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 enlarge | Artists: Stephen Sondheim, Vanessa Williams, John Mcmartin, Gregg Edelman, Stephen Derosa, Laura Benanti, Christopher Sieber
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $10.99
You Save: $8.99 (45%)
New (22) Used (11) Collectible (2) from $6.77
Avg. Customer Rating:  87 reviews
Sales Rank: 65210
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79686
UPC: 075597968620
EAN: 0075597968620
ASIN: B000067G5Z
Release Date: June 25, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Children won't listen to this recording July 2, 2006
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Stephen Sondheim is a genius of musical theatre that's for certain. Into the woods is my all time favorite musical. I was really excited to hear they were going to do a revival of it with Vanessa Williams as the witch? Sounds great right?...Not so much. Vanessa isn't as great as you hope, and for some reason Shephen thought it would be a good idea to write new parts for almost every song or throw in every he cut from the first time. TO be perfectly honest this is the worst of the three recordings. Get the Broadway or (my favorite) the London recording. Do not waste your money or time with this one
Worthless Revival June 26, 2006
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
I hate revivals, as a rule. Plain and simple. And this is one revival cast album that has done nothing to improve my attitude. I think it may have actually been the first actual revival cast album I ever heard, and first impressions are always everlasting.
I think I've said this in other reviews, but as is the case with most revival albums (Cabaret being a rare exception), there just isn't any "umph" in the singing on this one. All of these actors seem to be using those digital enhancements as a musical crutch, and that pisses me off. It isn't meant to be that way.
Let's start with the Narrator/Mysterious Man, shall we? John McMartin! Now, I have extremely high standards for these characters, seeing as I myself will be playing them this summer. I've seen pictures of him, and frankly I believe he has the right look for a Narrator, but not the voice for it. He sounds too ... how shall I put it? He sounds too much like a loony tunes character when he talks. Or a muppet. Who comes to mind specifically? Papa Smurf, maybe? Tom Aldredge now, he was perfect. He had just the right pleasant old man timbre in his voice. Something like that of an A&E Biography Narrator, and he was able to vary it just enough when he played the Old Man, in order to keep the magic alive. I don't know about this other guy's portrayal as the Old Man, because I didn't actually SEE the revival performance, but I did listen to "No More," and on that song he sounds exactly as he sounds as the Narrator. Not a good thing.
Quick Note: Perhaps it's unfair for me to make comparisons to the original cast, but this is just the way I work, so DEAL WITH IT.
Next is Stephen Derosa as the Baker. I can only think of one thing to do, in order to establish to you my attitude towards this guy, and that is with a sound affect. Unfortunately Amazon.com reviews don't come equiped with sound affects. So, I'll just have to inscribe it in this way: SNORE!
That's all I've got to say: SNORE! Why, you ask? I can't quite put my finger on it. I think maybe it is because he just isn't panicky enough to suit me. The Baker is supposed to be harried, and insecure at the beginning of the show, and this guy just doesn't sound nervous enough to suit me. Chip Zien was great in the original show, because he was a nervous wreck almost all through the entire first act. I've always wondered whether it was natural nervousness from stage-fright, or part of his character, or both, but it worked out perfect for the role. That's a discussion for another review, though.
Kerry O'Mally as the Baker's Wife? Hmm! Her performance on this album didn't really do much for me, either, and because I didn't actually SEE this revival performed, I really can't make a very accurate judgment of how she portrays the character. I will say that I think she sings to quiet, though. There's no conviction in her portrayal.
Now, in the interest of convenience, and time, I will skip most of the other characters, and go straight to the person you've all been waiting to read about: Mrs. Williams...
...
Well, as my mother once told me ... "If you can't think of anything nice to say ..." Well, okay, what the hell? I won't keep you guys in suspense. If you read this far, you deserve to hear what I truly think, and it's this. SHE SUCKS! (In more ways than one, I'm sure, but this review isn't about that.) No surprise there, since she's primarily a screen actress, and screen people rarely do well when they try to transfer themselves from screen to stage. It just doesn't work. Sometimes they do. I.E. Rex Harrison, but most of the time, they don't.
Her singing is alright, I guess. In fact, she may even have a prettier voice than Bernadette Peters, but that is immaterial. The important thing is that she just isn't believable at all as "The Witch." You see, although most Witches are evil, this Witch is also a mother, and any mother who loves her child cannot possibly be ALL-evil, which is exactly what Vanessa William's Witch is. All Evil. What I mean is, she doesn't vary her acting at all when singing the songs. She just sounds mean, vicious, and evil all the time, even when singing to Repunzal. That's wrong. The Witch is supposed to have those tender moments with Repunzal. Bernadette Peters achieved this beautifully. Vanessa Williams did not.
There is so much more I would like to say about the other actors, but no one is going to want to read a review that is ten pages long. So, I will just leave you guys with this: If you want a definitive understanding of this masterpiece of musical theatre, avoid this cast album like the plague, and pick up the original one with Bernadette Peters. Better yet, forget about the cast albums and get the American Playhouse Performance of the entire show on DVD. Not only is it a better performance, and a better cast, but seeing a show in its entirety always does a piece of work more justice than just listening to a lousy cast album. If you don't have time for that, though, buy the original cast album, and not this one.
 Very Weak Revival February 22, 2006
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Like many of the reviews, I agree this revival is a disappointment. As a fan of Vanessa Williams, I think too it was a mistake for her to played the witch. I enjoy original Into the Woods cast better.
Eugh February 1, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am a huge fan of the original 1987 cast recording. Into The Woods is what made me go into theatre in the first place. This recording does no justice to Stephen Sondheim's wonderful work.
Vanessa Williams! Please, she can not hold her own on stage and is not at all the right choice for this role. Vanessa is very nazaly in the recording and her voice makes my head hurt. And the girl who played Little Red Ridinghood gave me a migrane. Now I mean comeon, two wolves? What!? Plus both of the men who played the princes were quite bad and the performance seemed forced. The man who played Jack was rather boring. His performance was overdone. He wasn't Jack... he was an actor playing Jack. And can I get a muzzle for the woman who played Cinderella's evil stepmother. Holey.
I do have to say the woman who played Cinderella was wonderful. She had great voice and worked well on stage. The woman who played The Bakers Wife was fine. It's hard to fill Joanna Gleason's shoes but she held her own. Also the song "Our Little World" is quite lovely... but Vanessa killed it. I wish I could hear Bernadette sing it.
In other words, this recording is terrible. Stick with the original cast recording. And get the DVD. Both wonderful.
I Just Don't Get It... December 10, 2005
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have never understood the fascination so many have for this show, I've seen it performed, watched the DVD, and have the C.D. I've spent hours trying to figure out why someone would call this "good musical theatre." I have seen more than 20 Broadway shows, own hundreds of musicals on CD and DVD.
I have tried to really like this musical but, it's over dramatized, stupid, and lacks EVERYTHING someone would want from a musical. The characters are slow, stupid, there are a few comic moments but not enough to make the story a thought provoking jounrey. I haven't found a song yet on this CD that I truly enjoy.
"No One Is Alone" somehow manages to stand out but that's the only song I would listen to more than once. All in all I'd consider listening to a differant Sondheim classic for this is just simply not his best...
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