Into the Woods

Into the Woods, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

For me Into the Woods was more than a show, it was a practically 24-hour experience that I can't judge solely by what I saw onstage.

From 5:30 a.m., when I got to Central Park to stand in line for a free ticket, until the curtain call shortly after 11 that night at the Delacorte Theater, it turned out to be one of my most memorable New York City days ever.

Initially, I wasn't enthusiastic about getting up before dawn but my friend Tapeworthy assured me that it would be fun. And you know what, he was right. I couldn't have asked for a better first visit to the Public Theater's Shakespeare Sondheim in the Park.

I spent seven hours watching the park come alive on a sunny Friday morning. I was with wonderful friends I've met through theatergoing. We had breakfast and lunch delivered. I ended up with a front-row seat. And despite my obsessive worrying, not one drop of rain fell.

I'll admit that Into the Woods isn't my favorite Stephen Sondheim musical. It's about 3 hours and near the end, I was feeling the length. There's a lot going on in James Lapine's book of overlapping fairy tales - a baker and his wife, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and maybe some others I missed. I think some of the deeper meaning went by me.

This production, which originated at London's Regent's Park, uses a child narrator instead of an adult. But because I didn't know any better, I just assumed the role was supposed to be a child's. I imagined this young boy having problems at home and he's run away. He ends up lost in the woods and has this dream/nightmare that's a mishmash of stories he's been told.

I was thrilled by the magical elements: the Witch's transformation, the Giant, voiced by Glenn Close, appearing in a corner of the sky, the sprouting beanstalks. I liked the multi-tiered treehouse set designed by John Lee Beatty that blended in with the park's natural woods. Although I can see where it wouldn't be nearly as much fun if you were sitting off to the side or to the back.

I attended the third preview, so I realize that things were still jelling. But I thought Denis O'Hare and Amy Adams were sweet the Baker and his Wife. Their quest for a child was touching. Although Adams, whose film work I've loved, didn't make as big an impression onstage as I'd hoped. Donna Murphy was a great menacing presence as the Witch.

But four performances really stood out for me.

Sarah Stiles as Little Red Riding Hood and Ivan Hernandez as the Wolf were sexy and hilarious. As Cinderella, Jessie Mueller had such a gorgeous voice, especially in "No One Is Alone," that I wish she'd had a bigger role. And Gideon Glick was so endearing as Jack. I loved his "Giants in the Sky."

My favorite part of Into the Woods was simply being in Central Park at night for the first time.

I don't think I've ever seen any theatre outdoors before and it was lovely. You don't feel like you're in a crowded, concrete island of 1.6 million people but out in the woods somewhere. I always want to be transported by what I see onstage but this took it to a whole different level. (My only criticism: I wish there had been better lighting outside the theater when we left.)

Maybe if I'd spent $150 to see the show on Broadway I might feel differently. And honestly, I'm not sure there's a big Broadway audience for this unless it has a big Hollywood star. Despite the subject matter, it's not for kids. But the day was so perfect - a terrific introduction to a now 50-year-old New York City summertime tradition.

In short, it was the kind of day the late Joseph Papp, founder of the Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park, might have had in mind when he said, "Part of the spiritual life of the city is its art."

Joe Papp on the spiritual life of the city

I'm in the middle of reading Free For All by Kenneth Turan, a terrific oral history of Joe Papp, the founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater.

Turan began the project years ago as a collaboration with Papp, who died in 1991, so there are lots of quotes from him and people who knew him well. I'm clearly getting a sense of how stubborn and obnoxious Papp could be at times.

But what also comes through loud and clear is his devotion, almost with a religious fervor, to the idea that the arts, especially theatre, should be available to everyone, accessible to everyone, that they were an integral part of everyday life in New York City.

And he wasn't at all apologetic about it. Although he was prone to hyperbole: "I always used to say that Shakespeare should be as important as garbage collection."

He also said, proudly, that the Public Theater was the only institution of its size in the city that was started from the bottom by a poor boy and worked its way up. "All the other major, established institutions were started by big money."

I love this quote from Papp, which appears on page 237:

"Whenever I used to ask for money, they'd always raise the question: "The city has only $50,000 and there are kids starving to death and you're putting on Shakespeare. What's more important? What would you do?''

"Oh, shut up with that, already," I'd say. "That's a ridiculous question. In the first place, the city has more than $50,000. And, certainly, the city wastes millions and millions of dollars on things that are not important.

"In the general scale of things, certainly it's important to take care of basic necessities, to take care of the ill and the homeless, to feed children. But part of the spiritual life of the city is its art, its plays, so you are creating a false distinction.''

Gifts for theatre lovers - 2009 edition

It's time to pick out a gift for the theatre lover in your life.

Here's my 2008 list and all of the items on it are still highly recommended. But I want to add some new choices to the mix. I've stayed away from movie musicals and cast recordings, figuring they'd have those already.

And as I noted last year, these are great for Christmas, Chanukah, birthdays or any other time of year that you want to do something special for someone special.

1.) Free for All, by Kenneth Turan. I've just started reading this oral history of Joe Papp, founder of New York's Public Theater and the man who brought free Shakespeare to Central Park, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm especially looking forward to reading about the role Papp played in bringing musicals like Hair and A Chorus Line to Broadway. The story of how Free for All finally came to be published is interesting too.

2.) The Play that Changed My Life. This compilation, put together by the American Theatre Wing and edited by Ben Hodges, features essays by and interviews with a diverse group of 19 playwrights, all talking about the works that influenced them. It's always interesting to read what inspires people, especially if you're an aspiring writer yourself.

3.) Ticket album. My friend and fellow blogger Jan, from Broadway & Me, included this item in her list last year and I thought it sounded like a good idea. Then I got one as a gift and I love it! Now, if I want to know when I saw a show, where I sat or how much I paid, I have this close by. The slots are perfect for a Broadway ticket but you'll need to do a little snipping to make bigger ones fit.

4.) For me, one of the highlights of Finian's Rainbow on Broadway was listening to the delightful Kate Baldwin sing "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" So beautiful. Her first solo cd, Let's See What Happens, includes that song and others by composers Burton Lane and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg written from the 1940s to the 1960s.

5.) Sadly, I never got to see Forbidden Broadway, the show that spoofed Broadway shows. But I have bought a couple of their cds and the songs are very funny, especially if you recognize the originals to which they're paying homage. The 20th anniversary compilation is a good mix of tunes poking (gentle) fun at some classic musicals.

6.) Who wouldn't want theatre tickets, right? Regional theatres do great work and they add so much to the cultural life in their communities. The League of Resident Theatres has links on its Web site to 76 theatre companies across the United States. This is a chance to give a memorable gift while supporting the arts at the local level.

7.) Okay, I know I was going to stay away from cast recordings but if there's a child on your list who loves Disney movies, cds from the musical versions of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins or The Little Mermaid can be a great way to introduce them to the wonderful world of show tunes.

8.) I always like to have something from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on my list because the money it raises helps support critically needed services all over the country. Last year, I bought the 10th anniversary, two-disc Carols for a Cure. This year's catalog is full of terrific gifts. But a purple piggy bank caught my eye. It's never too early to start saving up for your first Broadway show!

When Joe Papp fired Kevin Spacey

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Free for All, by Kenneth Turan, an oral history of Joseph Papp and New York's Public Theater. I've just started thumbing through it but so far, it looks pretty interesting.

I first heard Papp's name when I was a teenager. I remember watching a play from the New York Shakespeare Festival on TV and being enthralled by it. I'm fairly certain it was this production of Much Ado About Nothing that aired on CBS in 1972.

Last fall, I made my first visit to the Public, for Stephen Sondeim's Road Show. I'll admit that Sondheim wasn't the only draw. I also wanted to see the place where landmark musicals like Hair and A Chorus Line were nurtured.

And yes, there was one other important reason - Kevin Spacey worked there briefly, after dropping out of Juilliard. (There's a Kevin Spacey connection to everything!)

I don't think this story is in the book but I've heard Kevin tell it many times in interviews and it's a nice one.

Here's an account that appeared in the Oct. 24, 1999 issue of Parade magazine:

"I had no prospects, no agent, no money, nothing. Then I got an audition for the New York Shakespeare Festival in the Park by basically browbeating the casting office. I played a messenger with, like, six lines in Henry IV, Part One. It was my first job in New York as a professional actor, and it was pretty exciting, but after that I just couldn't get any acting work.

"I was working as a hat-check guy in a restaurant when I decided to see Joe Papp for a job." [Papp was the influential founder and director of the New York Shakespeare Festival. He gave Spacey a job as office help.]

"While working there, I got cast as the lead in an off-off Broadway play, The Robbers, and got my first New York review - in the Village Voice. It was extremely complimentary, because they compared me to both Marlon Brando and Karl Malden in the same sentence, so for weeks my friends called me 'Marlon Malden.'

"Joe Papp showed up at the play one night and fired me the next day. I was stunned, because it was paying my rent. Joe said, ‘I saw an actor last night onstage, and you've become too comfortable here.’ He did me the greatest favor in the world by literally shoving me out the door.

"Four months later, Joe was in the opening-night audience of my first Broadway play."