gnat's entertainment
i love INTO THE WOODS... i have ALWAYS loved...
INTO THE WOODS !!!
i saw the original broadway production with my grandmother... we had FIRST ROW seats... we arrived at the theater and my grandmother started taking some kleenex out of her bag... so she rested it on the stage... actually on a jutting ramp...
within seconds the LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD character skipped out and almost kicked the bag into the audience... this terrified me... why had no one noticed this? mentioned it? i wasn't paying attention... anyway, my grandmother swiped the bag off JUST in time... it all happened so quickly...
i fell in love with the show...
i have seen many productions over the years.... lots of cinderellas.... jacks... witches... even caught PHYLICIA RASHAD as the witch once... she was harshly criticized... but i quite enjoyed her...
not long ago, i was in a suburban supermarket... and MS. RASHAD was in line right in front of me... she placed the plastic divider between our items... smiled quickly... kindly...
in those few minutes, four people approached her and made a "mrs. huxtable/cosby" comment... i would NOT have it... right after she swiped her credit card... i leaned over and said -- "i LOVED your work in INTO THE WOODS!"... i punctuated it with solid eye contact...
she took a small breath, touched the top of my hand and said -- "thank ya, honey".. a full-blown, claire huxtable "thank ya, honey"... then she walked out!
anyway, i REALLY love INTO THE WOODS... and i was THRILLED, MOVED, ENCHANTED by this SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK production.... i was in BLISS... HEAVEN...
i had won the VIRTUAL LOTTERY, so i picked up my ticket as i was instructed... then off to the AMSTERDAM and 74th street EQUINOX... back, triceps... then back to the park...
i sat on a bench outside the theater... and was HORRIFIED when a well-dressed, seemingly intelligent man approached his friend (who was sitting next to me) and asked... with a haughty tone --- "do you understand what the show is about?"... i knew EVEN by the way he asked that he, himself, did NOT know... but, he needed to be a bitch to his friend...
the friend nervously responded -- "well, it is by SHAKESPEARE... and it is about a husband and wife who live in a forest." the haughty man nodded approvingly... with NO IRONY !!!! NONE !!!! they REALLY believed they were about to see SHAKESPEARE... lord...
why must i ALWAYS be terrified before i see INTO THE WOODS?
got to my free, VIRTUAL LOTTERY, cute seat... and was really enjoying the idea that i would see INTO THE WOODS... in an outdoor, woods-like environment... fun !!!
the set is basically the SWISS ROBINSON TREEHOUSE on steroids... with TWIG accents... real cute... when the cast arrives on stage, they give off a post-apocalyptic/cyndi lauper vibe... also cute !!!
i've been wondering for weeks... how are they going to represent MILKY WHITE?... a statue.... a puppet... a cow suit... well, it is basically a puppet... a cool puppet... realistic cow head with a body that looks like the arts and crafts thing we would do as kids... you know, when you take a blown up balloon... wrap it in twine.... glue the twine on... and then POP the balloon... that's EXACTLY what his body looks like !!!
central park... the sunset... the breeze REALLY inform the experience... the set grows more and more lovely as night falls... the audience literally gasps when they see RAPUNZEL in her tower high above the tree house... it is super dramatic and effective...
while i am discussing dramatic effects... the GIANT is rendered beautifully... i am not sure if everyone was as enchanted as i was... but i REALLY was... it is a MASSIVE MASSIVE puppet... i was riveted...
AMY ADAMS was adorable, wonderful, spunky, believable... she was in LOVELY voice... she is a slightly less "serious" BAKER'S WIFE than JOANNA GLEASON was... all those years ago... but it is SOOOO unfair to compare... i liked her softness... i liked her transformation... and AMY can DANCE !!!
loved my AMY !!!
KRISTINE ZBORNIK plays JACK's MOTHER... what a fun, funny... kinda raw take... she is hysterical... and moving... i mean KRISTINE ZBORNIK is ALWAYS hysterical... but what a GREAT platform for her !!! she IS.. and WILL BE... having a MOMENT doing this role!!! a "MOMENT in the woods"...
yep, i WENT there !!!
actually, KRISTINE ZBORNIK terrified me once... i was living in LA... and we met at a theater in STUDIO CITY to see a mutual friend in a show... after the show, she offered to drive me back over the HOLLYWOOD HILLS... into WEST HOLLYWOOD... it was sweet of her to offer, so i happily accepted...
we were both kinda new to the HOLLYWOOD area and neither of us knew that one particular part of LAUREL CANYON BOULEVARD was in the process of having the DOUBLE YELLOW LINE repainted... she thought she was driving me on a ONE-WAY street... a speeding, oncoming VAN taught us otherwise...
there was screaming, careening and recalibrating... but, we escaped unscathed... thank god.... because it would be HORRIBLE if VIRTUAL LOTTERY winners... like me... were deprived of her BRILLIANT performance at the DELACORTE...
PRO-ZBORNIK... always... thrilled that she is performing in a city with a good mass transit system !!!
the WOLF... oh man... HOT HOT HOT !! but, not corny HOT !!! like, smoldering, slow, undulating, yet stationary HOT !!! he gets RED RIDING HOOD to take off her sexy red motorcycle (vespa?) helmet...
like i said.. HOT !!!
i had the CHILLS for a LOT of the show... those REAL "i am LOVING this show" chills... ACT 2 is ESPECIALLY excellent !!!
i hope they reconsider the witch's TRANSFORMATION moment... i wondered how they would do it... but, when the chorus members came out and attacked her with leaf blowers (i'm serious!) and they appeared to tackle her... then half undress her... then she had to sorta turn her own outfit inside out... it seemed prolonged... it just felt TOO clunky !!! ditch the gardening equipment, surround her... and HELP her dress... seems an easy enough fix !!!
also, visiting RAPUNZEL is a THREE STEP PROCESS... the narrator mimics the climb, the climber climbs a bit, then is attached to a separate bungee cord and then has to "BUNGEE" to her...
i'd be cool with the MIMIC and the visitor simply APPEARING inside her SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON upscale hut !!!
also...
when a CERTAIN character dies... they sorta wander away, vanish, reappear and then get attached to the BUNGEE apparatus... i was TERRIFIED for this wonderful and talented person... a simple BLACKOUT would work MUCH more effectively !!!
but, then again, it is my LOT in life to be terrified before, during and after any production of INTO THE WOODS...
ok, i will let you guys go !!!
THANK YA, HONEY !!!
oh wait, my BLOG TITLE...
i forgot...
at the FIRST PREVIEW performance, DONNA MURPHY... who plays the WITCH.... starts to sing LAST MIDNIGHT... and she starts to cough in an odd manner...
i am pretty sure a GNAT flew into her mouth... i had good enough seats that i can definitely confirm that SOMETHING flew in... i don't have a BROAD knowledge of insects... to me, it goes BEE, FLY, MOSQUITO, GNAT... from LARGEST to SMALLEST...
i am calling GNAT here...
it was a bit of a battle... but, ms murphy got on track... and finished the song in GORGEOUS voice...
the natural breeze... blowing the cast's costumes... comes across dynamic, sexy, beautiful... LOVELY residuals of an OUTDOOR production...
if you look at it this way...
GNAT INGESTION is a SMALL price to pay !!!
talk soon...
