Ah well, back to my wife

[brandywine28]

Overheard on the C train: a rather portly, balding Orthodox gentleman complaining loudly to his friend about his YARMULKE TAN LINES.

...I really, really hope he didn't realize I was laughing at him. Although--I was shaking so hard the only other possible conjecture is that I was having some kind of seizure and if that's really what he thought, then (since he didn't offer to call for help or anything) in my book that makes HIM the rude one, not me. Totally. Because there's no better logic than the self-serving kind. /end digression

So. Into the Woods at the Delacorte was a cornucopia of strange directing choices. Chief among these was the decision to ratchet up (WAY up) the lesbian overtones in the Witch's relationship with Rapunzel--WITHOUT downplaying any of the mother/daughter stuff. Slightly icky? Why yes, yes it was. Thanks so much for asking. :) On the other hand, a change that didn't bother me as much as it probably should've was the decision to make the Narrator a little boy. Sure, it raised a helluva lot more questions than it answered--like, isn't the storyline a little too sophisticated to be taking place entirely in the mind of a ten year old?--but it was kinda charming, actually. As for Rapunzel's twin babies...well, I'm not sure I could explain that one away if my life depended on it.

Overall, though, I had a fantastic time. I do like me a good spectacle after all, and it's pretty hard to ruin Sondheim. Yeah, I *could* harp on certain problems, like various performers not being up to the task singing-wise, but since I'm trying this new thing lately where I DON'T act like a crusty snob all the time, I won't. Instead I'll just rave about Donna Murphy, whose rendition of "The Last Midnight" was the best one I've ever sat through. THE. BEST. A glittering slow build of a nervous breakdown, full of vocal pyrotechnics AND MAGIC. Awesome.

Besides, seeing a show in the Park is an experience unto itself. At one point a raccoon waddled up onto the stage and disappeared behind some rigging, earning itself a wild round of applause and confirming my suspicions that ALL New Yorkers are out of their damn minds. (You'd think I'd've figured that out by now; I guess I'm just a slow learner.)

Comments

[pensnest]

I can understand why professional companies do Weird Stuff with Shakespeare - all kinds of good reasons, plus the fact that they want to Be Different - even though for a lot of audiences, a decent amateur production is much easier to understand. But to make strange choices with Sondheim, who's contemporary and sophisticated, seems unnecessary to me. I seem to remember a few lines in the script which would make having a kid as the Narrator a little bit, hmm, odd; and the Witch with lesbian overtones towards Rapunzel... :-(

Oh well. Always something solid to enjoy about Into the Woods, anyway! I saw a production at the Donmar in which the Baker was a total pudding. I think he was doing TV acting, having apparently failed to notice he was in a theatre. The Donmar is tiny, but it's not like having a camera in your face, fool!

And theatre in the park is cool.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

It was definitely NOT a production for purists, that's for sure. I was grateful all throughout that I already knew the show like the back of my hand, otherwise who knows what I would've thought was going on up there! :)

The Boy Narrator thing was a bit ill-conceived, granted, but far from the silliest change they made. He was more or less used as a framing device; it was pretty heavily implied that he was supposed to be an older version of the Baker's son, so. A good excuse to stuff the show with a little extra sentimentality, I guess? As for the LesYay...yeah, no.

It's not like there was nothing to enjoy--the girl playing Little Red did a kickass job, as did both princes. And Donna Murphy was on fire!

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

First of all, let me say, your posts always are awesome.

Secondly, it's funny, because, to me? The whole thing between the yarmulke and the raccoon and the crowd's reaction? Totally normal, because it's New York, and I've always felt that anything that would be weird in other places is completely normal there. :)

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

Hee. Thanks. I'm a lazy bum when it comes to posting, I should really do it more often. :)

One thing I've learned, living here: when it comes to nature, New Yorkers blow everything WAY out of proportion. Anything outdoorsy is automatically exoticized. Maybe it's because no one here has a backyard? Even me--I have the tiniest, most unimpressive little herb garden out on my fire escape (a couple of tomato plants and not much else) and my neighbors all treat me like I'm The Farmer in the Dell.

So the thing with the raccon was like--yeah. They're basically just rats with fluffy tails, right? No one from anywhere else in the country would've so much as blinked, and here are all these supposedly jaded, sophisticated city folk going "oooh, aaah!" and craning their necks to get a better look. It was a riot.

As for the yarmulke tan lines, well. It just struck me as funny is all. I have a ridiculous sense of humor. You know this. :)

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

I'll continue to let the foot-high weeds grow in my yard, then, and you can pull to your heart's content!

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

More likely I'll just tumble around in them while giggling madly like in the opening credits of 'Little House on the Prairie'. :) Hooray! Weeds!