Why Does “Into the Woods” Keep Coming Back?

Geek Out Freak Out

Songwriters

Welcome to

Geek Out/Freak Out

, where theatre fans get super enthusiastic about things.

This week, Rachel Carpman, a writer and dramaturg, geeks out (over the phone) with Ethan Heard, freelance director and Co-Artistic Director of

Heartbeat Opera.

Today's Topic:

INTO THE WOODS

!

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Rachel Carpman:

Let's freak out about the

Into the Woods

movie for a minute, especially since it's nominated for three Oscars (including Best Supporting Actress for Meryl Streep).

Ethan Heard:

Oh my god, I was so drawn in. I had predicted that Rob Marshall was going to do a panning-out shot that would become aerial, and you'd see all the characters converging, so my sisters grabbed my knee when that shot happened. I felt vindicated.

Rachel:

I mean, there's something so beautiful about the first half of that musical anyway.

Ethan:

And I think they captured the tone beautifully. Seeing Meryl do her thing up close, where you're just close-up on her face, she's getting to deliver the song in a way that you just can't in a theatre, where she colors every word and every syllable so specifically, and then she kind of rips her voice apart a little bit. I mean, it's not vocal destruction, but she's doing something vocally that might be hard to sustain eight shows a week. Especially in "Stay with me." I was just like, "This is a f***ing master class." I loved it.

Rachel:

I think you're right—you can do that on film and you can't do that in theatre. But there is something so theatrical about

Into the Woods

that I think they were able to capture on film because it stays in that one location. I felt like they were staying in woods that looked like the

same

woods over and over again, so it did kind of feel like a play. And the careful choreography—I guess I noticed it the most with the Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood, the very Broadway choreography.

Ethan:

And I thought "It Takes Two" was maybe less successful because it was so, like, cheesy and stagy. I kind of loved it—because I'm a Broadway nerd—but it definitely felt like the least successful blocking of a song for film. But that opening sequence…

Rachel:

And you came out talking about Meryl, but I came out talking about Emily Blunt.

Ethan:

Oh. You know, I saw it twice, and I did marvel at her more the second time.

Rachel:

But you were saying something about that opening sequence?

more

Ethan:

Oh, just that it was written so well to be filmic. So all the intercutting was really successful. I like all the little contemporary… well, not contemporary, but sort of improv-y lines that James Corden put in. Maybe there weren't even that many, but in the bakery scene…

Rachel:

"She's a thief!"

Ethan:

Yeah! He's like "Oh my god, she's taking all the pastries!"

Rachel:

It was adorable.

Ethan:

Can we talk about "Last Midnight" though?

Rachel:

Oh yes.

Ethan:

Well, first of all, it's drag. It's. High. Drag. I cannot wait for drag queens to go to town with

that costume and that wig

. And those fans! I feel like it's what Elphaba wants to be in "

No Good Deed.

" And it was so exciting—I was like, "Oh my god, how can any theatre production do that better?" And I don't think we can now—that's what scares me. How do you top that?

Rachel:

Ugh, I know. So, I have a question. Did you, like me, grow up on that other movie of

Into the Woods

?

Ethan:

I definitely watched it.

Rachel:

Because I was thinking about how it's still a movie of a Broadway show that we watched. And that's definitely the cast recording that I had.

Ethan:

Right. And I definitely thought of Joanna Gleason's death, and I thought of Joanna Gleason's use of the scarf, and compared them very closely to Emily Blunt's.

Rachel:

Have you ever done

Into the Woods

?

Ethan:

I did a scene—I did "Any Moment" in a scene study class.

Rachel:

I saw the 2002 revival, with Vanessa Williams as the Witch…

Ethan:

Oh yeah, me too.

Rachel:

Do you remember anything about that?

Ethan:

I remember they changed the lyric about the chair.

Rachel:

Huh?

Ethan:

In the "Witch's Rap," they changed it to "snake" and they had her wig come alive and her staff became a snake or something. Does that ring a bell? She also levitated when she transformed.

Rachel:

I think they were using the same technology as the Beast's transformation in

Beauty and the Beast

…

Ethan:

Yeah, exactly! I think they were really trying to.

Rachel:

I remember a lot of primary colors in that production.

Ethan:

Yeah, and the storybook set.

{Image2}

Rachel:

Yeah—a big storybook. Which I think almost worked, but then it got a little limiting. And now the show is back, right? Roundabout brought

Fiasco's stripped down/trunk show

Into the Woods

to New York?

Ethan:

Oh yeah. I've heard it's good.

Rachel:

What do you think it is about this musical, that we just keep doing it?

Ethan:

Well. We love fairy tales. We all grow up on them, so it's sort of a shared set of stories. We love the magic. It kind of automatically appeals to younger and older people—a sophisticated twist on childhood material.

Rachel:

And because it's not grounded in daily life, there are no references that will ever go out of style. It's timeless.

Ethan:

There's something satisfying about the interweaving of the stories. I was really admiring that—how well the book is constructed. And then, of course, the songs are just so frickin' brilliant. "It's Your Fault?" Such a tour-de-force of lyric writing. The lyrics are so witty, and also he explores very logical arguments that they could go through.

Rachel:

And if you go back and pull the first act apart, you see how it's planted every single seed that turns into a beanstalk in the second act. Literally and figuratively.

Ethan:

I know. James Lapine must have been like, "Well done, Steve." They both must have been, because they rocked it.

RACHEL CARPMAN