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| 2014 Film poster |
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| Original Broadway poster |
So the other night I came across an article which really peaked my interest in the worst way possible about a concept I had been grappling with for some time now. Here it is:
http://taylormarshall.com/2014/12/into-the-woods-movie-a-dads-critical-review.html
Read it. Think about it. You may have opinions different from mine, but I know exactly how it made me feel- most of which I detailed in a post to Facebook which was longer than any Facebook post should have to be.
Here is that:
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You know, more than one person has asked me how I feel about the recent appearance of musicals and other works of theatre in spotlights appealing to the general public- like Disney's Into the Woods, or the recent CBS live musicals. The man auditioning me for NYU actually asked me this very question as well. Until now, I have had a mixed response, believing that those kinds of programs can provide excellent exposure and help to enlighten people who may not have explored theatre elsewhere.
However, now I am leaning towards the opinion that theatre may be best off left on the stage. Into the Woods started off in the late 1980's as a highly praised, immaculately written show by Sondheim and Lapine. Its progressive thinking echoes what I would like to imagine is the average, open-minded thought process of the theatre goer.
When a show like this is put out into the cinema world, where every Pastor Joe is able to take their kids without having any idea what they're seeing- that's when you get a recipe for disaster. Because all of the sudden, these men and women and children feel compelled to express their opinion on how this piece of art contradicts their personal beliefs.
Now, if this show would have kept itself to the stage, where would we be? Yes- it'd be limiting itself to one form, which could be oppressive to the very nature of performance (however, since it was written as a stage musical and not a film piece, I have a hard time fully sympathizing with this option.) But what we'd really be left with is a crowd who can accept "nominalistic" (i.e. Secular and atheistic- according to this post's author) words and lyrics as a way to deliver the realities of the world we're living in.
As I said, I'm starting to think that these expanded platforms may not be the best thing for some or most works of theatre- especially the progressive ones which have truly made a name for themselves. Before, I thought that it may help to enlighten those who wouldn't normally attend a show, now I believe that maybe those people did not attend for a good reason.
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Since then, I have been confronted with only one question- though I invite them and hope more will follow behind. That question being "What about the people who cannot afford to see a stage play or musical?"
I think this question really approaches the root of why these makeshift critics are suddenly coming out to give their piece when Into the Woods has been around for nearly three decades. Along with being produced on Broadway multiple times, it has also toured around the world, been put on in small regional and school theaters everywhere, had multiple video and dvd releases* of both live stage and concert performances for under the price of a modern movie ticket, and possessed a plethora of varied cast recordings (many of which can be found here: http://castalbums.org/shows/Into-the-Woods/165) that clearly detail the controversial storyline and "atheist" lyrics of the show... All of this would lead me to believe that not having the funds to see the show live in-person is hardly an excuse for being ignorant to its themes anymore.
*a recording of a stage performance is not the same as being reformatted for a major motion picture
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Those who have heard about the "controversy" surrounding the attendees of the new Into the Woods movie know the biggest complaints- of which there are a dishearteningly large amount:
"I didn't even know it was a musical before I went! Every time they started singing again I groaned!"
"The second half was so dark! Nothing remotely close to a happy ending. What kind of Disney film is this?"
"I can't believe they would market this immoral trash to children! Pedophilia! adultery! robbery! death! Don't waste your money!"
I even saw people exercising their creative side with critiques that likened the production to "cocaine-laced candy- which can be life threatening to all of us if we are not discerning."
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As a kid who was raised on the Original Broadway Cast VHS recording of Into the Woods, I find it almost offensive that these accusations are being thrown around by those who have no idea what they're talking about. The problem is not with the show, its themes, or the "immoral" values it depicts. The problem is with the framing it is subjected to. My parents knew that if questions arose, they could easily explain the valuable life lessons carried within the songs.
Luckily, those were the kinds of parents I had. Not ones who were afraid to tackle real-world question, or ones who told me my whole life was already decided for me. But ones who understood and instilled in me the beauty of art- something that took a little thought to fully understand, as opposed to things so easy to accept...like Happily Ever After.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since then, I have been confronted with only one question- though I invite them and hope more will follow behind. That question being "What about the people who cannot afford to see a stage play or musical?"
I think this question really approaches the root of why these makeshift critics are suddenly coming out to give their piece when Into the Woods has been around for nearly three decades. Along with being produced on Broadway multiple times, it has also toured around the world, been put on in small regional and school theaters everywhere, had multiple video and dvd releases* of both live stage and concert performances for under the price of a modern movie ticket, and possessed a plethora of varied cast recordings (many of which can be found here: http://castalbums.org/shows/Into-the-Woods/165) that clearly detail the controversial storyline and "atheist" lyrics of the show... All of this would lead me to believe that not having the funds to see the show live in-person is hardly an excuse for being ignorant to its themes anymore.
*a recording of a stage performance is not the same as being reformatted for a major motion picture
Those who have heard about the "controversy" surrounding the attendees of the new Into the Woods movie know the biggest complaints- of which there are a dishearteningly large amount:
"I didn't even know it was a musical before I went! Every time they started singing again I groaned!"
"The second half was so dark! Nothing remotely close to a happy ending. What kind of Disney film is this?"
"I can't believe they would market this immoral trash to children! Pedophilia! adultery! robbery! death! Don't waste your money!"
I even saw people exercising their creative side with critiques that likened the production to "cocaine-laced candy- which can be life threatening to all of us if we are not discerning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a kid who was raised on the Original Broadway Cast VHS recording of Into the Woods, I find it almost offensive that these accusations are being thrown around by those who have no idea what they're talking about. The problem is not with the show, its themes, or the "immoral" values it depicts. The problem is with the framing it is subjected to. My parents knew that if questions arose, they could easily explain the valuable life lessons carried within the songs.
Luckily, those were the kinds of parents I had. Not ones who were afraid to tackle real-world question, or ones who told me my whole life was already decided for me. But ones who understood and instilled in me the beauty of art- something that took a little thought to fully understand, as opposed to things so easy to accept...like Happily Ever After.
