I was wondering if anyone knows if in 1988 Bernadette Peters was eligible for Lead Actress in a Musical for "Into the Woods"? I know she was only with the production for 5 months then Phylicia Rashad replaced her, and was wondering if Peters was still eligible?
For Your Grammy Consideration: Kristin Chenoweth - in all eligible categories
She was eligible but not nominated. People have been nominated for much shorter runs than five months. I believe confusion over whether the part should be treated as lead or not caused her not to be nominated.
Posts: 27216 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: February 02, 2003
I too like Bernadette Peters in Into the Woods very much, though I never saw any of the other nominees (Alison Fraser, Judy Kuhn, Patti LuPone) so I don't know who I would replace her with...
To my surprise I also liked Vanessa Williams quite a bit in the revival...and, though this will sound sacrilege but it's the truth...I preferred that production overall to the original.
Posts: 2803 | Location: New York, New York | Registered: August 08, 2003
The Witch is a very difficult character to pin down when it comes to deciding whether she's a leading or featured character.
The Witch more or less gets both acts of the play moving, but in the overall scheme of the show's action, she's more of a commentator than a participant. In terms of actual stage time, she's pretty well balanced with the Baker's Wife, and yet the Baker's Wife seems to have a greater impact on the proceedings than the Witch does. That said, I've always found it interesting that even though she becomes something of the de facto villain of the piece (not counting the Giant's Wife), the Witch seems to have a greater understanding of how the world works in terms of "goodness" than the "good" characters have. The Witch points up one of the most poignant truths of the show: there's a difference between "nice" and "good."
The fact that she is such an inherently complex character and informs the moral backbone of the play to the extent she does make me uncomfortable calling the Witch a featured character, and yet she's so integrated as an ensemble member that it's still hard for me to call her a lead.
All of that said, I do wish Peters had received some Tony recognition for her stellar performance in the role.
Originally posted by tonorlo: The Witch is a very difficult character to pin down when it comes to deciding whether she's a leading or featured character.
The Witch more or less gets both acts of the play moving, but in the overall scheme of the show's action, she's more of a commentator than a participant. In terms of actual stage time, she's pretty well balanced with the Baker's Wife, and yet the Baker's Wife seems to have a greater impact on the proceedings than the Witch does. That said, I've always found it interesting that even though she becomes something of the de facto villain of the piece (not counting the Giant's Wife), the Witch seems to have a greater understanding of how the world works in terms of "goodness" than the "good" characters have. The Witch points up one of the most poignant truths of the show: there's a difference between "nice" and "good."
The fact that she is such an inherently complex character and informs the moral backbone of the play to the extent she does make me uncomfortable calling the Witch a featured character, and yet she's so integrated as an ensemble member that it's still hard for me to call her a lead.
All of that said, I do wish Peters had received some Tony recognition for her stellar performance in the role.
Very astute points about the witch. Into the Woods isn't a show I like very much - despite loving the score - but this witch is such an interesting and complex character that she rises above what I find to be poor material.
The witch also gets points for having to the best - or maybe the two best - songs in the show: Last Midnight and Witch's Lament.
I really think Joanna Gleason stole the show in that musical. The Baker's Wife is a character with much more impact to the story. But yes, I always thought the Witch has a much clearer grasp of Truth. I think she represents the voice of reason in the show. I would probably call the character a Lead, not Featured. And I would definitely call the performance Peters gave as a Lead. She just felt more impactful.
In local productions I have seen, the Witch doesn't seem nearly as powerful a character. I think Peters just did such an amazing job with it.
I think it is a really fun show. I think I have watched the DVD version of it at least 10 times. (I was actually *in* the show once locally and loved it.) I love the performance Bernadette Peters gave. It is sad she didn't get recognized for it. But, in the end, I think Gleason would have won anyway.
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