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Summary: who needs therapy?
Review: all of life's questions are answered after watching into the woods. literally....lol. i was absolutely floored with the comment that prince charming makes to cinderella, that he was brought up to be charming, not sincere. this is a fun romp through the original fairy tales with a few dark moments which is only natural considering they are from the grimm brothers. my daughter and i both loved it. your family will love it too!!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful show that's very fun to watch!
Review: Into the Woods is one of my favorite broadway musicals. Bernadette Peters is brilliant as the witch! I was Little Red Riding Hood in my community theatre's production of Into the Woods Jr., and I just had to see the real one (They cut out a lot of it and all of the second act in the Jr. version) I loved it and new I had to own it! It is funny and exciting. I never get tired of watching it! You should buy this play on DVD!!
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Summary: Delightful!
Review: Into The Woods Staring Bernadette peters,Chip Zien,Barbra Brian Dannielle Ferland and Joanna Cleason. A Funny Comical Musical with Dazzling costumes and sets worth watching over and over again. The Show is based on fairytails Rapunzzle,Little Red Ridding Hood,Cinderella,Snow White and many more. 155 Minutes long a live musical watching it in the living rooms on the Big screen TV it feels like your in the theatre. Into The Woods Is a Spactaculure show for kids and parenents of all ages!
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Summary: Masterful
Review: "Into the Woods", though not his masterpiece (that title belongs to "Sweeney Todd"), is proabably the great Stephen Sondheim's most poular and oft-performed show. This tremendous original cast brings the magical songs of Sondheim and the ground-breaking book of Jame Lapine's together to make for a magical Broadway experience.When "Into the Woods" first opened on Broadway in 1987, it was greeted with great anticipation. After all, this was to be the newest Sondheim show... and it was starring Bernadette Peters. The show became an instant classic as audiences loved the show. The plot revolves around the Baker and his Wife, who want to have a child, but due to a witches's curse, cannot. They have to find "a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold" in order to reerse the curse. On the way, they encounter many characters from well-known tales, like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack the Giant Killer and Rapunzel. However, the second act involves many dark and twisted twists, as we journey onto what happenes after "happily ever after". The plot becomes much less joyous as in the second act...MUCH less happy. The show is magnificent on the outside, with its' intricate yet followable plot and Sondheim's masterful songs. One of the most interesting things about this musical, however, is the metaphor that extends throughout. (I'll let you figure it out yourself). The score includes oft-recorded songs such as "Children Will Listen" and "No One is Alone". ALL of the songs are great though. From the mournful "No More" to hysterical "Agony" you will savor every moment. The cast, including Chip Zein, Joanna Gleason and Bernadette Peters, are inmaculate. Their interpretations are dead on, with beutiful renditions of every song. Especially Gleason and Peters. The show won the 1988 Tony's for BEST SCORE, BEST BOOK and BEST ACTRESS (Joanna Gleason who was incredible as the Baker's wife). Buy this magnificent Sondheim show and dive into the world of Sondheim. *****Two Notes: 1) If you would like a more complete sample of Stephen Sondheim, buy the "Stephen Sondheim Collection" on Amazon.com. It includes 6 DVD's: "Into the Woods", "Passion", "Sunday in the Park with George", Concert of "Sweeney Todd", Concert of "Follies" (both of these concerts are incredible), and the once-in-a-lifetime event "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall". 2) If you buy the cast recording for "into the Woods", buy the one with this ORIGINAL CAST!! Do not buy the one from the recent revival cast, though they were great, they do not even compare with the original.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Show!
Review: I have not seen this Bernadette version, but I did see the show on Broadway a year or two ago with Vanessa Williams and it is amazing. A brilliant show, one of the best. It's great that it's now available in DVD format.
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Summary: An overlooked classic!
Review: Few broadway plays are ever make it to a status worthy of video. This story is well worth the time. The question we as adults often ask, "what happens after 'happily ever after?' is all too realistically portrayed. Say much more and the whole story is ruined. Bernadette Peters does an excellent portrayal of the witch, but "the baker's wife" steals the show. For those of us unable to see the production on the stage, the video is as close as it will get. This was taped live so the video quality is best in a dark room.
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Summary: A haunting, yet hysterical performance.
Review: When I first saw Into the Woods on Broadway (with the revival cast, not the original), I just didn't GET it. I enjoyed the first act very much, but was extremely confused by the second. I didn't understand how Sondheim could take such happy, classic fairy tales and shed such a negative light on them. However, then I watched this version of Into the Woods, and was completely blown away... I watched this for one reason: Bernadette Peters. She remains one of the greatest Broadway performers ever. And I felt that her portrayal of the Witch was exceptional...she balanced out her comedy (which was always very funny) with a very real, honest display of emotion in numbers such as "Children Will Listen." It added a depth to the character that I'd missed out on previously. And her voice, as usual, was simply phenomenal. However, I felt that Joanna Gleason in her portrayal of the Baker's Wife was the true highlight of this performance. I found myself rewinding to her numbers over and over again. I had never truly sympathized with this character until I watched the video, and then I was simply mesmerized. Her chemistry with Chip Zein is fantastic. "It Takes Two" was one of the most adorable numbers I've ever seen performed in any show! Yet the best part of the show, by far, was when she came in during the final song and sang to the Baker from behind...she sent chills up my spine and brought tears to my eyes. Not only that, but her voice was wonderful for the character! It wasn't too showy or brassy...it was absolutely perfect. I only wish that Joanna Gleason received more credit for her performance in this musical. It gave me an entirely new appreciation of the show, and now I can't help but admit how much I love it. I honestly can't think of one person I disliked in this performance...I highly recommend the original recording as well as this VHS. The combination of Joanna Gleason and Bernadette Peters is simply unbeatable, as well as magical.
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Summary: One of the best...
Review: This musical is a must-have for all. While it is a bit long, it is worth every moment.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite a perfect production, but a wonderful experience
Review: This show was my first exposure to the work of Stephen Sondheim, which made me realize how briliant a lyricist he is. His use in the opening number of the word "wither" three times in succession, each with different meanings is something that no other writer of musical theater would be able to pull off "...while her withers wither with her....and no one keeps a cow for a friend." The cast is almost perfect. Bernadette Peters as the witch is wonderful casting, though it is almost a shame that Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife out-shines her. Little Red Riding Hood is a hoot, in a macabre and cynical way. Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk fame) is wonderfully scatterbrained. Cinderella as a girl who isn't quite sure what she wants is wonderfully treated, as is Prince(s) Charming as men who always want the girl the can't have. My only compliant with the castin would be Chip Zein as the Baker, who doesn't seem to quite know how to treat his character. Then again, everyone else is so perfect in their roles, it makes any compartively weak performance stand out that muc hmore. However, at the end of the first act, everyone is "happy ever after"...to be continued. The plot of the show can best be described as "take about a dozen fairy tails, mix, bring to a boil....then kill the narrator early in the second act, just to see what happens." A wonderful concept, and it is pulled off well. While there aren't really any "special features" as one has come to expect from DVDs, this is still a wonderful recording of a top-notch performance of one of the more enjoyable Broadway musicals in recent history.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit long..
Review: A great story, poorly lit. There is often too much going on onstage for the cameras to find. (Often, performers stage right are singing while showing stage left.) I got the feeling that the video director had never seen the show before and was covering it as an athletic event. No shots closer than a waist shot, and the lighting is atrocious, no accomodations were made for the television cameras, thus many scenes are hidden in murk. I think that most Broadway shows should be recorded for posterity, but the recording needs to be designed to accomodate the TV format it will be shown on. This one is poorly done.
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