Into the Woods (1991)

Stephen Sondheim has written some of the most delightful melodies in Broadway history, and if you listen to each of his scores, you will pick up something different from each show. Even with his overtures or opening non-sung introductions, there is something fabulous to be heard. Take the openings of "Follies" and "A Little Night Music" which have such twists and turns that no other composer could have thought of and are delightful to the individual ear. Each of his shows, too, have a different theme, and even if somebody else wrote the book, it is always Sondheim whom you think of when watching those shows."Into the Woods" may not have been the first of the fairy tale shows, but unlike "Once Upon a Mattress" and "Cinderella", it is one that forces its audience to look way beyond the context of the story which they are being told. Each storyline here has characters that are forced to look at their plight with a need to change or at least make some alterations in their lives. In other words, this is a more serious version of "Fractured Fairy Tales", made famous on the "Bullwinkle" show, yet still having a tongue in its cheek that makes the lessons learned even more valuable.For this "American Playhouse" filming of the 1988 Broadway show, the original cast was reunited late in the show's run. At the time, movie musicals were pretty much a thing of the past, so there was probably no clue that a movie of this would ever be made, even though it certainly has been hinted at for decades. Bernadette Peters took essentially a secondary part and turned it into the diva role playing a witch with several different guises. Unlike the "Wicked" witch, she isn't green, and it isn't water which destroys her. But like that "wicked" witch, she is perhaps the wisest character here, knowing that there is definitely a difference between "nice" and being "good". She is the one character who provides the "truths", especially that we should all "be careful of the things you say".Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason are the prominent leads as the Baker and his wife, repeating their original roles (for which Gleason won a Tony) and truly provide the heart and soul of the story. Jack (and his beanstalk), a little girl with a red cape, a poor girl who lives among the cinders and an innocent maiden in a tower also provide their lessons, and some do not make it out of here alive. They also have to remember that "Ever After" isn't always "Happily Ever After", sung here with equal cynicism that Carol Burnett had sung about the same themes in "Mattress" years before.No matter how the new movie turns out (and I look forward to seeing it), this original production will always be around for everybody to see. Having seen the original national tour, the 2002 Broadway revival and a 2012 Central Park version which really did take you "Into the Woods", I have noticed all the changes, but the universal themes of isolation, abandonment, slavery, death, birth and betrayal all remain truthful to this day. A new Off Broadway revival opening soon also gives it a new look, making this the ever-changing show that will continue to mesmerize theater goers for decades to come. But as long as Sondheim's melodies remain and the themes don't change, this will continue to delight new audiences who have come back to the wonderful world of the musical theater which was almost as dead as Jack's giant when this first premiered.

INTO THE WOODS is a musically intricate and enchanting musical from the man who brought us COMPANY,A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC,FOLLIES, Sunday IN THE PARK WITH GEOGRE and SWEENEY TODD. Sondheim, Broadway's finest lyricist, has once again struck gold with this clever and complex story that incorporates characters from several different classic fairy tales in a mystical blend that might make the Brothers Grimm roll over in their graves but will leave fans of this musical genius clamoring for more. This musical follows the adventures of a poor Baker and his wife, who want to have a child more than anything and are promised a child by an evil witch, with secrets of her own, if they can bring her Little Red Riding Hood's Cape, Cinderella's slipper, the cow belonging to Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk fame and a lock of Rapunzel's hair and it is their journey into the fairy tale forest to find these items that provides the plot for this delightfully imaginative musical. As always, Sondheim has provided us with lush melodies and intricate musical arrangements where characters sing on top of each other and it is virtually impossible to catch everything that is being sung, but for us Sondheim-aholics, this is half the fun, requiring careful attention and multiple viewings. This DVD is a taping of a performance by the original Broadway cast, led by the divine Bernadette Peters as the Witch. Hidden behind heavy makeup for the first act, Peters proves to be a gifted actress as well as the consummate song stylist. Peters stops the show with "Children Will Listen" and "Last Midnight". Joanna Gleason won a Tony for her effervescent turn as the Baker's wife and Chip Zien is beautifully paired with her as the Baker. There are also outstanding supporting performances from Robert Westenberg in two roles as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince, Danielle Ferland as Little Red Riding Hood, Kim Crosby as Cinderella, and Ben Wright as Jack. Other musical highlights include "Agony" a funny yet melodic duet between the two princes, "On the Steps of the Palace" sung by Cinderella, "Hello Little Girl", the musical meeting between Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" and Gleason's show stopping "Moments in the Woods". A thoroughly original and lushly theatrical musical that provides another testament to the genius that is Stephen Sondheim.

"A slotted spoon doesn't hold much soup" is a good characterization of this sometimes appealing entertainment. Although it occasionally rises above the level of television situation comedy, it probably wasn't worth the price of a Broadway ticket (not many Broadway shows are), but if you can get the DVD at a discount, go for it. The DVD accurately documents the stage show, which had high production values (costumes, sets, props, lighting) and a cast filled with highly talented people. Personally I'm not terribly fond of Bernadette Peters, who plays the witch, but the in-the-know audience makes clear she is the "Big Star" of the ensemble, and she certainly qualifies as a peerless and experienced Sondheim interpreter. The camera work is appropriate and rarely calls attention to itself. The frequent intrusion of audience applause/laughter increases the aptness of a comparison to television situation comedy. Fortunately it's "live" and spontaneous, not canned.

I must admit, I wasn't sure what I was getting into when this film arrived at my doorstep. With pensiveness in my eyes, I placed the DVD into my player and watched … surprisingly … a play unfold before my eyes. I knew it was a play, but I didn't realize this was nothing more than the stage version placed in DVD format. With no special features, I dived directly into the action. Song after song, joke after joke, familiar story line crossed with unfamiliar stories, I patiently waited to explore the finale of this extremely creative play. With an hour and a half down, I thought the film was over. I didn't see what the excitement was about, it was creative, but not shockingly bold … then the second act began and my jaw dropped. Darkness finally crept into these fairy tales and opened a fresh new door for our dated characters to explore.I must give tons of credit to Stephen Sondheim's creative mind. Without his ability to dive deeper within a story than imaginable, I do not think there would have been much desire for me to sit through this three-hour epic. Thankfully, Sondheim has this ability to constantly keep you guessing. There were not many scenes in this performance that seemed stale, or overused. There were clean and creative moments that kept you guessing until the very end. I kept my eyes glued to the screen because I never knew which direction Sondheim was going to take next. Was he going to follow classic form, or branch away into a powerful new area that has yet to be explored? Thankfully, he broke away and created a story that set in motion the several thousands of other fairy tale rediscoveries.Coupled with Sondheim's powerful penmanship, we also have James Lapine's amazing direction. With a film like this, basically taking a live-performance and releasing it on DVD, there was that opportunity to go extremely stale and find yourself watching what looks like a "high school" parent's videotaped production. This version has extremely crisp editing, you can see the actors, you can hear what they are saying, and it feels as if you are right on the front row watching these powerful performances unfold in front of you. Lapine does an excellent job with his positions of the cameras and ability to focus on exactly whom we need to be watching. He keeps us centered on the story and characters without constantly reminding us that it is a play. He does a great job of taking us into the story, away from the stage, and giving us life away from the theater. If you force yourself to accept that it is only a play, than you will see the stage, the stagehands, and everything else that follows live theater, but if you get swept away into the songs, characters, and story, as I did, then you will see a fairy tale unfold in front of you.While I did enjoy the quality of the DVD and the creativity of Stephen Sondheim, there were some elements that I just could not escape. One happened to be the songs. While I loved the opening songs of the first act, in fact finding myself tapping my toes to several of the melodies, the second act felt as if I was listening to the same songs over and over again. The second act became repetitious to me. The songs, as well as the length, just seemed to be a bit overwhelming. I found my mind wandering, when I wanted to focus on what was happening on screen. I think this is because of the different versions of the SAME song coupled with elongated speeches. This may sound weird, but I loved the second act. It was dark, spooky, and showed a new side to fairy tales that we had not been accustomed to exploring. Yet, I hated the second act as well. It just seemed to drag on and on without a true direction in sight. I understood what needed to happen, but it just didn't feel as crisp as the opening act. The characters seemed a bit stale, the surroundings seemed a bit boring, and I just felt as if it had lost some of the creative genius that I witnessed in the opening act. While I hate to blame anyone (especially after the lesson learned in this film), but there was too much focus on Bernadette Peters, who was the obvious star of the play. This was an ensemble performance and needed to be treated as such. The second act focused a bit too much on Peters' Witch characters while it needed to explore everyone's emotions equally. Outside of these two issues, I felt this was a fun, fantastical film that introduced me into a new chapter of fairy tales.Overall, I was impressed. I really desire to see the play now, but don't know if I can sit through another 2.5 hour performance. It was great, but not worthy of another viewing. While I loved the creativity and the DVD transfer, I felt that the second act of this play was a bit sloppy. It needed to be tightened, strengthened around the darkness of the characters, and everyone brought together as a group, instead of individually. The ending smelled a bit cheesy, but allowed for all resolutions to be solved. There is so much that I loved about the second act (like the darkness and the chaos surrounding indestructible storybook characters), but there were equally the same amount of dislikes that spawned from the second act. Good, but not great, powerful, yet didn't seem to drive that nail home. Applauding Sondheim and Lapine, penalizing Peters and the uncreative repetitions of the songs.Grade: *** out of *****