INTO THE WOODS: An only so-so theater piece becomes a great American musical via Marshall, Lapine, a terrific cast and those Sondheim songs

When I first saw Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods in its Broadway debut, it seemed more a mere exercise for this great American composer than anything else -- with music that often reminded me of those Czerny books I studied from during my early piano lessons. Viewing other incarnations of the show over the years produced a similar result -- until, this past Christmas holiday season, when I saw the movie version in a local theater and was so blown away by its success that I have just finished viewing it again on Blu-ray -- this time with the English subtitles turned on so that I needn't miss a single savvy and savory rhyme from our modern master of the musical form.

Produced by the Disney behemoth -- early word of which, I suspect, made many of us imagine the worst: How wrong we were! -- the movie manages to bring to the fore everything best about the show, while tamping down what was worst. It's not perfect -- one of the latter scenes has poor Simon Russell Beale spouting a sledge-hammer line practically lit up in neon as, Listen folks: Here comes the moral. Its theater productions have been full of these, and yet as directed by Rob Marshall (at left), with its book rewritten over and over until he finally

got (most of) it right by James Lapine (shown at right), the finished product is something rapturous: beautiful, moving, funny, appealing, and performed to the hilt. I should think (hope, anyway) that Mr. Sondheim is beside himself with delight. The manner in which the various fairy tales used here (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood, among others) no longer clunks as it did on stage; instead the tales blend and bounce off each other with glee and meaning. Further, the use of close-ups makes so many of the moments come to life in ways that the stage could not, while the actors on view could hardly have been better chosen -- for talent, looks and musical ability.

From smart stunt casting like Johnny Depp (above) as the Wolf to the magical Meryl Streep (below), as the Witch,

from wonderful surprises like the pairing of James Corden and Emily Blunt (below) as the Baker and his wife,

to the priceless Anna Kendrick (who simply gets better with each new role), as Cinderella, plus a fine pair of princes,

played by Chris Pine (below) and Billy Magnussen, this first-rate cast does the source material proud in every way. As do the production design, art direction and costumes. Visually, the movie is a complete knock-out.

Best of all, the lovely weaving together of plots, performances and themes -- parenting, loving, autonomy, and morality, and how none of these are at all easy to achieve -- allows this filmed version to soar. It'll move you, make you laugh and give children perhaps their first opportunity to understand how, while fairy tales do indeed mirror our deepest desires and needs, ferreting out their meaning can be a lot more complicated and interesting than they might think.

Into the Woods -- running 125 minutes -- is available now on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital formats.

Theater on film: the Menier Chocolate Factory revival of Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG gets well-deserved, encore screenings nationally

There was a time, long ago, when TrustMovies used to attend legitimate theater several times a week. Prices were much more affordable back then, but even he missed the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along because the show closed suddenly, so all he ended up with were tickets to be refunded. He bought the original cast album however, wore it out, and always imagined that the critics must have had their heads up their posteriors not to love a show with music and lyrics this wonderful.

Over the years much tinkering has been done on this musical, resulting in various "revivals" that still, according to the sources, didn't quite make it. Even so, my partner and I several years ago happened to catch a small, off-off-Broadway revival down in the East Village done by, I believe, a group of players that originated in Brooklyn and was mostly amateur. No matter, they did such a staggeringly good job with this show that we sat there in our seats, crying for joy at the wondrous finale and applauding like mad with the rest of the audience at the curtain call. (What's more, the little group's rendition of the show's final song, Our Time, proved even better and more moving than that of this new production.)

Now comes a version of Merrily... that Mr. Sondheim himself has decreed the best ever. I haven't seen enough of those many productions to say for sure, but this "videod" version of one of the performances from London's Menier Chocolate Factory -- which won a host of awards and had an extended, sold-out run earlier this year --  is so wonderful in almost every way that, at last, critics and audiences alike can rejoice. It seems they finally got it right.

"They" would be the director Maria Friedman, and her terrific cast, all of whom do justice to the book (by the late George Furth), and music and lyrics by Sondheim. The three leads -- Damian Humbley (above, center) as Charley Kringas, Olivier award winner and Tony nominee Jenna Russell (above, right) as Mary Flynn, and Mark Umbers (above, left) as Franklin Shepard -- are splendid, first moment to last. Every bit as wonderful is the young woman who plays Beth Spencer, Claire Foster (below). Together these four produce the kind of musical theater magic that creates permanent golden memories.

As anyone interested in musical theater by now knows, Merrily..., based on the play by Kaufman and Hart, proceeds backwards in time from our trio's pinnacle of "success" until they are kids again, just beginning their adult life. This makes for plenty of irony and sadness as plans and dreams go by the wayside to be replaced with... well, other things.

Sondheim's score makes the most of this, and he delivers some of his most beautiful songs -- Our Time (above), Not A Day Goes By, and Good Thing Going, as well as some of his finest up-tempo, "pattery" numbers like Old Friends and Opening Doors (below). The fun and the surprisingly deep emotions engendered by these songs and scenes, as performed by the expert cast -- which speak to all of us about dreams deferred and ambitions unfulfilled -- should leave musical theater-lovers somewhere near seventh heaven.

If what we saw in the video link that we watched is anything like what theater audiences will see, do not expect ravishing visuals. This is pretty standard stuff, with the usual close-ups and such that call attention to the moment but do not allow, as does the real theater experience, the viewer to look where s/he prefers at any particular time. The sound however is excellent, so the music and lyrics come across full-strength.

After successful and often sold out nationwide screenings last month, this filmed (well, "videoed") presentation, distributed by Specticast, will be making its encore showing around the country, beginning Monday, Dec. 23, through Feb. 28 of next year. So there should be plenty of opportunity to view this soon to be legendary production -- and at prices far below what you'd have to pay to see it in London (or on Broadway -- the hoped-for move to which no longer appears to be in the cards).

To see the complete listing of which cities and theaters will be screening Merrily We Roll Along, and when, simply click here and then scroll down to the very lengthy list.