That said, let it also be said that “Into the Woods” is, technically, already a superior musical, brilliantly staged, a masterpiece of theatricality.ĭirector Lapine has greatly enhanced his book, in which the lives of several fairy tale favorites cross, with rich imagination, in which he’s abetted no end by the scenic design of Tony Straiges, the lighting design of Richard Nelson and the costumes by Ann Hould-Ward and Patricia Zipprodt. It’s why New Haven was invented, to hone, refine, polish before braving Broadway, where audiences may be just a mite reluctant to part with, oh, maybe $50 for a ticket to see a work in progress.Īnd that’s not even taking into account the unforgiving nature of the New York Critic, who often, almost always, has life-or-death power over any new production and generally does not react kindly or compassionately to productions still in evolution. What it bestows in prestige, particularly when a Sondheim - no, the Sondheim, for there are no copies of this genuine original - is involved, very often is tempered by what it inevitably lacks, if only temporarily, in polish.Ī world premiere is not, in short, a fair test of a play, and it’s even less fair when the play is a musical, for musicals are often subject to extensive revising and reworking. But a world premiere is a double-edged sword.