America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
Have you seen "Into the Woods?"
I'm still thinking about it.
Here's what I think so far...
Meryl Streep's performance as the witch is extraordinary. Seeing Meryl and her transformation is reason enough to see the movie. Her appearance is alternately hideous and beautiful. She's a movie star's movie star, and my favorite actress.
Chris Pine (Cinderella's Prince) stole the show with his duet with Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel's Prince). I didn't recognize him at first. I mean - who can be Captain Kirk, and Jack Ryan, AND the Prince? Christ Pine does it all, and he can sing!
Anna Kendrick (Cinderella) was a WRONG casting move - - even if she's a big box-office draw with several movies this year. Her voice is wonderful, but she's not Cinderella, and she certainly is NO match for Chris Pine's Prince. Faith suggested Anne Hathaway as Cinderella.
Daniel Huttleston (the boy in Les Mis) was fantastic as Jack). He's fun and engaging to watch on the big screen.
Johnny Depp is the Wolf...a creature unable to control his appetites. Who else could it have been? Wish someone older had played Red Riding Hood - because the encounter in the woods between the Wolf and Red was "pedophile-ish."
Lilla Crawford was much too young to play Red Riding Hood, and the sexual overtones with Wolf would not have been so creepy if the part had been cast with someone older.
Emily Blunt (Baker's Wife) can sing! Who knew?! She's wonderful as the Baker's Wife. (Remember her in "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA?" )
I searched the history of "Into the Woods." At first I thought the author (James Lapine) must have been drunk at a Hollywood party to come up with the notion of all the fairytales colliding. They more than "intertwine" - they collide - in the woods. Lapine's book is about the consequences of the character's wishes.
Author, James Lapine, said that the most unpleasant person (the Witch) would have the truest things to say and the "nicer" people would be less honest.
In the Witch's words: "I'm not good; I'm not nice; I'm just right."
Go see it. Tell me what you think.
I LOVE the details of the original fairy tales that Disney kept in the movie: like the hook that Rapunzel wrapped her hair around so visitors can climb up the tower; and her prince becoming blind from being thrown in the brambles by the witch; and the story-line of Rapunzel's mother's craving stolen desires from the witch's garden.
I know these stories,. I memorized them from the book by Charles Perrault. Perrault was a 17th Century French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales -- which were rewritten by the Brothers Grimm, continue to be printed and have been adapted to opera, ballet theater, and film.
I traveled as a storyteller telling Perrault's fairy tales for over 10 years -- in a one-woman show -- doing all the parts of each character. Fairy tales are funny and romantic and entertaining for all ages.
The new Disney movie is a musical (music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) based on the book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987. Bernadette Peters's performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim to the production during its original Broadway run. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera.
Wikipedia has a great chart (scroll down to the end of the article) of the casting history of "Into the Woods."
Go see it the movie.
Tell me what you think.
Thanks for stopping by!
Come back often, and invite a friend!
Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public SPeaking
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