Word: rapunzel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...reveal the homes of the Baker and his Wife, Jack and Cinderella. This is artfully done and a good contrast to the wide open stage of the "forest" where the rest of the action takes place. The tree panels are on a fine line between abstract and unrecognizable; Rapunzel's tower is downright weird. The rotating rake in the center of the stage is put to good use in indicating scene changes and the director only once gives into the temptation of staging a "Les Miserables"-like turning sequence. Bovine Engineer Margaret Chou also deserves credit for creating a stupid...
This is particularly a problem in the two "Agony" sequences where Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince lament their anguished quest for love. These are normally among the funniest numbers in the show yet they receive only token laughs in this production. Markham O'Keefe and Jason Watkins as the Princes seem to have no idea what they're doing. This scene is only funny if the princes actually believe what they're saying. O'Keefe and Watkins treat it as a cabaret performance and sing the whole song facing front and rocking back and forth on their feet...
Into the Woods (1987). Stephen Sondheim's best musical was gorgeous to look at, haunting to hear and thought provoking to remember. A fractured fairy tale that brought into the same forest Cinderella, Rapunzel and the like, it asked what comes after happily-ever-after, pondering what it means to grow...