The fact that my kids are willing to watch and go to musicals makes me happy beyond the beyond. Last week we watched one of my favorites American in Paris and they both loved it.
Yesterday we went to Into the Woods which is a fine movie of a sort…if you don’t know actually know the musical.
Disney and Sondheim don’t naturally go together so the second act bears none of the truths that Sondheim is intent on telling. Why Disney wanted to make a movie that teaches us that there are no happy endings in beyond me.
But the theater was packed so either the trailers worked or people are as cynical as I.
The video above is from one of the songs that was cut.
There is so much missing from the play in the movie but if you get past that you still get the songs and Sondheims usual cast of musical characters running the show (Jonathan Tunick, Paul Gemignani).
Sondheims willingness to alter his own work is fascinating to me and inspiring.