everything you said, although I've never seen into the woods before so i don't really have anything to compare this performance to other than a video analysing the music that I saw a while ago. My dad (who says he really hates musicals but in reality likes them occasionally) did enjoy it but said that it got "too musically" for him. This could be him not liking the material itself but I feel like if the thing you mentioned about emotional connection with the characters was 'fixed' he would have enjoyed it a lot more as he wouldn't have felt that they were "singing for no reason" as much. He also complained about the opening number "dragging on a bit" and I think if the witch and jack's mother were played as more comedic/funny characters that would have broken it up a bit for him, especially as he came out saying how much he loves the actress of the witch's singing voice and making her more comedic (and more tragic in the second act) would have really solidified this for him. Love the video! x
Thanks for your spot on review. I just got back to California last night from a week in Bath. I saw Into The Woods on Friday the 9th. YES! So many complicated feelings about this show, and having seen it on my own it is nice to hear another's experience of it. Visually, it was pretty spectacular. I loved the Toy Theater concept. I did not think the young "are you ready?" girl concept was sufficiently developed. It felt tacked on (as of course it was) and quite amateur. If one is going to go there, this concept might be better as some sort of animated silhouette... anything to make her more iconic and less specific. As it was, it just felt like they hired someone's daughter who had little acting experience. It just started the show awkwardly. I appreciated the excellent enunciation of the lyrics across the board. Quite important with Sondheim and Into The Woods in particular. The lyrics are so dense and loaded with ideas. I have listened to the Broadway and West End cast albums for years, so I had to battle with my memories of those same lyrics being delivered more effectively. I kept having to ask myself, "Is this just because I am used to hearing it in a certain way? Or am I just not getting the meaning of the lyric here because it is delivered poorly?" I think that you are right. So much focus was on conceptual aspects that the heart of the show was lost. I rarely felt connection between the characters. The Baker and his Wife had zero chemistry. I did not believe they loved each other. The Baker had a very gentle approach to the role, and though I can see the argument for the choice, he became a weak cypher at the center of the show. The Baker's Wife was stronger on all counts - and yet I didn't find her sympathetic. Amazing voice. Her acting was fine... I just wished she had more charm. Arguably if the Baker had seemed more in love with her? Maybe that was the missing ingredient. I was not shocked by her infidelity, and I should have been. It Takes Two felt empty without a relationship at the center of it. If he had a stronger voice, perhaps that would have helped, but he came off as such a weak character. The night that I went, he never succeeded in throwing the noose over the branch and it reinforced this idea that he is such a weak character that he even gives up on killing himself. It was a strange directorial choice. (And I understood the Mysterious Man to say that he was the Baker’s father in that scene… but then I wasn’t sure why he was carrying a scythe after he was killed… it was very confusing…. Or should I say mysterious? But not in a good way.) Cinderella also lacked likability. Her voice was great, and she has a good instinct for physical humor, but I didn’t care about her. I liked Jack and Little Red - both performers delivered 100%. They both completely worked for me. The No One Is Alone number was strange. Jack and Little Red want to kill the Giant. Cinderella and the Baker say, “Wait! Even a giant has a point of view, we should consider other points of view” Then they all agree to kill the giant, completely negating any message of the song other than “It’s okay to kill people if you feel a little guilty about it first”. I’d never noticed the pointlessness (within the plot) of that beautiful song before seeing this production. The Witch has a powerful set of pipes but she played the whole show on one emotional note. She had zero sense of humor. And that orange power suit? OMG that was a head scratcher that threw me out of the show. I found myself trying to figure out the rationalization for the choice… is she supposed to be a barbie now? But Barbie would be too big for that little toy theater… It just did not fit. And I completely lost track of the scene every time she was on stage as it made no sense. So… yes, complicated feelings. Visually stunning (except for the moments when it was head scratching), beautiful voices, and great material. But it lacked subtlety. A joke can be painful and funny at the same time. Beauty can be sad. This show missed a lot of nuance. And yes, Milky White was great.
I also saw Juliet Stevenson in The Doctor on Tuesday night before I left. Great acting but directorial choices made it very confusing. Actors playing other genders and ethnicities is fine, but the audience needs to be let in on who is playing what earlier in the show. Most everyone is wearing white lab coats - so you don't have much of a clue there, and for instance two characters were arguing whether a black doctor was deserving of a particular job... long scene, heated discussion... it was not clear who they were talking about. The character in question was played by a white actor who had been pretty obnoxious (but I didn't realize he was the subject until long after the argument), but deep into the play we learn that the black male actor on stage was playing a white Jewish doctor... it helps to know who people are if the entire plot is centered around issues of ethnicity and gender. Good intentions but terrible storytelling. Just before the intermission I discovered that the Asian woman who seemed to be playing an intern? or a resident? but was on the executive board... really not sure who her character was, but finally it was revealed that she was a white religious man. The surprise should have been that the character was religious, but the switch in ethnicity and gender upstaged that. Very confusing. When intermission arrived in a particularly tense moment, Juliet Stevenson sits with her back facing the audience and a drummer starts playing a repeating sequence as the lights go up... the audience wasn't sure whether to get up or not. Everyone kept waiting. The drummer didn't stop. The same two measures over and over and over... Eventually folks got up to leave for the lobby. I had intended to read during intermission but the drum got too impossible after a bit. It was nonstop and crazy making. Finally I had to ask myself if staying was worth enduring the drum. It wasn't. Why sit around for another hour and a half of people yelling at each other? And the plot itself seemed - though theoretically relevant to present social media issues - it made no sense as written. The hospital would have had solicitors at work immediately and the issue would have been silenced quickly. But at no point was a solicitor ever mentioned, which got hard to believe at a certain point. Strange man off the street was not allowed into minor juvenile's room while she lay dying because there was no legal permission from the parents. No paperwork. It is irrelevant that he was a priest. No paperwork to allow it, case closed. But instead it becomes a major thing about religion... there could be a valid script written about the issue, but this wasn't it. It becomes tedious to listen to people arguing ad nauseum about something that would have been easily handled by a legal department. So, I left at intermission and I can't say that I even wondered how the story resolved itself. But the actors did well with what they were given.
Having seen the production photos online, I was very curious to hear about the execution of the show. Much like some of the quibbles I had watching the filmed outdoor version from London, it seems that directors "re-imagining" ITW with too much "concept" do so at their peril. Much like the boy playing with his action figures/dolls in the outdoor filmed version, the Bath production leading audiences along a similar journey into the girl's toy box (based on your telling) exposes gaps in the overall concept about narrative POV. I'm glad you found things to really love about the show despite its directorial shortcomings. If you can find the means and the opportunity to see the NYC revival before January, make every effort. I saw it last month before the cast change, and it was everything the show should be. Though semi-staged with the (great!) onstage orchestra, it rightfully brought focus to the performers and the story. The director and cast made really interesting and clever choices that were surprising, and which worked well. Examples: Cinderella's married scenes with her prince. Little Red and the Wolf. Everything involving Milky White. A truly, truly great evening of theatre. As enjoyable as when I saw the original production back in '88 (Phylicia Rashad was my witch back then, after Bernadette exited).
I'm so sorry you can't make it to New York to see the current all-star revival. It is superb! (And I saw the original.) The two kids are the best I've ever seen and the big names all acquit themselves admirably. And the best Milky White!!
I was so interested to find out your thoughts on this, especially since a mutual friend of ours had also made the journey to see it. We had both performed in am amateur production of it and it has a very special place in our hearts, as it does for a lot of people. He basically said everything you have so I will wait and see if they make any changes before and indeed IF, it transfers to the West End. Aside from Regents Park, which is the only other version I have seen; the most funny and moving version WE saw (because I was with our mutual friend at the time) was an "amateur" version in Brighton by The Chocolate Box Theatre company, patron Alan Rickman. Sadly, I think this company may have folded without Alan's patronage after his death because this version was truly incredible and made me fall in love with this show. It was performed in an old church with a "real" wood of silver birches lit in pools of moonlight and very immersive. Each character came and sat by the audience when they were not performing. Just one pianist accompanied the actors and yet both musically and visually it was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen and will stay with me forever.
Great review! It’s such a stunning production but it really is lacking dramatically and emotionally. Didn’t stop me from sobbing during no one is alone but I think that‘s because the material is strong enough that it works in spite of the production I was also upset about milky white upstaging it takes two, let Alex Young do her thing!
It's sad how many talented people have shown themselves to be bitter reactionary jerks lately, and it's even worse that Into the Woods was dragged down by it.
I didn't see this production but I saw the current Broadway revival and it was brilliant except I had a similar complaint. Patina Miller also played the witch very seriously and tossed aside all the great jokes. I almost wonder if actors are scared to lean into the humour because how do you top Bernadette?
I saw what I think was the last big Broadway revival starring Vanessa Williams as the witch. It was fine, I enjoyed it, but I don't see how anyone could ever beat the perfection of Bernadette for me. PS. Vanessa is also a woman of color playing the witch. :)
If you see a “meh” show of Into the Woods, that’s not good, in my opinion. If someone gives it a three star review, then that’s the fault of the director, not the actual metrical, as a director, and a writer. From the description of the set design it seems the director communicated WAY more to the set/prop crew than to the rest of her team, which is a no-no in theatre. Unless you do want a three start type of review, than go ahead and only communicate with only one department and not the rest. I agree with Jo, bc the direction could’ve gone MUCH better!
Really love your comments here, went a few times to see the show as TRB is quite close to me :)The design elements really were fab, but sadly some acting / directing choices let the piece drag with some performance styles clashing. It was clear that the cast were becoming so much more comfortable in their roles towards the end of the run, so fingers crossed for some reworking and then a transfer !!
but this doesn’t warrant 2 stars off though .. ;) ITW really is a mammoth of a show, what this version had, the Broadway one lacked. With final elements tweaked, it’ll be the best of the best
Into The Woods, is now on Broadway until January 8TH. St. James Theatre. New York Times review, " Should you go ? Of course, you should ! " Stephen Sondheim musical is always special.
Yikes, I'm appreciating the Broadway revival and Eric Idle (my favourite Python) even more now. Good review. Firm, but fair analysis. Also, your moral compass and wit is something to admire.
I loved your review it was very honest but truthful I saw this production I did love it because of the physical spectacle for example props. However, witches rap is supposed to be one of the biggest MT songs but it just didn’t feel like it landed. I think the mask also altered Nicolas vocals. No one is alone didn’t give me those goosebumps and where I felt my heart shatter. I think they 100% needed to add more emotion to the characters and add onto the acting through song.
I became biased against casting an actor for Milky White from a children's theater version of Into the Woods I saw as a kid. But with your review and the amount of attention the Broadway revival's Milky White is getting, I'm willing to give it another try.
I play Milky White this year for my schools production. For the cow with the most amount of stage time and most favorite My director is having me in a costume and does nothing but sit on a stool.
Unfortunately Terry Gilliam is always style over substance, so it came as no surprise that this is no different. I cannot get behind cutting the Bakers father. No More is the heart of the show for me. I wish (no pun intended) that there was more video footage of the 1990 OLC of Into The Woods. Vastly different from the Broadway run and much darker. Probably because that was the version I saw first, it's the definitive production for me. The way they dropped the dead body of the Narrator (Nicholas Parsons) onto the stage from the flies was both shocking and hilarious.
I had the pleasure (?) of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway in 2011 and afterward one of my classmates described it as a "turd covered in sprinkles" and it sounds as though that is an apt analogy for this production as well.
@@jimontiveros9435 so Sarah just does it so differently than anyone else ever has and listening to her gives you chills. Stephanie was wonderful. She had just taken the role the week I saw it and since I know the show so well I could see a couple mistakes but she still made the show what it was that night.
I gotta say I can't fully agree with your argument that the original production must best reflect the authors' intent (my paraphrase; please forgive me if I've mischaracterized your point). At a minimum, that seems pretty overstated. James Lapine himself directed a revival that made significant changes to the intention, most notably in fully connecting the Narrator to the Mysterious Man -- that had originally been nothing more than a cost-cutting measure, but John McMartin played the Narrator like his entire legacy depended on this story being told (an improvement, in my view). I would agree that the original shouldn't be discarded out-of-hand, but as Stephen Sondheim mostly felt, slavish devotion is at least as bad. Late in life, he did get peevish about directors who impose their concept at the expense of the text, which it sounds as though Gilliam and Co. may be guilty of. But he also welcomed new interpretations. E.g. To him, the staircase was this incredibly important visual metaphor at the very heart of "Passion" and he couldn't imagine a staging without it (mostly because of the impression it made in the original film, from what I gather). But when the Kennedy Center threw out the stairs, he couldn't wait to see how they did it (stunningly was the consensus).
Cast recordings or filmed performances honestly need to become the standard, not just for high-budget productions, honestly. Otherwise only UK and US people get to see all these musicals
Did the witch sing Last Midnight more as an angry screed like Bernadette Peters did (brilliantly) in the original production, or closer to a lullaby as Vanessa Williams did in the first broadway revival (which I saw pre-broadway in LA and loved) and many subsequent productions have adopted? I personally think it works better as a lullaby because, at least when Vanessa performed it, it was soft and comforting, but still with an underlying menace.
The actress played most of the show with a pretty heavy tone. As an audience member I kept wishing she'd back off and play the role with a lighter touch. So many of her lines and lyrics have dual meanings that can be both funny and dark, soul baring or biting, but she mostly played it all one note. Last Midnight was of a piece with the rest. She mostly sounded angry in her delivery. She has a great set of pipes, no question there, but I wish she had found more levels... that she had played with other tactics. The witch needs to be a little seductive (even when she is not beautiful), she needs to tease and toy with people. But this performance mostly centered on threatening and yelling at the other characters. The orange suit did not help her at all.
The current Broadway production is very much the polar opposite of what you’ve described. Minimalist staging, just focusing on the interactions between the leads. No stage wizardry or gimmicks, just getting to the hear of the show which is the people and their interactions. I’m seeing comments that the NY production was too funny…that’s-ridiculous. The humor HAS to balance the saccharine nature of fairy tales in act one, AND the tonal shift/horror of act two . Taking the humor out of Sondheim is what Tim Burton did in the Sweeney Todd film, and for a multitude of reasons THATS why it was a complete and total unmitigated disaster, and it sounds like that’s the problem with this Gilliam production.
Into the Woods is very close to my heart as well. I have seen several productions from the brilliant one lately shown on Boradway to one performed in a backyard by my hs friends. I have run lines with my brother as the princes and I have played claninet in a regional production. One of my friends who came to see the broadway one with Parina Miller and Sara Barillels did not get act 2. He just thought it was really random. How do i talk to this man? It is such a powerful show and he just didn’t get it. I know this is not an uncommon response but I still don’t know how to explain to them.
Into the Woods is really an easy show to explain. I once saw an interview with Stephen Sondheim and he explained it like this. Going back to the original Grimms brothers Fairy tales all stories have a common theme of the woods. Act one is all about the fairy tales we have come to love and each character has to travel through the woods to complete the tasks to get their "Happily Every After". Act two is what happens after "Happily Ever After". As the narrator in the show says "all is not as it appears" Every character suffers a major tragedy. but the song "No One is Alone" is the hope that everything will be fine in the end if we rely on each other.
I saw the current Broadway production in August and it really is amazing. Perfect casting for nearly everybody. The only casting criticism I have is the Baker's Wife. Too pop, not enough acting.
Into the woods made my daughter fall back in love with musical theatre. She had fallen out after a dance school stripped the joy of it, they would just stand to sing. She was a Yr 7 and played Jack, (think she is getting typecast as she was gaston last year (covid stopped school musicals) and at her new theatre school she is auditioning for plankton. Over covid she had a workshop with kerry butler from beetlejuice and sang giants in the sky. Now she is working on her audition to goto her theatre school full time for a diploma after her gcses. She wants to work somewhere in stage wether on the stage or back stage.
It sounds like the witch was miscast. It doesn’t sound like a directorial issue but more of the actress not understanding and/or not being able to key into the comedy. They may need to do some recasting if it transfers. If they can get the right actors and develop the relationships, they could have a hit with theatre production design.
Gilliam should have just designed the show, partner with the team of designers and set the overall theme of the show. Then have a director who can actually create something with the cast, seems like he didn’t have the emotional connection.
Honestly, I’m kind of disappointed that you didn’t actually discuss the controversy surrounding this production at all. If you just watched this video, you’d have no idea what Gilliam said. It seems like if you’re going to give Gilliam your money by buying a ticket to this production, the least you could do is actually take a stand against his derogatory comments.
I feel like ITW sometimes falls victim to the Godspell treatment; basically, "how many different ways can we stage this show"? I've seen Godspell re-imagined in so many different settings. Sometimes it works to the show's benefit... but other times, it feels like they just tried to stage it in a way that no one's done before. When you're changing the traditional storytelling of a show, I feel like it should serve some sort of greater purpose; such a bummer to hear that that's sort of lacking in this production.
Bet this and mickey offend you guys way more then the Disney approved of film adaptation. Which did poorly enough that immediately after pg film adaptation came out that disney probably got the rights taken away very soon after words.
Into The Woods “not produced that often over here”? Ok, not sure I agree with that. Opera North did it in Leeds recently, Royal Exchange Manchester did it recently. It was done in Belfast with a great cast this year. Do these productions not count became they are “north”? Your hair is looking great, well done. Those vlogs…. Not so much.
I was lucky enough to see it a couple of weeks ago too. I adored the staging and scenery, but the aside from that I found it lacking. The humour felt like bad pantomime and didn’t really hit right, and it was totally lacking in emotion. It has so much potential but it isn’t what I was hoping for just yet.
This seems like a rather emotionally dishonest response in that your dislike of Gilliam attributes all of the poor actor directing to him apart from that single acknowledgement of the co-director's existence @ around 17 minutes. I also found the production flawed, but tend to feel both directors were responsible for this. The cast and casting were uneven. And yes, that orange witch costume was hideous- and poorly fitted!
If you want to see a truly @cr*p production of Into The Woods and pay over $200 for the privilege, hurry over to the St James’s Theatre , Broadway. Here you will see a cast that milks every line for laughs, gurning at the audience, romping around as if they are in a panto comedy. Even two usher s I spoke to wished the Theatre Royal Bath production could be transferred. The New York version was heavily over praised when it started off as a semi staged Encores version but has coarsened considerably since its move to Broadway. There is zero drama now in the piece and the act two wit it’s darker tones just implodes with the audience hooting with laughter when it should be full of regret and loneliness. The new Bath production is spectacular whatever you say or as they say in the piece ‘careful what you wish for’. You may end up with the worst Into the Woods I’ve seen from Broadway as it rips dollars from your wallet.
I will agree with you that the current Broadway production is easily the funniest Into the Woods I have ever seen. And I loved it. I only saw it 3-weeks before the Bath production so I really noticed how many laugh lines were thrown away.
It's become a life goal to bump into Mickey Jo in London and simply shout OH MY GOD HEY
I saw him walking past when I was queuing outside the Treason concert but he’d gone before I could do it. 😂
im gonna mentally prepare for this every time i see a show now lol
Starting a petition for MickeyJo's video essay on Why Into The Woods is his fave musical ever
I second this
“10/10. No notes. Excellent cow.” Might be my favourite moment in all of musical theatre UA-cam 🤣🤣🤣
It's very funny to me that Milky White is being described the standout of both the Theatre Royal Bath production and the Broadway production
Dude, the puppeteers of the Broadway production genuinely steal the show. Like, I was so skeptical of seeing "puppeteer" in the cast list (I didn't look up reviews or anything before seeing it). But the two puppeteers are truly stars of that show.
@@MrsRen it’s so true!! That part where milky is brought back to life and the witch tells the puppeteer to come from off stage the way the audience applauds for Kennedy the puppeteer was wild! He and his puppeteering is wonderful
My mother pointed out to me that the Broadway version of Milky White really reminds me of my new dog, which is why I might have loved it so much. But Kennedy does an amazing performance (as does the other puppeteer whose name escapes me) and the puppet is wonderfully expressive and hilarious.
Fly over to America and see our production. It's perfection! I've seen it four times and I already have tix for closing night. Also, my friend from high school (who I did "Into the Woods" with back in 1996) is Patina's understudy. I saw her go on, it was her Broadway debut, and she killed it. I'm so in love with this production, I think it may be better than the original. I love the minimalism. It makes you really concentrate on the story.
The most recent B'way revival was soooo amazing!
I've not seen this production but from what you say (as well as other reviews I've come across), it essentially sounds like the biggest misstep they made was doing the one thing you absolutely shouldn't do with a Sondheim show (especially a Sondheim/Lapine show) which is play it as seriously and humourlessly as possible. I don't think it's something that's appreciated enough even within the general musical theatre fandom but Sondheim shows, even the darker ones like Assassins and Passion and Sweeney Todd, have fairly substantial moments of genuine hilarity, often practically begging to be performed in a very "broad comedy" manner - actually, Passion may be the exception but even that has the 'Soldier's Gossip' sections plus some of the conversations between Fosca and Giorgio can be funny in a very *very* dark way...
And it's especially true of Into The Woods - there's a *lot* in the first act that intentionally borders on outright farce (even without holding to the high comedy in the original Broadway production as "the standard") and I'd argue it's part of the point of the show that the first act should be done in a very light, playful and comedic manner since it emphasises the complete tonal shift into tragedy and drama that the 2nd act takes; there are certainly moments of darkness in the first act but on the whole, it's an outright comedy. If things are generally fairly humourless/dark/creepy right the way through except when it comes to a handful of performances, it doesn't hit nearly as hard when the characters start dying, nor does it help to show just how thoroughly unprepared the characters themselves are to deal with the deadly serious environment their world suddenly becomes. Your comments about It Takes Two are a great example: if we're not given the opportunity to see the Baker and his Wife have a genuinely fun and happy and loving, if at times difficult, marital relationship and to spend the song focusing on that and that alone (since the vast majority of their time is otherwise spent bickering with each other), pretty much the entire last third of the show ultimately means very little.
As an expat in the UK who used to take regular trips to NYC, I 100% understand the FOMO on the Broadway revival.
so glad you said about the witches orange outfit It was horrendous- I felt like it lost the fairytale aspect which is so important to into the woods,
"Into the woods" is one of the musicals I want to see performed the most.
I'm so sad for you that this production wasn't well-directed from a cast perspective, because Brian d'Arcy James fucking ripped my heart out through my tear ducts with his "No More" on Broadway. (NPH was good in the Encores production before it transferred, but Brian... oof.)
I can't agree that this was a 3/5. I too am a huge fan of this musical and I couldn't stop beaming the entire way through. It was an intelligent reimagining that took risks and shocked its audience, staying largely true to the original material while putting a suitably dark and wildly imaginative twist on the staging. While I agree with everything you said in terms of the casting, I don't think the lack of heart was sufficient enough to lose two marks.
The current Broadway revival is spectacular (I saw it before the cast change). The show really moves at a good pace and I think that they mined the comedy so well. The production was not going for spectacle or gimmicks which kept the focus on these brilliant performances (including Milky). All the attention and accolades given to this revival are well deserved.
Omg thank you so much. I designed and made Milky White! I’m so chuffed you loved her. I’m sad you didn’t love the show as a whole, I did think it had beautiful moments and adored Jon Abuser’s set design. There had been ambitious plans for the opening that had to be cut at last minute and I guess it never really found a substitute for the initial plan. And the tricky moments that ended up being projections are more a case of literally not having any more space back stage to hide the extensive scenery and giant puppet…I’m told most theatres don’t have nearly as much back stage space as The Theatre Royal Bath.
I'm honestly a bit baffled by how many productions have added a child character to frame the story. It confuses the role of the narrator and makes "Children Will Listen" feel twee and overly literal instead of reflective and melancholic.
Then you missed the Regents Park production where Children Will Listen broke me.
I hiked from Bristol to Bath the day I saw this show and the set was just so impressive. Worth the price of entry alone. I agree with the business suit, if they keep it let the audience burn it at the end of each show as a relief from it, it's dire. I will also agree that some of the jokes land flat (some of us don't like the way your telling it, was criminally played flat and harkens back to the disney movie). But milky white and any set based comedy was top knotch. I was not expecting the house fall in act 2 and when the baby giant legs FELL DOWN I couldn't believe they did that. Charming and quaint are the words I would use to describe this performance
I love Woods. I played in the band for a production in 2016 and came to the conclusion that Sondheim hates musicians 😂 His music is soooo hard to play.
I think he did hate instrumental musicians, but loved singers. I've been both an instrumental musician, and a vocal musician. I've sung a number of Sondheim's songs. He writes for acting singers, and it's not insurmountable to sing even his most vocally demanding songs. But he writes music that is very difficult for instrumental musicians to play.
Thank you so much for this video! I’m actually seeing the Broadway revival tomorrow and I cannot wait. There’s just been a major cast turnover and I should hopefully see Stephanie J Block and Sebastian Arcelus and a host of other wonderful actors. I’ve never got to see Into the Woods live, and this is my first trip properly visiting NYC aside from a weekend trip to see Hamilton back when it first transferred to Broadway. So far I’ve seen Hadestown (absolutely wonderful, and it still made me cry even though I’ve been following it from NYTW-Edmonton-London-Broadway) and Little Shop of Horrors (Lena Hall and Rob McClure are the newest Audrey and Seymour and they were sheer perfection, especially with Rob’s physical comedy chops and puppeteering experience, and it is such a gift to see a stacked cast of talented actors in a 270-seat venue). Tonight is Moulin Rouge and tomorrow is a two-doe-shay of Into the Woods and A Strange Loop.
Thank you, too, for your channel and content more broadly. I was lucky enough to live in London for a few years and get my theatre fix; normally I would visit every other year, but with life and the panini I haven’t been back since 2015, so watching your videos makes me remember so many happy times and places. I’m hoping to come back in the spring, so you’re also helping me decide what looks good on the menu 😊
I’ll be needing you report on stage door etiquette after tomorrow night. You’re living my dream!
It’s a truly crap production played just for laughs. They tramp all over the JAmes Lapine book as if it’s a pure comedy piece. There is zero chemistry between the baker and his wife even though they are married in real life. A waste of time and money. Just rubbish.
@@nanite53 Sorry, I don’t stage door, so I can’t help you there. I don’t know if it’s permitted at the St James, but several other theatres I visited this week explicitly prohibited stage dooring due to Covid.
i also saw this production! it was the first production on into the woods i have ever seen- i haven’t even seen the movie 😅 i really enjoyed the staging and set much like you did, the story was slightly confusing but that probably stems from my lack of knowledge of the the show!! cast wise- jack and little red were probably my standouts, giants in the sky was really fun and also unexpected, and i found little red actually really funny in this 😭 this might’ve just been my audience, but where i feel people were supposed to laugh sometimes, they didn’t- so then it was slightly awkward for a second or too, i pretty much agree with almost everything you said though! :)
I think if you were confused it’s the shows fault, not your, a production shouldn’t be staged assuming someone has already seen it?
I really think the key to gaining the audience's emotional investment in the show it to get them laughing through the first act, and then completely pulling the rug out from under their feet with the devastation of the second act.
Lots of content recently...and I'm not mad. lol. Thank you!
I went to see this with my family last week and I totally agree with everything you said, although I've never seen into the woods before so i don't really have anything to compare this performance to other than a video analysing the music that I saw a while ago. My dad (who says he really hates musicals but in reality likes them occasionally) did enjoy it but said that it got "too musically" for him. This could be him not liking the material itself but I feel like if the thing you mentioned about emotional connection with the characters was 'fixed' he would have enjoyed it a lot more as he wouldn't have felt that they were "singing for no reason" as much. He also complained about the opening number "dragging on a bit" and I think if the witch and jack's mother were played as more comedic/funny characters that would have broken it up a bit for him, especially as he came out saying how much he loves the actress of the witch's singing voice and making her more comedic (and more tragic in the second act) would have really solidified this for him. Love the video! x
Thanks for your spot on review. I just got back to California last night from a week in Bath. I saw Into The Woods on Friday the 9th. YES! So many complicated feelings about this show, and having seen it on my own it is nice to hear another's experience of it.
Visually, it was pretty spectacular. I loved the Toy Theater concept. I did not think the young "are you ready?" girl concept was sufficiently developed. It felt tacked on (as of course it was) and quite amateur. If one is going to go there, this concept might be better as some sort of animated silhouette... anything to make her more iconic and less specific. As it was, it just felt like they hired someone's daughter who had little acting experience. It just started the show awkwardly.
I appreciated the excellent enunciation of the lyrics across the board. Quite important with Sondheim and Into The Woods in particular. The lyrics are so dense and loaded with ideas. I have listened to the Broadway and West End cast albums for years, so I had to battle with my memories of those same lyrics being delivered more effectively. I kept having to ask myself, "Is this just because I am used to hearing it in a certain way? Or am I just not getting the meaning of the lyric here because it is delivered poorly?" I think that you are right. So much focus was on conceptual aspects that the heart of the show was lost. I rarely felt connection between the characters. The Baker and his Wife had zero chemistry. I did not believe they loved each other. The Baker had a very gentle approach to the role, and though I can see the argument for the choice, he became a weak cypher at the center of the show. The Baker's Wife was stronger on all counts - and yet I didn't find her sympathetic. Amazing voice. Her acting was fine... I just wished she had more charm. Arguably if the Baker had seemed more in love with her? Maybe that was the missing ingredient. I was not shocked by her infidelity, and I should have been. It Takes Two felt empty without a relationship at the center of it. If he had a stronger voice, perhaps that would have helped, but he came off as such a weak character.
The night that I went, he never succeeded in throwing the noose over the branch and it reinforced this idea that he is such a weak character that he even gives up on killing himself. It was a strange directorial choice. (And I understood the Mysterious Man to say that he was the Baker’s father in that scene… but then I wasn’t sure why he was carrying a scythe after he was killed… it was very confusing…. Or should I say mysterious? But not in a good way.)
Cinderella also lacked likability. Her voice was great, and she has a good instinct for physical humor, but I didn’t care about her.
I liked Jack and Little Red - both performers delivered 100%. They both completely worked for me. The No One Is Alone number was strange. Jack and Little Red want to kill the Giant. Cinderella and the Baker say, “Wait! Even a giant has a point of view, we should consider other points of view” Then they all agree to kill the giant, completely negating any message of the song other than “It’s okay to kill people if you feel a little guilty about it first”. I’d never noticed the pointlessness (within the plot) of that beautiful song before seeing this production.
The Witch has a powerful set of pipes but she played the whole show on one emotional note. She had zero sense of humor. And that orange power suit? OMG that was a head scratcher that threw me out of the show. I found myself trying to figure out the rationalization for the choice… is she supposed to be a barbie now? But Barbie would be too big for that little toy theater… It just did not fit. And I completely lost track of the scene every time she was on stage as it made no sense.
So… yes, complicated feelings. Visually stunning (except for the moments when it was head scratching), beautiful voices, and great material. But it lacked subtlety. A joke can be painful and funny at the same time. Beauty can be sad. This show missed a lot of nuance.
And yes, Milky White was great.
I also saw Juliet Stevenson in The Doctor on Tuesday night before I left. Great acting but directorial choices made it very confusing. Actors playing other genders and ethnicities is fine, but the audience needs to be let in on who is playing what earlier in the show. Most everyone is wearing white lab coats - so you don't have much of a clue there, and for instance two characters were arguing whether a black doctor was deserving of a particular job... long scene, heated discussion... it was not clear who they were talking about. The character in question was played by a white actor who had been pretty obnoxious (but I didn't realize he was the subject until long after the argument), but deep into the play we learn that the black male actor on stage was playing a white Jewish doctor... it helps to know who people are if the entire plot is centered around issues of ethnicity and gender. Good intentions but terrible storytelling. Just before the intermission I discovered that the Asian woman who seemed to be playing an intern? or a resident? but was on the executive board... really not sure who her character was, but finally it was revealed that she was a white religious man. The surprise should have been that the character was religious, but the switch in ethnicity and gender upstaged that. Very confusing.
When intermission arrived in a particularly tense moment, Juliet Stevenson sits with her back facing the audience and a drummer starts playing a repeating sequence as the lights go up... the audience wasn't sure whether to get up or not. Everyone kept waiting. The drummer didn't stop. The same two measures over and over and over... Eventually folks got up to leave for the lobby. I had intended to read during intermission but the drum got too impossible after a bit. It was nonstop and crazy making. Finally I had to ask myself if staying was worth enduring the drum. It wasn't. Why sit around for another hour and a half of people yelling at each other?
And the plot itself seemed - though theoretically relevant to present social media issues - it made no sense as written. The hospital would have had solicitors at work immediately and the issue would have been silenced quickly. But at no point was a solicitor ever mentioned, which got hard to believe at a certain point. Strange man off the street was not allowed into minor juvenile's room while she lay dying because there was no legal permission from the parents. No paperwork. It is irrelevant that he was a priest. No paperwork to allow it, case closed. But instead it becomes a major thing about religion... there could be a valid script written about the issue, but this wasn't it. It becomes tedious to listen to people arguing ad nauseum about something that would have been easily handled by a legal department.
So, I left at intermission and I can't say that I even wondered how the story resolved itself. But the actors did well with what they were given.
Mickey Jo. Great Review. Always value your reviews. Thank you.
Milky White and the doll-giant alone were worth the ticket price. But that witch suit. Yikes. Fully agree.
I’m dying to see Mickey Jo play Jack. Please somebody make this happen.
Having seen the production photos online, I was very curious to hear about the execution of the show.
Much like some of the quibbles I had watching the filmed outdoor version from London, it seems that directors "re-imagining" ITW with too much "concept" do so at their peril. Much like the boy playing with his action figures/dolls in the outdoor filmed version, the Bath production leading audiences along a similar journey into the girl's toy box (based on your telling) exposes gaps in the overall concept about narrative POV. I'm glad you found things to really love about the show despite its directorial shortcomings.
If you can find the means and the opportunity to see the NYC revival before January, make every effort. I saw it last month before the cast change, and it was everything the show should be. Though semi-staged with the (great!) onstage orchestra, it rightfully brought focus to the performers and the story. The director and cast made really interesting and clever choices that were surprising, and which worked well. Examples: Cinderella's married scenes with her prince. Little Red and the Wolf. Everything involving Milky White. A truly, truly great evening of theatre. As enjoyable as when I saw the original production back in '88 (Phylicia Rashad was my witch back then, after Bernadette exited).
I'm so sorry you can't make it to New York to see the current all-star revival. It is superb! (And I saw the original.) The two kids are the best I've ever seen and the big names all acquit themselves admirably. And the best Milky White!!
I was so interested to find out your thoughts on this, especially since a mutual friend of ours had also made the journey to see it. We had both performed in am amateur production of it and it has a very special place in our hearts, as it does for a lot of people. He basically said everything you have so I will wait and see if they make any changes before and indeed IF, it transfers to the West End.
Aside from Regents Park, which is the only other version I have seen; the most funny and moving version WE saw (because I was with our mutual friend at the time) was an "amateur" version in Brighton by The Chocolate Box Theatre company, patron Alan Rickman. Sadly, I think this company may have folded without Alan's patronage after his death because this version was truly incredible and made me fall in love with this show. It was performed in an old church with a "real" wood of silver birches lit in pools of moonlight and very immersive. Each character came and sat by the audience when they were not performing. Just one pianist accompanied the actors and yet both musically and visually it was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen and will stay with me forever.
I know it's going back a few years now but as one of your favourite musicals I'd really love to know your opinions on the movie version
Great review! It’s such a stunning production but it really is lacking dramatically and emotionally. Didn’t stop me from sobbing during no one is alone but I think that‘s because the material is strong enough that it works in spite of the production
I was also upset about milky white upstaging it takes two, let Alex Young do her thing!
Always the best 😊 thank you for another wonderful video!!
I am impressed by How many of the Song Lyrics of Into the Woods you know by memory 😄👏
Just saw the touring company last city stop in LA. Its the best singing Ive ever seen and heard on or off Broadway. I was elated.
It's sad how many talented people have shown themselves to be bitter reactionary jerks lately, and it's even worse that Into the Woods was dragged down by it.
Really? Who? The kids posting those #callmeamistake hashtags or whatever?
I didn't see this production but I saw the current Broadway revival and it was brilliant except I had a similar complaint. Patina Miller also played the witch very seriously and tossed aside all the great jokes. I almost wonder if actors are scared to lean into the humour because how do you top Bernadette?
Based on what you and others are saying, it sounds like Gilliam was more interested in the visuals he had for it than the actual material.
Yes, and that's about what I expected from Gilliam if I'm honest
I saw what I think was the last big Broadway revival starring Vanessa Williams as the witch. It was fine, I enjoyed it, but I don't see how anyone could ever beat the perfection of Bernadette for me. PS. Vanessa is also a woman of color playing the witch. :)
She is indeed! As was Phylicia Rashad - I thought I said Nicola was the first WOC to play the role in the UK? If not, this is what I meant!
If you see a “meh” show of Into the Woods, that’s not good, in my opinion. If someone gives it a three star review, then that’s the fault of the director, not the actual metrical, as a director, and a writer. From the description of the set design it seems the director communicated WAY more to the set/prop crew than to the rest of her team, which is a no-no in theatre. Unless you do want a three start type of review, than go ahead and only communicate with only one department and not the rest. I agree with Jo, bc the direction could’ve gone MUCH better!
Really love your comments here, went a few times to see the show as TRB is quite close to me :)The design elements really were fab, but sadly some acting / directing choices let the piece drag with some performance styles clashing. It was clear that the cast were becoming so much more comfortable in their roles towards the end of the run, so fingers crossed for some reworking and then a transfer !!
but this doesn’t warrant 2 stars off though .. ;) ITW really is a mammoth of a show, what this version had, the Broadway one lacked. With final elements tweaked, it’ll be the best of the best
Into The Woods, is now on Broadway until January 8TH. St. James Theatre. New York Times review, " Should you go ? Of course, you should ! " Stephen Sondheim musical is always special.
Yikes, I'm appreciating the Broadway revival and Eric Idle (my favourite Python) even more now. Good review. Firm, but fair analysis. Also, your moral compass and wit is something to admire.
Milky Way is my favorite character too!!
I loved your review it was very honest but truthful I saw this production I did love it because of the physical spectacle for example props. However, witches rap is supposed to be one of the biggest MT songs but it just didn’t feel like it landed. I think the mask also altered Nicolas vocals.
No one is alone didn’t give me those goosebumps and where I felt my heart shatter. I think they 100% needed to add more emotion to the characters and add onto the acting through song.
I became biased against casting an actor for Milky White from a children's theater version of Into the Woods I saw as a kid. But with your review and the amount of attention the Broadway revival's Milky White is getting, I'm willing to give it another try.
Milky White on Broadway is amazing without being distracting.
Every time I hear ‘your fault’ I get horrifying flashbacks to the fear that is singing that live 😂
I was just thinking that I could really go for a Mickey Jo review!
Since Into the Woods is your very favorite musical, it's a shame you missed the Broadway revival last Fall. It was fantastic!
How I wish you could see Into The Woods on broadway. I think you'd be very impressed by it esp how adorable Milky White is ;3;
I play Milky White this year for my schools production.
For the cow with the most amount of stage time and most favorite
My director is having me in a costume and does nothing but sit on a stool.
My Number Favorite musical of all time is Wicked ❗️
Unfortunately Terry Gilliam is always style over substance, so it came as no surprise that this is no different. I cannot get behind cutting the Bakers father. No More is the heart of the show for me. I wish (no pun intended) that there was more video footage of the 1990 OLC of Into The Woods. Vastly different from the Broadway run and much darker. Probably because that was the version I saw first, it's the definitive production for me. The way they dropped the dead body of the Narrator (Nicholas Parsons) onto the stage from the flies was both shocking and hilarious.
“10 out of 10. No notes. Excellent cow.” 😂 me the next time I see a cow
into the woods is also my top favorite musical ever
I wish to go the festival
What was the controversy? I am unaware of this 🤔
Need to get back to the theatre soon
Money concerns etc maybe after my holiday beginning of October
I had the pleasure (?) of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway in 2011 and afterward one of my classmates described it as a "turd covered in sprinkles" and it sounds as though that is an apt analogy for this production as well.
Excellent review thank you😊 btw if you get a chance to see Fisherman’s Friends the Musical currently on tour do - fabulous show 🤩🎭🎼
I just saw it on Broadway twice! Once with Sarah and once with Stephanie.
Did you have a favorite?
@@jimontiveros9435 so Sarah just does it so differently than anyone else ever has and listening to her gives you chills. Stephanie was wonderful. She had just taken the role the week I saw it and since I know the show so well I could see a couple mistakes but she still made the show what it was that night.
Another fantastic review. However, what about the WOLF! 🤔🤨
I gotta say I can't fully agree with your argument that the original production must best reflect the authors' intent (my paraphrase; please forgive me if I've mischaracterized your point). At a minimum, that seems pretty overstated. James Lapine himself directed a revival that made significant changes to the intention, most notably in fully connecting the Narrator to the Mysterious Man -- that had originally been nothing more than a cost-cutting measure, but John McMartin played the Narrator like his entire legacy depended on this story being told (an improvement, in my view). I would agree that the original shouldn't be discarded out-of-hand, but as Stephen Sondheim mostly felt, slavish devotion is at least as bad.
Late in life, he did get peevish about directors who impose their concept at the expense of the text, which it sounds as though Gilliam and Co. may be guilty of. But he also welcomed new interpretations. E.g. To him, the staircase was this incredibly important visual metaphor at the very heart of "Passion" and he couldn't imagine a staging without it (mostly because of the impression it made in the original film, from what I gather). But when the Kennedy Center threw out the stairs, he couldn't wait to see how they did it (stunningly was the consensus).
Cast recordings or filmed performances honestly need to become the standard, not just for high-budget productions, honestly. Otherwise only UK and US people get to see all these musicals
The Richard Jones version was incredible and very moving. I’m not sure there’s video of it though.
It’s depressing when a director or artist you really like turns out to not be a great person.
Thanks!
Did the witch sing Last Midnight more as an angry screed like Bernadette Peters did (brilliantly) in the original production, or closer to a lullaby as Vanessa Williams did in the first broadway revival (which I saw pre-broadway in LA and loved) and many subsequent productions have adopted? I personally think it works better as a lullaby because, at least when Vanessa performed it, it was soft and comforting, but still with an underlying menace.
The actress played most of the show with a pretty heavy tone. As an audience member I kept wishing she'd back off and play the role with a lighter touch. So many of her lines and lyrics have dual meanings that can be both funny and dark, soul baring or biting, but she mostly played it all one note. Last Midnight was of a piece with the rest. She mostly sounded angry in her delivery. She has a great set of pipes, no question there, but I wish she had found more levels... that she had played with other tactics. The witch needs to be a little seductive (even when she is not beautiful), she needs to tease and toy with people. But this performance mostly centered on threatening and yelling at the other characters. The orange suit did not help her at all.
The current Broadway production is very much the polar opposite of what you’ve described.
Minimalist staging, just focusing on the interactions between the leads. No stage wizardry or gimmicks, just getting to the hear of the show which is the people and their interactions.
I’m seeing comments that the NY production was too funny…that’s-ridiculous.
The humor HAS to balance the saccharine nature of fairy tales in act one, AND the tonal shift/horror of act two .
Taking the humor out of Sondheim is what Tim Burton did in the Sweeney Todd film, and for a multitude of reasons THATS why it was a complete and total unmitigated disaster, and it sounds like that’s the problem with this Gilliam production.
Does any one know where I can find video of this performance?
Into the Woods is very close to my heart as well. I have seen several productions from the brilliant one lately shown on Boradway to one performed in a backyard by my hs friends. I have run lines with my brother as the princes and I have played claninet in a regional production. One of my friends who came to see the broadway one with Parina Miller and Sara Barillels did not get act 2. He just thought it was really random. How do i talk to this man? It is such a powerful show and he just didn’t get it. I know this is not an uncommon response but I still don’t know how to explain to them.
Into the Woods is really an easy show to explain. I once saw an interview with Stephen Sondheim and he explained it like this. Going back to the original Grimms brothers Fairy tales all stories have a common theme of the woods. Act one is all about the fairy tales we have come to love and each character has to travel through the woods to complete the tasks to get their "Happily Every After". Act two is what happens after "Happily Ever After". As the narrator in the show says "all is not as it appears" Every character suffers a major tragedy. but the song "No One is Alone" is the hope that everything will be fine in the end if we rely on each other.
Which jokes are cut ?
I am courius.
*hears intro clip about bean song*
*hits like*
I saw the current Broadway production in August and it really is amazing. Perfect casting for nearly everybody. The only casting criticism I have is the Baker's Wife. Too pop, not enough acting.
Into the woods made my daughter fall back in love with musical theatre. She had fallen out after a dance school stripped the joy of it, they would just stand to sing.
She was a Yr 7 and played Jack, (think she is getting typecast as she was gaston last year (covid stopped school musicals) and at her new theatre school she is auditioning for plankton.
Over covid she had a workshop with kerry butler from beetlejuice and sang giants in the sky.
Now she is working on her audition to goto her theatre school full time for a diploma after her gcses. She wants to work somewhere in stage wether on the stage or back stage.
It sounds like the witch was miscast. It doesn’t sound like a directorial issue but more of the actress not understanding and/or not being able to key into the comedy. They may need to do some recasting if it transfers. If they can get the right actors and develop the relationships, they could have a hit with theatre production design.
It's not going to London anymore??
Gilliam should have just designed the show, partner with the team of designers and set the overall theme of the show. Then have a director who can actually create something with the cast, seems like he didn’t have the emotional connection.
Is that all ????? Please make longer
Sorry I dont know what comments have been made. Can you elaborate please.
Just Google, all of his vey controversial comments I am sure will still be there for all too view still. Xx
Honestly, I’m kind of disappointed that you didn’t actually discuss the controversy surrounding this production at all. If you just watched this video, you’d have no idea what Gilliam said. It seems like if you’re going to give Gilliam your money by buying a ticket to this production, the least you could do is actually take a stand against his derogatory comments.
I feel like ITW sometimes falls victim to the Godspell treatment; basically, "how many different ways can we stage this show"? I've seen Godspell re-imagined in so many different settings. Sometimes it works to the show's benefit... but other times, it feels like they just tried to stage it in a way that no one's done before. When you're changing the traditional storytelling of a show, I feel like it should serve some sort of greater purpose; such a bummer to hear that that's sort of lacking in this production.
Bet this and mickey offend you guys way more then the Disney approved of film adaptation. Which did poorly enough that immediately after pg film adaptation came out that disney probably got the rights taken away very soon after words.
Into The Woods “not produced that often over here”? Ok, not sure I agree with that. Opera North did it in Leeds recently, Royal Exchange Manchester did it recently. It was done in Belfast with a great cast this year. Do these productions not count became they are “north”?
Your hair is looking great, well done. Those vlogs…. Not so much.
I agree! There’s so much great theatre in the north. Spring Awakening at the Hopemill for example.
I was lucky enough to see it a couple of weeks ago too. I adored the staging and scenery, but the aside from that I found it lacking. The humour felt like bad pantomime and didn’t really hit right, and it was totally lacking in emotion. It has so much potential but it isn’t what I was hoping for just yet.
This seems like a rather emotionally dishonest response in that your dislike of Gilliam attributes all of the poor actor directing to him apart from that single acknowledgement of the co-director's existence @ around 17 minutes. I also found the production flawed, but tend to feel both directors were responsible for this. The cast and casting were uneven. And yes, that orange witch costume was hideous- and poorly fitted!
Mickey Joe l truly love your videos, but please could you possibly make them shorter. My partner says l spend more time with you than him Lol
FIRST
If you want to see a truly @cr*p production of Into The Woods and pay over $200 for the privilege, hurry over to the St James’s Theatre , Broadway. Here you will see a cast that milks every line for laughs, gurning at the audience, romping around as if they are in a panto comedy. Even two usher s I spoke to wished the Theatre Royal Bath production could be transferred. The New York version was heavily over praised when it started off as a semi staged Encores version but has coarsened considerably since its move to Broadway. There is zero drama now in the piece and the act two wit it’s darker tones just implodes with the audience hooting with laughter when it should be full of regret and loneliness. The new Bath production is spectacular whatever you say or as they say in the piece ‘careful what you wish for’. You may end up with the worst Into the Woods I’ve seen from Broadway as it rips dollars from your wallet.
I will agree with you that the current Broadway production is easily the funniest Into the Woods I have ever seen. And I loved it. I only saw it 3-weeks before the Bath production so I really noticed how many laugh lines were thrown away.
Thanks!