Into the Woods: Stephen Sondheim

The four stars is for the performances and the stage show. Here, we're talking the ORIGINAL Broadway Cast, including an extraordinary performance from Bernadette Peters. Here, we're also talking about a cast that had been performing the show for quite a while, and you see the looseness and chemistry in the performances. These performers are clearly having fun. They have the sort of chemistry that you only get with a live performance and with a cast that had been together for a while. Moreover, this performance was captured with a live audience at the theater, so you can also sense the chemistry with the audience with the cast feeding off the audience's energy, again something that only happens with a live performance.There's no doubt that Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, and Meryl Streep hold their own in the film. None of the other actors, though, are up to what you see in the Broadway cast (and Johnny Depp was embarrassing, certainly compared to the actor portraying the wolf here). And Meryl Streep doesn't have the power in her singing voice to do the powerhouse "Last Midnight" the justice that someone like Bernadette Peters can bring to the song.The original stage show is a smarter show than the movie. While the movie is a very, very good movie version of a stage show, it has been dumbed down a bit. The stage show was written for a knowing audience, and the book and its characters give a wink to knowing that these are stories and characters that are well-known. While this knowingness shows up in the film as well in the songs themselves (for example, during the opening song "Into The Woods" when Little Red Riding Hood sings about about going into the woods to visit grandmother, she sings "As far as I know she, she's already dead", it's an intentional bit of comedic irony. But that ironic element is largely played down in the Disney film in other areas, whereas the artifice of putting these characters' well-known stories on stage is called on and pointed out by almost all of the characters throughout the stage play, though not so much so that it becomes annoying. In the end, the stage musical is clearly aimed to bring out more of the wit of the show, and plays up to more of the intellect of the audience, as well as the heart. This performance of Into The Woods will have more surprises for you than the film.Nothing can quite cure that this is not the most perfect, organic work of Sondheim. At times, the wordiness seems forced, in a way that the lyrics sometimes seems clever for cleverness' sake. Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday In The Park With George, Company -- they seem more organically grown, with the songs coming more truly from the characters and each moving the show more forward. There are certainly examples of that in Into The Woods such as "Children Will Listen", "It Takes Two", and the great "No More" (which was left off of the film version), but with the best Sondheim, you don't think "How clever!" while a song is being sung.The downsides to the video and why only 4 stars? Well, for one, it IS stagey. You'll never get a sense that you ARE in a real dark forest. There's a dimensionality to the film which you just can't have in a video of a Broadway play. Secondly, this is a video which was captured on standard definition tape from 1989 (the video has a 1990 copyright, but I believe that this performance must have been done shortly before the show ended its run, one of the longest running of Sondheim's shows). There was no attempt to really do a whole lot of upgrading to the quality of the video. It's okay. I wish there had been an attempt to improve the quality. The quality isn't bad, but you'll see its age.Most importantly, there are NO extras. Why not?! This is a release from late last year (2014), surely to take advantage of the Disney film's release. But I remember watching this when it first showed on PBS, recorded live as it happened. At intermission, there were interviews with the show's creators, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Why not include them here? With this video, you only get the show itself, with an intermission card that last 20 seconds. You certainly could have interviewed current day Lapine and Sondheim today. Why not interview Joanna Gleason, or Chip Zien, or Chuck Wagner, or anyone else involved? Disappointing that this video seems more to have been dashed out to take advantage of the Disney film rather than to create a lasting document.Still, this is a stunning production and will likely never be equaled. The cast performing in this video is having a blast, and so will you. Certainly if you want to see the original vision of the show, a superior one to the film, this is well worth springing for. And I paid $19 for it. I'm fine with that. As I write this, it's $11+. A no-brainer.

Not quite two years ago, sometime after the Disney movie adaptation of this play was released on DVD, I rented it and watched it with my family. I have always loved fairy tales and Disney's happy adaptations of fairy tales, while also being intrigued by the darker original tales; so of course I wanted to see Into The Woods. Disney dropped the ball on this one and I'm glad I didn't buy it, only rented it. They didn't give Into The Woods the usual sugar-coated Disney makeover - which would've been OK if they hadn't completely overreached in their attempt to preserve the darker overtones of the original play. (They also failed to edit the 2 hour 30 minute play down to a 2 hour movie with a story that still WORKS). All this resulted in a product that is simply weird, creepy, and doesn't make sense. Something about the story got under my skin, however, and I came away from the movie feeling like "I'm glad I saw it, even though I did not love it". Fast forward nearly two years; the disappointing experience of the promising concept was still nagging at me, so I purchased and watched this version of the story after reading all the positive reviews. So glad I did! Finally, gaping plot holes were filled, AND I was able, emotionally and thoughtfully, to experience the story as it was meant to be experienced. The MOVIE makes you feel ambivalent and uneasy about its characters. Not so with the play. All the actors did a wonderful job and gave heartfelt, compassionate performances. None of the characters were wholly good or bad, just human and relatable. They are portrayed with genuine pathos. Also, the thought-provoking (and fully intact) lyrics actually make sense when they're sung in this version. Of course, Bernadette Peters steals every scene she's in, but I also very much enjoyed the marvelous performances of the actors who portrayed the Baker, his Wife, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and... well, the whole cast, really. The play is actually more family-friendly than the movie, too, even though the Baker's Wife and Cinderella's Prince are seen rolling across the forest floor in an embrace and the Wolf's costume seems to be anatomically correct (most kids probably won't know or care, it's noticeable only briefly). The point is that in the play the adult content is portrayed much more subtly and open to interpretation - an interpretation a child wouldn't make. As for the music, I will refrain from comparing the singing in the two productions; to compare the pop style of the movie and the Broadway style of the play would be a useless 'apples and oranges' argument. At any rate, this play is definitely worth the $8.99 and the 2 1/2 hours; I am glad I saw it AND love it. I hope you love it, too.

This filmed staging of Into The Woods, with cast including Joanna Gleason and Bernadette Peters, perfectly captures the humor and the heartbreak of life's lessons through fairy tales. Sondheim neatly weaves together a series of familiar fairy tales (NOT the cleaned up Disney versions) built around the notion of "I Wish" and the acts and consequences of those acts the characters all take (including the witch) to achieve the realization of their wish. Act One follows the familiar territory of the actual tales seemingly complete at tis end with everyone living happily every after. then comes Act Two where we visit happily every after and discover it's a pretty unfulfilling place. Plus, the consequences of actions taken in Act One start to bear out in ways none of the characters foresaw. Unlike, the awful Hollywood adaptation, this one retains the story's (very essential) Narrator, with the actor having a dual role within the play. The stage version also avoids the stunt casting of an actor to play the Wolf and a different actor to play Cinderella's Prince. These too, are played by the same actor (Robert Westenberg) as the two characters bear intentional parallels between the Wolf's actions in Act One and the Prince's actions in Act Two. Of all the stage musicals ever produced, perhaps none come as close to perfectas this is when it comes o examining the notion of Desire and how humans behave in a crisis. The fairy tale setting makes it all go down easy, but the lessons are serious, and worth the learning.

Sondheim's music is, without doubt, always a joy, with wit and structure and fine tunes coupled with drama and the often thought-provoking lyrics. Into the Woods is no exception. Starting where it means to continue with "Once upon a time there was...." the various fairy stories weave their way one within another to the happy conclusion of Act 1 where everyone from the childless baker and his wife to Cinderella, Jack and his magic bean stalk and the handsome Prince, have what they want. Told with humour this collection of interlocking tales is far from being a child's musical. The witch with the vegetable fetish (an eventually voluptuous Bernadette Peters)and the challenge she sets the Baker and his wife become the fulcrum around which the various stories are played out... the stories of loss and lust, greed and need. Act 2 starts where those who triumphed in Act 1 starting to feel disenchanted: the Baker's new baby cries, Cinderella is an angel and loved by one and all but the Prince has a roving eye, Rapunzel can't run fast enough and the death of the giant has to be avenged... and it's all to wonderful music. This isn't a simple theater experience to while away an hour or so. As to the actors and the production... The standard of each of the players is universally good with Bernadette Peters and Joanne Gleason excellent. The film was taken directly from the stage and this shows with the cohesive nature of each scene running into the next. There are no cuts and tricks typical of most film and television dramas and that only enhances the production. It is as near to a theater experience as one could wish without the discomfort of catching the bus home afterwards.

Anyone who likes musicals is usually aware of the incomparable talent of STephen SOndheim - West Side STory, SUnday in the park with George to name but a few. Into the woods is in many ways his masterpiece - a wonderful blend of original narrative, extraordinary songs and a cast of musical talent so sublime that it is impossible to find a weakness in this glorious ensemble.The first act revovlves around a series of popular fairy stories (Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the BEanstalk) that all become interlinked when a baker and his wife journey into the woods motivated by the promise of a child by the Wicked Witch.The second act takes it a step further and asks the question - what happens after happily after? As you would expect from Sondheim, it veers into darkness at times but the comic relief is always lingering there keeping the audience engaged and entertained.Bernadette Peters shines in a part that asks her to be ugly and beautiful and take on some dizzyingly tricky songs that leave you assured of the vitality of this womens monstrous talent. (One song - Children Will Listen is regularly included as part of Barbra Streisands repertoire - a clue to the quality of the songs here).I guarantee that at the end of watching this you will be delighted by its mixture of emotion and sparkling wit and probably ask yourself why this particular show hasn't had the recognition it clearly deserves.Take a walk Into the Woods and discover the magic for yourself ..........

A great recording of a theatrical performance. The cast are spot-on, the songs are great, and the story is fun.

Arrived a day earlier than expected. Was well packed and in excellent condition and the dvd quality was almost as good as blu-ray.A fascinating performance, will need more than one viewing to appreciate the way in which the various fairy tales are intermingled

I just love the way Stephen Sondheim has woven the various fairy tales together into this wonderful musical. I saw this performance many years ago on tv and was delighted to find it had been transferred to dvd. It is now a firm favourite amongst my collection.