Into the Woods

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Sondheim
Review: This is truly an amazing play. It's rare that a single piece of work (be it a play, a movie, a book) can make you feel such a wide range of emotions. Into the Woods, if nothing else, does make you laugh. As, especially in the first half, there are many hilairous moments. Agony, a song that the two princes of the play sing about their loves, is a perfect mix between romantic conquest and egotistical self involvment. However, in the second act things get darker and you realize that going "into the woods" is a complex metaphor. The final song of the play, Children will Listen, is incredibly profound and could easily bring tears to your eyes, only seconds before the whole cast once again starts joyfully singing the exciting Into the Woods. The cast is excellent all around. The most notable would have to be Cinderella's prince, the baker's wife and (obviously) Bernadette Peters as the witch. Cinderella's prince is the pinnacle of every stereotype about princes and, at the same time, is unaware of his huge ego. He gets some of the best lines from James Lapine as well ("I was brought up to be charming, not sincere"). Joanna Gleason very much deserved her Tony as she gave the Baker's Wife cunningness, romance, and depth. However, it is Bernadette Peters who steals the show as the wicked witch. Every time she is on stage she simply embodies the character. Her entrance is as spectacular as it should be, as she sings the incredible "Witch's Rap" reeling off words faster than you can imagine while retaining a brilliant sense of character. On the other end of the spectrum, later on in "The Last Midnight" she not only demonstrates her amazing vocal abilities but gives a dramatic powerhouse of a performance that makes you discover who the witch really is. Of course, it is the great Sondheim who we should really thank for this. The line in the last midnight: "You're not good, you're not bad you're just nice, I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just RIGHT!" says so much when you think about it. This show is more accessable than most Sondheim productions and the majority of the first act is simply an entertaining and exciting story that perfectly intertwines all the fairy tales. But this is a Sondheim show. There is always something more serious behind the lines and certain points have some more racy meanings ("Hello Little Girl", a song that the wolf sings to little red riding hood, has an unmistakibly sexual undertone). Still, this is a delightful and thought provoking show that also manages to be incredibly entertaining. All of the leads deliver showcase performances and, well, this is just about as good as it gets. Anyone who thinks they hate Steven Sondheim: I defy you to get nothing out of the spectacular Into the Woods.

Rating:
Summary: A Disturbingly Wonderful Journey
Review: By far the greatest musical of all time, the lyrics dust the edges of Shakespeare in their multiple meanings and double entendre. I was first inroduced to ITW my freshman year of high school when a drama teacher left the video to keep us busy on a day he was out. Ever since, I have been haunted and entranced by this spellbinding play. A timeless tale with believable characters whose motivations are never cloudy. Every line could be explicated a thousand times to find a thousand different meanings and translations for the modern world. Beautiful music from the master, Stephen Sondheim.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Woods
Review: Stephen Sondheim's "Into The Woods" is my favorite musical of all time. Years ago I viewed this presentation of the Broadway cast on PBS's American Playhouse. For years I looked for it on video tape in vain. When it finally was released, it was like manna from heaven.It is a mixture of a talented cast (featuring Bernadette Peters,Chip Zien, and Joanna Gleason), an amazing Stephen Sonheim score ("Children Will Listen", "No One is Alone")and a both comical and touching book by James Lapine.It takes our notions of what fairy tales are suppose to be like and turns them on thier heads.This musical attempts to answer the question "So, what happened after the happily ever after?"

Rating:
Summary: Sondheim is genius!
Review: With all of the triteness of "Phantom of the Opera" crazing the nation today, "Into the Woods" is a breath of fresh air. This timeless tale, debuted in 1987, and won the Tony for Best Musical and Best Actress (Joanna Gleason).

Sondheim's score weeps in "Stay a Child", growls in "Hello Little Girl", and dances in the main theme "Into the Woods".

Spectacular performances from Bernadette Peters as the witch, Chip Zien as the baker, Danielle McFerland as Little Red Riding Hood, Chris Groenendahl as Cinderella's Prince, Kim Crosby as Cinderella, and Tony-winner Joanna Gleason as the baker's wife.

Prepare to laugh, cry, be amazed, starled and awakened. A gem of a musical, and a jewel of a performance!

Rating:
Summary: In a word, BRILLIANT!!!!!....
Review: ...and in many words, wonderful! Genius! Stunning! Fantastic! Splendid! Spectacular! And the list goes on. "Into the Woods" is simply the best musical ever written! My class just read and watched it, and it's been the best thing I ever was introduced to in school. Each of us got an assigned character, and wonder of wonders, I was the lucky one given the witch's part! My first reaction was, "Holy -, is it possible that I'm actually worthy of a role the amazing Bernadette Peters has already played so flawlessly?!" Turns out I guess I'm semi-worthy. Anyway, this play is truly a masterpiece beyond compare. My class analyzed and studied it-it's so symbolic! The woods represent life and the challenges you must face to get your wishes. The characters are a blend of all the fairy tales we all know, like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. These 2.5 hours are ones I could just watch over and over and over...they'll touch you, make you cry, make you realize things you never did before, and on top of that, it's funny! Very funny! Perhaps the funniest person is the baker's wife. (Baker: Where did you get that hair? Wife: Oh, I pulled it from a maiden in a tower!) I didn't know what I was missing until I saw this, and IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YOU DON'T EITHER! BUY IT, YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT!

Rating:
Summary: The BEST!
Review: I've never seen a better musical! This one is an awesome blend of Cinderella, Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and other fairy tales. It's very funny and a lot of fun to watch. I very highly recommend it to...well, anyone at all!

Rating:
Summary: The Best Mix of FairyTails
Review: This is the best musical that i have been forced to see. The way they incorapate the fairytales to conect to each other is unreal. The costumes are great. The Acting is great. Bernadette Peters and the rest of the cast does a great job portraying each charater.

Rating:
Summary: My time in the Wood was well-spent
Review: After seeing a big portion of this production of INTO THE WOODS on PBS one evening long ago, I knew I had to have it. Searching for years and years, I came upon it at Amazon.com one day, got it as a Christmas present, and watched it that very same night.

I was not disappointed. INTO THE WOODS is a beautifully acted, great story about fairy tales, and what happens when they meet reality. JoAnna Gleason and Bernadette Peters are fabulous. The Divine Peters is the best witch ever.

If you ever loved fairy tales; if you ever wondered just what it was that happened after "happily ever after", you will love INTO THE WOODS. Its humorous and sometimes poignant look at life in the Wood will carry you away.

Rating:
Summary: Fairy Tale Journies - Life Journies
Review: Into the Woods is an outstanding musical combining genres, plots and amazing talents into a cohesive, highly entertaining, theatrical show. The basic plot has been discussed by other reviewers. What stands out for me about this DVD is that Sondheim and Lapine have created a musical farce, the action is witty and quick, the laughs piling up ontop of each other. The action and interaction between some of the major fairy tale characters moves at a fast pace through the first act. They play out the stories we have known since childhood, but Sondheim's music and Lapine's direction pushes the stories we know so well into completely new directions.

We know Cinderella, Jack, Prince Charming, Little Red Riding Hood, the Witch, the Baker and the Baker's Wife but Sondheim and Lapine give them new voices and surprised me in the process. You become aware of the complexity of life's journies through the use of archetypal plots from the fairy stories. That is what is so brilliant about this show. It goes beyond just being a musical farce to being a sharp comment on childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood. Beyond a retelling of old fairy stories to a deeper idea that we are all mixed up in journies of our own.

This is made clear in the darker, sad second act. But through the darkness there is hope that the journey was worth every second. I love this show! Laughing so hard one minute and the next, sobbing! The idea is intruiging and it works!

Those of the cast who stand out for me are Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and Robert Westenberg. Their comic timing is spot on as well as their understanding that there is more than the comedy that completes this musical. Sondheim's music and songs are mostly short and precise and they stay with you. Lapine's direction is fast and tight. The rest of the cast is excellent, without a weak link, so every scene is a joy to watch.

If you are a fan of the musical, or new to Sondheim, as I was when I first saw Into the Woods, then this DVD is for you. The quality of filming the stage production, is excellent. You dont miss a thing. The only down side about this DVD version is that it has no extra features of any significance like a commentry that can be found on SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. This I found to be the only flaw on an otherwise perfect DVD.

Rating:
Summary: This is awesome!
Review: I just saw it, for the first time in at least ten years, up until right before Agony. It's a whole lot better than I remember it being! Bernadette Peters is probably at her best in this one. Chip Zien is a hoot, especially when he gets zapped by the Witch. I just have one question: why did they give the wolf a jacket, but not pants? Parents, when you are watching this with your kids, have a piece of paper reading CENSORED ready for Wolfy!