I'm just right!
I kind of set myself up on this one; as I was writing last night's post, and thinking about Javert, I mentioned the Witch's refrain. Thus, I wasn't particularly surprised to wake this morning and find this one stuck in my head.
I was cautiously optimistic about the recent Disney production of this, as it's one of my favorite musicals of all time, but I really feel like it fell flat. If you were a fan of the musical going in (especially of the American Playhouse filming of the Broadway production), you almost certainly came out a little disappointed at some of the changes and elisions. If you didn't know what to expect, you probably walked away a little bit confused, and more than a little bit put off. It didn't help anything that none of the trailers showed it was going to be a MUSICAL.
I suspect the same person in charge of the advertising for "Into the Woods" did the advertising for "Frozen". In both cases, there is demonstrated a lack of understanding of the material and the audience that is astounding.
If you haven't given up entirely on the idea of this musical, you should check out the filming of the Broadway production; unfortunately, it isn't available to stream on Netflix, although it does look like there's an Amazon Instant Video option, if you're inclined in that direction.
Listen to it on Spotify; this is the Original Broadway Cast Recording, with Bernadette Peters as the witch. I wish the recent Disney movie had just followed their formula...
I was unable to find the work anywhere else on YouTube, so I provided it myself. It's possible I may face a DMCA-style "take down", but I left a lengthy description describing how I hope that the work will be interpreted as within "fair use". So, while it lasts, you can watch it on YouTube:
Copyrighted :(
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