All That Chat - re: The other Into the Woods (VERY, VERY long)

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re: The other Into the Woods (VERY, VERY long)

Posted by:	superior_exterior 02:04 pm EST 01/20/15
In reply to:	The other Into the Woods (VERY, VERY long) - AlanScott 06:27 pm EST 01/19/15

I very much agree with nearly all of this very long (but very thoughtful) post. I had felt hesitant to enter the conversation about the production earlier as everyone seemed to fall strongly into an "I LOVED this" or "This did NOT work for me" camp and I had more conflicted feelings. I've loved and internalized the show for so long that I was very willing and pleased to see a new take and found many of the choices effective. But I agree that a few cast members were simply not up to the task of the singing that was expected of them, and this was only amplified by how little instrumental support they had from the accompaniment. I found the concept and its unique ideas so charming that I began to get disappointed before songs started with thoughts of "Oh, I really wish I was seeing this with a more accomplished singer if we're going to make it through this song." I would recommend this staging recast with a more full voiced cast in a heartbeat, but find myself being very selective about who I recommend it to now, as is. I don't find "inventive college production" to be a negative description of this. It was a thoughtful and fresh take that clearly made the best of limited resources. But at the current level of production, at the pricing level Roundabout has set, I know their resources NOW could have afforded casting from a larger pool of talent.

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re: The other Into the Woods (VERY, VERY long)

Posted by:	AlanScott 07:03 pm EST 01/20/15
In reply to:	re: The other Into the Woods (VERY, VERY long) - superior_exterior 02:04 pm EST 01/20/15

Thanks for your thoughts. Glad to know I'm not alone. Of course, no one is alone. ;) I think that a big part of the point of the production is that this is a small company and they are only going outside the company as absolutely necessary. As far as I can tell, they cast three people who had not appeared in any previous Fiasco productions: Jennifer Mudge (Witch), Claire Karpen (Cinderella / Granny), and Liz Hayes (Cinderella's Stepmother / Jack's Mother). I'd certainly say that they were good choices. Maybe not the best people I've seen in those roles, but up to the demands of those roles (although I found Karpen's vibrato rather too noticeable during "No One Is Alone"). But although you and I might have wished that they'd gone outside the company in a couple of other roles, they would not do that. And I do understand why, even if I also felt that the results were not always ideal.

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