To ponder and wonder and wander... I love Into The Woods. Watched it twice! I love most anything that Sondheim writes for the reasons above. And Into The Woods is a canvas full of beautiful greys, thoughts and observations peering through the fabric of fairytale, like a dappled floor of a forest. It really takes something special to be able to craft music and words to become a whole story - that is the true craft of a musical theatre composer or an opera composer. You have to make a whole out of parts. Many parts. And I think what keeps Sondheim so contemporary (Into The Woods is almost 30 years old!) is his ability to opine through his works (my two cents worth). Dont get me wrong - I love a good plain old fashioned simple tune... who doesnt? And while ALW churns them out aplenty, Sondheim truly marries music with words - no, not just mere words, but truths. I hear his words and Im looking at my doubts, my fears, my feelings, all right in the face. Couched in the simplest of melodies, his truths can have devastating effects on the listener (in which I refer to the verb to listen and not the common vegetative state of listening). Ive had the privilege to sing some of his roles... and theyre experiences Ill always always cherish. Theres something to be said when youre reiterating truths and observations wed to music. And knowing that everything will be ok even if life is full of grey. My concern on watching the movie was the potential Disney-fication of it. Yes, some of the darker moments were gone (Rapunzels death being one of them) but at least they held on to the essence of it. And I loved the lush scoring! That was the real treat for me. The performances were wonderful given Hollywoods penchant for marring musicals on film. No killing of songs ala Les Mis and Phantom by celebrities. Hooray!!!! And the truths shone out of the songs like brilliant gems amid the shade of the leaves and the woods. And when the Bakers wife sang Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood, Do not let it grieve you, No one leaves for good. No one is alone, truly... I found myself very moved. But that is such a powerfully relevant song even in todays context: People make mistakes. Fathers, Mothers - People make mistakes, Holding to their own, Thinking theyre alone. Honor their mistakes Everybody makes One anothers terrible mistakes. Witches can be right, Giants can be good. You decide whats right, you decide whats good Just remember: Someone is on your side Someone else is not. While were seeing our side Maybe we forgot: they are not alone. No one is alone. Hard to see the light now. Just dont let it go Things will come out right now. We can make it so. Someone is on your side No one is alone. And there lies the beauty of that grey. Sometimes we lose more by measuring in terms of right and wrong when there are simply just two sides to every coin. And being able to see both sides allows you to see a bigger picture and, perhaps, find peace. But I leave my post with one of the most beautiful renditions of one of the most beautiful songs of the show... How do you say to a child in the night, Nothings all black but then nothings all white. How do you say It will all be alright when you know that it might not be true? What do you do?
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:16:34 +0000
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