10 - Into the Woods

    A baker and his wife want to have a child, but their house is cursed by a witch.  In order to lift the curse, they have to go into the woods to gather some items to appease the witch.  Their story collides with the stories of Rapunzel, Jack & The Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.  All of the characters have their own goals.  The second act deals with the giant's wife (whose husband Jack killed) coming down for revenge.
    This was the DVD release of what seems to be the original Broadway cast.  It's a stage musical, so it's not immersive in the same way that a film is.  The one directorial element that I found unusual is that the cameras are pretty mobile, but they only change up their angles on the horizontal side of things.  There isn't much of any vertical adjustment.  No angles looking down on the cast, or looking upward.  Even later in the show, when two characters are raised high on the stage, we still have them in a straight-on view.
    The performances are very good.  There were two recognizable faces in the cast.  The witch is played by Bernadette Peters, who I mostly just remember from her role in The Jerk.  The baker's wife is played by Joanna Gleason, who I remember for her part in Boogie Nights as Dirk Diggler's mother.  But I was still impressed with pretty much everyone.
    I do have some issues with the show, but less after reading more about it.  I thought that the first act was actually very solid.  It was satisfying, and it felt like it came to an appropriate close.  The second act seemed less useful.  But the more I've read about it, the second act covers all of the more serious ideas, and it moves the show from just being a fun light comedy to being slightly more dramatic, and a little darker.  And that makes a lot of sense for a musical based on fairy tales.
    Strangely, I liked the music, but I didn't find any of it memorable.  It's complex, and there is a fantastic handling of the lyrics, and specific themes.  But it's actually too complicated for it's own good.  Instead of having melodies that are easy to remember, we're left with brief ideas that keep getting used.  For a show as ambitious as this, I don't think there was a better way.