My Musical Theater Voyage of Discovery; The Sondheim Files - Into the Woods
INTO THE WOODS was our favourite show that we saw on Broadway in 1986 (? – I am always hazy on dates). We came up for a week from Dallas because my friend Steve Barton was doing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and I had to see him – so for a week we ran around our future home town and saw something like 10 shows in seven days, among them were Phantom (natch), Romance Romance (which we looooved), Anything Goes (my first live Patti LuPone – mwahvelous!), M Butterfly, Burn This and the lamentable Madonna performance in Speed the Plow (entirely worth it because of Ron Silver’s perf). Into the Woods, though, was truly special. We were in the second row and went in, ready to be transported; and we were.
Our experience seeing Into the Woods has remained a big part of our mosaic as individuals and as a couple. It remains one of our favourite musicals, the song Moments in the Woods is a song we sing to each other on a regular basis and the woman who introduced that song has become one of our dearest friends. I was given the honour (by my friend, Michael Borowski) of photographing the Into the Woods anniversary concert (one of my favourite gigs I ever had). Our friend, Judi Dench, was the voice of the giant in the revival. Into the Woods is just one of those shows that lives in our tapestry and will never not be a part of us.
That’s why the OBC is in my Ipod and, often, played – either from start to finish or just certain songs I am in the mood to hear. And when you have an emotional attachment, a kind of relationship, with a cast album like that, why on earth would you import any other recordings of that show into your Ipod?
The West End cast album with Julia McKenzie and Imelda Staunton is nice; but I wouldn’t listen to it instead of the OBC. So – no English recording of Into the Woods in my Ipod. There is, on that recording, a lovely song called Our Little World that was cut from the Broadway production. I COULD put that in my Ipod, for the sake of listening to that wonderful song, except it was put into the Broadway revival and sung by Vanessa Williams, to whom I am devoted. That’s why her tracks from the revival cast album are in my Ipod.
And ONLY her tracks. (well… almost).
Let me tell you about that revival.
Hated it.
H A T E D I T.
But – and this is a big but – Loved Christopher Seiber and Gregg Edelman and the way they reinvented their roles. I have their AGONY in my Ipod. I have Laura Benanti’s ON THE STEPS OF THE PALACE in my Ipod (she was out of the show when I saw it – that’s the bummer; but, boy howdy, can the girl sing). I have Vanessa Williams’ songs: OUR LITTLE WORLD, STAY WITH ME, LAMENT, THE LAST MIDNIGHT – because I can always listen to Vanessa Williams sing. As for the rest of the cast album, there is absolutely no reason for me to have it in my Ipod because I would sooner listen to Joanna, Bernadette Peters and Chip Zien (I love that man’s voice) than be reminded of how MUCH I really did not like that revival. I genuinely hate to say something that negative; but I hate to lie more. So there it is. I did like that dancing cow, though.
And Judi Dench.
Our experience seeing Into the Woods has remained a big part of our mosaic as individuals and as a couple. It remains one of our favourite musicals, the song Moments in the Woods is a song we sing to each other on a regular basis and the woman who introduced that song has become one of our dearest friends. I was given the honour (by my friend, Michael Borowski) of photographing the Into the Woods anniversary concert (one of my favourite gigs I ever had). Our friend, Judi Dench, was the voice of the giant in the revival. Into the Woods is just one of those shows that lives in our tapestry and will never not be a part of us.
That’s why the OBC is in my Ipod and, often, played – either from start to finish or just certain songs I am in the mood to hear. And when you have an emotional attachment, a kind of relationship, with a cast album like that, why on earth would you import any other recordings of that show into your Ipod?
The West End cast album with Julia McKenzie and Imelda Staunton is nice; but I wouldn’t listen to it instead of the OBC. So – no English recording of Into the Woods in my Ipod. There is, on that recording, a lovely song called Our Little World that was cut from the Broadway production. I COULD put that in my Ipod, for the sake of listening to that wonderful song, except it was put into the Broadway revival and sung by Vanessa Williams, to whom I am devoted. That’s why her tracks from the revival cast album are in my Ipod.
And ONLY her tracks. (well… almost).
Let me tell you about that revival.
Hated it.
H A T E D I T.
But – and this is a big but – Loved Christopher Seiber and Gregg Edelman and the way they reinvented their roles. I have their AGONY in my Ipod. I have Laura Benanti’s ON THE STEPS OF THE PALACE in my Ipod (she was out of the show when I saw it – that’s the bummer; but, boy howdy, can the girl sing). I have Vanessa Williams’ songs: OUR LITTLE WORLD, STAY WITH ME, LAMENT, THE LAST MIDNIGHT – because I can always listen to Vanessa Williams sing. As for the rest of the cast album, there is absolutely no reason for me to have it in my Ipod because I would sooner listen to Joanna, Bernadette Peters and Chip Zien (I love that man’s voice) than be reminded of how MUCH I really did not like that revival. I genuinely hate to say something that negative; but I hate to lie more. So there it is. I did like that dancing cow, though.
And Judi Dench.
posted by StephenMosher at 9:43 AM
2 Comments:
Would love to talk with you, Steve Barton was my best friend.
m2001mb@yahoo.com
thanks!!
Steve Barton was a good man and one I loved, though we were not always in each others' orbits. I wept when he died. Sometimes I still do.
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