Why Into the Woods MATTERS

[PalJoey]

This New Yorker piece by Michael Schulman is so good it deserves it own thread.




For the past year or so, a certain segment of the population—musical-theatre fans who were children in the eighties and thought they were too good for Andrew Lloyd Webber—has experienced a punishing range of emotions about the new movie “Into the Woods,” based on the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical of the same name. The emotions include anxiety, rage, anticipation, possessiveness, nostalgia, suspicion, denial, and dread. More than once, I’ve heard the show’s own lyrics used to explain how “Into the Woods” devotees feel about the adaptation. “Excited and scared,” as Little Red Riding Hood has it.

As a member of this small but fervent demographic, I’d like to explain why we’ve been so tense....



THE NEW YORKER: Why “Into the Woods” Matters BY MICHAEL SCHULMAN

[After Eight]

Surprise, surprise.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

After Eight, Sondheim himself could not have created a more complex, dark, and hateful character as yourself.

PalJoey, thank you once again for bringing these little pockets of joy to us. It is much appreciated. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and you enjoy the film! :)

[After Eight]

"For the past year or so, a certain segment of the population—musical-theatre fans who were children in the eighties and thought they were too good for Andrew Lloyd Webber—has experienced a punishing range of emotions about the new movie “Into the Woods,” based on the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical of the same name. The emotions include anxiety, rage, anticipation, possessiveness, nostalgia, suspicion, denial, and dread. More than once, I’ve heard the show’s own lyrics used to explain how “Into the Woods” devotees feel about the adaptation. “Excited and scared,” as Little Red Riding Hood has it. "

This is beyond hilarious.

Thanks, PJ, for the laughs.

[Mrtrobz]

Musical movies do matter in terms of demographic, If more of these movies are made and are successful then it will start getting the musical back into acceptance, Hollywood was mostly founded in a golden era of musical film and the more successful films like Into the Woods, Les Miserables, Annie, Mamma Mia and so on could make more musicals be green lit, I hope the cast of ITW and the overall PR campaign make it a smash hit. Using smaller budgets and larger actors is a good strategy for financial success.

[MichelleCraig]

Thanks for posting this...

[wonderfulwizard11]

Thanks for sharing that- it's a great piece. It pretty much expresses how I've always felt about this show. I don't think it's perfect- it's unwieldy, and it gets a little murky towards the end. But the complexity always brings me back and continually moves me. So even though the movie might be a bust, I'm excited to see this show tackled more, because it really is so worth exploring.

[PalJoey]

This Rachel Shukert piece in New York magazine is excellent as well.





NEW YORK/VULTURE: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Into the Woods By Rachel Shukert

[IronMan]

This book was just released- the description from Amazon:
Father takes six-year-old daughter to see summer production of Into the Woods thinking in his ignorance it would be appropriate for children because it’s about fairy tales. Problem is that her mother died when daughter was three weeks old, and seeing the show opens the floodgates to almost seven years of unresolved grief for father and daughter both.
Next morning, daughter wakes father and begs him to take her to see it again. And the same the next morning, and the next after that. And so begins a three-week journey into their own dark and scary woods.
Out of the Woods: A True Story is about the power of music, theatre and storytelling to open doors and cast light into dark corners. And the power of trust and friendship, as cast members of the show embrace their journey and show how true, life-changing catharsis can happen when you least expect it.
Out Of The Woods: A True Story

[Musical Master]

After reading such wonderful articles I think I will never understand After Eight's biased hatred for Sondheim. I think I'll keep it that way.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

He looks down on what he cannot understand. And he hates the likes of Ben Stone, Bobby, Joanne, and Fosca because they remind him of himself.

[CarlosAlberto]

We want things we know we shouldn’t have. We love people we know we are going to lose. That we want and that we love anyway is the perhaps the most important — and perhaps only — miracle of humanity. We can go into the woods, but we can also come out of them again.

I really needed to read that today.

[henrikegerman]

Am I the only one who enjoys you, After Eight, and doesn't take you quite so bloody seriously?

You're not exactly the Ebenezer Scrooge of bww.

More like the Lady Bracknell.

[CarlosAlberto]

Merry Christmas from Lady Bracknell

This is now how I will picture AfterEight...lol

[TazTarney]

I don't get the AIDS connection. Can someone explain that?

[Ranger Tom]

I love the whole Disney is A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes and Into the Wood is What if Your Heart Doesn't Have a Clue. Brillant.

And I don't get the AIDS connection either. Maybe Sondheim and Lapine talked about it early on.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

re: AIDS/ITW - https://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=988884#

[Showface]

TheNYPost groans/whines/complains: "'Into the Woods' is an overrated musical - and we want it gone"


WARNING: article may cause major/large eye rolls and rage.


http://nypost.com/2014/12/24/into-the-woods-is-an-overrated-musical-and-we-want-it-gone/

[After Eight]

"TheNYPost groans/whines/complains: "'Into the Woods' is an overrated musical - and we want it gone" "

Ain't that the truth.

[Showface]

If you are a fan of the beauty that is Into the Woods, take that article for what it is, satire. It may provide some good laughs.

[PalJoey]

Merry Christmas, dear After Eight.

[Jordan Catalano]

He'll respond when he's done going up to little kids and telling them Santa isn't real.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

After Eight, I hope you have lots of family and friends to spend the holidays with. And may you find all the joy in the world.

[Jordan Catalano]

LOL

[Musical Master]

Merry Christmas kid.














sheesh...