This will always be my favorite version of this song. His voice is so beautiful, and he really captures the innocence of it without forcing it. This production all around is better then the new movie.
Reading all these comments about my dad feels awesome and super weird. So glad y'all love him as much as I (and the rest of our family) do. Best dad ever.
"And you think of all of the things you've seen, And you wish that you could live in between." Sondheim captures the lessons learned from childhood to adulthood so well in these bars, it kills me.
Sondheim and his patter songs. Between this, "Getting Married Today", "Your Fault", and "Another Hundred People", I think he enjoys trying to make people collapse mid-song! :p
The two things Sondheim can't do: extended melisma and slow tonically-defined form. Sondheim, for all his greatness, never quite manages a "tableau" on the level of Marriage of Figaro first act finale. He's essentially a didactic composer, not a lyric one.
And the underscoring re-establishes the nine-note theme that is also Rapunzel's wordless song and the Witch's "Stay With Me," and I'm sure is to be found elsewhere in the show as well.
I am so obsessed with him. The actor, his voice, the character, the portrayal of his growth and innocence, and nobody wants to hear me ramble about this so I'll just post it on the internet so I can let it out. This is not me trying to demonstrate any kind of actual knowledge; this is just me geeking out without annoying my friends lol. Firstly, I love the makeup they've done for him. The placement of the dirt on his cheeks severely de-ages his appearance. It's like that blush children get from playing outside or being cold and some kids just have that little tint in their cheeks and I think that's so genius. It's also directly perpendicular to his cheekbones, taking away the definition that can form with age by losing the roundness in your cheeks. I've never loved makeup this much, ever. I also love his little hat and the little strings on it. I am so obsessed with and IN LOVE with his vowels, all over the entire piece. "Sky" at 0:03 is now part of my small list of favorite sounds on earth. It's my favorite one he does here, but others are worth mentioning, like "door" at 1:42 and 0:42 (even though it's a little flat I honestly don't even care). Also "than" at 2:03 and the "o" vowel in "exploring" at 0:34. A specific choice he makes for his vowels is at 1:05 on the "fore" of "before". Using vowels to act?? 10/10. He alters this one because he's talking about being held to a giant breast. Little Red sings "I know things now," like Jack does here verbatim, when she's talking about a sexual encounter with the wolf. Jack is describing the same thing; he's experiencing arousal at the hand of another (though not deliberately) and in his mind, it's naughty, even funny. At that age and with those first experiences, that little grin and giggle is the typical response of someone who's just ~touched a breast omg lol~ and he NAILS that sound and expression exactly. I love that vowel so so much. 1:56 is a specific kind of nasal ending, almost a diphthong on "seen". I can't recreate it, and I only hear it in recordings from the 70s and 80s, usually I notice it in speaking voices. But I've always loved that sound and the strange, so recognizable but hard to put your finger on dialect that he displays here. His phrasing is beautiful. Obviously he has great lung capacity and breath control, and he doesn't split up his phrases in spots where you even notice he needs to breath. I adore his cutoffs, like at 0:23. It moves me somewhere deep in my gut. And at 0:21? THAT SUSTAIN. THAT VIBRATO. I'm not sure if "giant" is written as even eighths, but I love that he sings it that way here in a couple spots (for example 0:40). Not in this performance but on the original cast recording he even throws in a triplet after a breath. How intrinsically musical!! The startled breath he takes at 1:07 like "oh back to reality, stop thinking about boobies" is so great. Just **chef's kiss** Consonants. He almost sounds vaguely British in the way he dictates certain consonants, particularly the letter "L". It's like it's flipped a little. It could be because he starts the "L" on the note of the vowel it opens to instead of closing to it on the first note and opening it on the second. I'm not a musical theater singer, I'm a jazz singer, so singing with the same diction and patterns you use when speaking is important and even practiced. The opposite goes for musical theater, especially in a Sondheim. You might hear less enunciation in modern shows like Dear Evan Hansen or Legally Blonde, but classic broadway enunciation and diction are important in this context, so I suspect that's where his calculated consonants come from. But man does that calculation pay off. It's not distracting; it's intriguing, and it makes the lyrics much more understandable. At 2:18 he goes "wondehful" and he drags that "w" up with him. He also drags me along for the ride. Wow. 1:19 "lunch" speaks for itself. There's something so grand and simple about it. Grandly simple and simply grand at the same time. It's everything about the way he delivers that word. The abruptness of the cutoff, the exaggerated flipped "L", the expression on his face, the breathing afterward, even the "ch". How does he energize an aspirated cutoff?? With air, I guess? I don't know, it's just great. 1:25 "alone" also speaks for itself. Love, love, love it. No particular reason why, just everything about it. I love when he's running around the stage and he does a little skip?! So cute. So fun. He's so excited. 1:27-1:39 has great physicality. He doesn't do a lot of moving in this song, but the movement clearly has purpose, and it's not just in moving across the stage. I also like that his scarf flicks up, lol. Just the fact that he says the word "awesome" sticks with me for some reason. I do not know why. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just nice. ;) ;) His tone? His placement? I don't think I have the words to describe how pleasing it is to listen to. It's so easy, so warm, so smooth, I just sink into my chair the moment he starts singing. There's such depth to it but it's so light and graceful at the same time. He's singing very healthfully. It's an incredibly pure sound. You never hear a rasp, a break, straining, pushing; it's all like a continuous pully system with the smoothest machinery you've ever seen. Sort of like a violin but better. I like that he didn't do falsetto or head anywhere, because as a child you wouldn't need to. Kids don't really break the same way, on Broadway they're sort of trained to just do everything in chest. He has a beautiful low swinging tenor that I'm in love with. The whole song is a seamless transition of chest and mix, and there's something so peaceful about that. It's not brash and all in chest, but you're never like "oh, that was too high for that register". You don't notice him moving through placements. All this seamlessness is wonderful, however, in the recording and not in this performance, at the very end of the song when he sings "in the sky," you can hear the slightest rasp/push on the end of the word "the". It makes me weak. In. The. Knees. That last push at the end of the song, a kid trying to express how awesome this thing he just discovered is, a last ditch effort to express how important this revelation is. I'm in love with that little push. If I could marry a sound and it couldn't be his first delivery of "sky," it would be his delivery of the word "the" on the original recording. That one thing is so dear to me even though I only heard it for the first time like three days ago. We know his vibrato is angelic, we've mentioned it, but his straight tone is such a change from that and it's perfect. There's a moment he goes into chest and straight tone at the end on "wonderful" at 2:19. We even get some of that purity on the last note in the original recording. He starts vibrato a bit earlier here, but like I said, his vibrato is beautiful, so I'm not complaining. His smile at the end... I don't need to say anything about that. I think we're all on the same page there. So that was my impromptu analysis of Ben Wright's performance of Giants in the Sky. It's now 3:26am and I've been thinking about, listening to, and writing about this and ONLY THIS for about two hours, maybe one and a half. It's been consuming my days. I watched the recent movie four days ago and got super into the music, but hated that it was auto-tuned, so I turned to the original cast. I'd heard the clip of Ben doing the opening line in someone's compilation of something or other a while ago, and I was like "wtf this is so underrated I need to listen to this one million more times." So now I have lol. I don't know if a lot of other people get super obsessed with one thing like this the way I do, but I'm sure there are some people that do. It's legitimately difficult to stop thinking about, but luckily I don't get sick of it. I could probably listen to it again and write even more, but I think I hit all the points that stick out to me the most. Goodnight all, and dream sweet dreams of beanstalks, festivals, and hair as yellow as corn. Edit: I forgot to mention the rhythm he uses at the beginning on "just how small you are"! That's another thing I love about this performance specifically. That phrase seems more natural and rushed and excited. And at the beginning, too, he's trying to get out his point and the rhythmic word stress there makes sense in that context. Okay, that's all!
May you know where he is now or any of his socials my friend and I are obsessed over this cast and we cant find where he is now. If you do know please tell me by replying to this comment.
I love that despite being kind of a moron, you really do understand Jack's innocence and what he feels during this song. He's not malicious and he didn't mean to be, but he's broke and still a young guy who has been sheltered most of his life.
Not at all! I think he's positively DREAMY! One of the most attractive guys I've never met - heee! I wish I could find him in more videos. I wish he were still singing. Maybe I haven't looked thoroughly enough. What makes him so attractive to me - in addition to his looks - is the awareness and intelligence in his performance. From his phrasing to his character, and his vocal technique too! His voice is so clear and strong. What a beautiful human! :)
I went to Into the Woods on broadway (The new revival cast) and when Jack came out after First Midnight and went "There are Giants in the Sky!" The whole audience went crazy and he just stood there for like 30 seconds while we all cheered until continuing the song.
His interpretation, his tone quality, his gorgeous stunning vibrato, which is so incredibly controlled, just makes this the definitive interpretation of the song. Of all of the performances that we see on youtube, none come close to this one. It will remain the benchmark performance of this song. Bravo!!!
it really is impressive the more I watch this (and I used to watch the hell out of this version of ITW when I was a kid). Not only is his voice beautiful, he tells the story so well in his facial expressions, his motions... and somehow manages to breathe and enunciate so well when both of those things are HARD in this song!
Agreed. So many people overdo the gestures and other "business" when they sing this song. This is actually a pretty restrained, yet beautifully focused and moving, performance.
Saw Mr. Wright today in brooklyn at the ItW reunion, and he was perfect. 28 years later and there was very little noticeable difference between this recording and today. To think, the best singer there has been out of the biz for over 20 years! If only Mrs. Gleason had retained her voice the same way the whole event would have been flawless.
Short answer: It was an incredible experience! Long answer: I got cast as The Wolf. It was more in my vocal range, anyway. I had an incredible time doing the show. We ran into several setbacks and delays due to Covid. Two nights before the opening night, our actor playing the Steward tested positive for Covid, and I had to learn his blocking, entrances and exits in less than 48 hours. Thankfully I am intimately familiar with this musical; I know the entire show forwards and backwards, to the point that if someone called “Line?” in rehearsal, I would instinctively feed it to them before even the director could. Normally directors don’t like when actors do that, but that was not the case for the director of this show. She was actually legitimately impressed that I knew the show so well. Perhaps that’s why she asked me to fill in for the Steward at the last minute when the original actor was indisposed. So I did the performances as The Wolf and the Steward. It was probably the most fun show I’ve done in years. The last five minutes of our final performance (May 15th), it started to rain, which was a problem since our stage was outside. It started right around the finale, after the Giant was killed. I think, in a thematic sense, the rain actually made it better. That whole idea of washing away the old and making way for the new as the surviving characters look to the future… when we finished the bows and ran back to the changing rooms, the whole cast was over the moon! I even remarked, “If Covid couldn’t stop our show, what makes Mother Nature think she could fare any better?” Overall, it was a fantastic experience. And in having to play two parts, I learned a theater term I never knew before. It’s called a “swing”. Apparently it means “an actor or actress who can be plugged into any role of the show”. It was definitely a first for me, having to pick up a second part on such short notice. I thank you all for listening to all of this now. I can’t wait to see what show we do next. I’m hoping for “Beauty and the Beast”. I’d love to play Gaston. I’ll keep you all posted! Thanks for listening!
Dream role would def be the witch, but jack is perfectly in my range. This is the first musical ill ever actually audition for, so wish me luck I suppose
I really appreciate how much weight and warmth he puts on the low notes here. When you think about it, it's a bit odd that a tenor song with lyrics about the sky/being up high should put such emphasis on its lowest notes, right? But I think the purpose of this is to show musically how Jack has matured. So it's unfortunate that so many productions either cast children with child voices potentially singing an octave up so that there are no low notes, or tenors who aren't willing to give these low notes the love the deserve. This guy gets it. Jack really should be college-age, imo. Old enough that expecting him to be a man is reasonable, young enough that his man-child behavior isn't hopelessly ingrained.
Agreed. The actor, *Ben Wright* (b. *September 3, 1969),* was *18* when *_Into the Woods_* opened on *Broadway* in *November 1987,* and *19* when this was filmed for *PBS* in *May 1989* (though it wasn't broadcast until *March 1991).* The show closed on his *20th* birthday in *September 1989.*
its funny bc now he's nearly unrecognizable from the cute little jack he was before... i'm sad he didn't do more musical stuff, but he's happy now doing what he loves !
This was a piece of repertoire I had that really meant a lot to me for my development early in my classical training. Without this recording I would have never made the strides I did
he came to see Moulin Rouge a few months ago and I ended up talking with him. He wanted to go backstage because that's where into the woods had played at our theater but because of Covid he was unable to go. I chatted with him for a few minutes it was before the transfer of into the woods and he had not seen Encores version. I wish I had seen this clip before I chatted with him. He was there to see the show with his daughter and I'm glad I had a moment in the woods with him that night.
There are Giants in the sky! There are big tall terrible Giants in the sky! When you're way up high And you look below At the world you left And the things you know, Little more than a glance Is enough to show You just how small you are. When you're way up high And you're own your own In a world like none That you've ever known, Where the sky is lead And the earth is stone, You're free, to do Whatever pleases you, Exploring things you'd never dare 'Cause you don't care, When suddenly there's A big tall terrible Giant at the door, A big tall terrible lady Giant sweeping the floor. And she gives you food And she gives you rest And she draws you close To her Giant breast, And you know things now that you never knew before, Not till the sky. Only just when you've made A friend and all, And you know she's big But you don't feel small, Someone bigger than her Comes along the hall To swallow you for lunch. And you heart is lead And your stomach stone And you're really scared Being all alone... And it's then that you miss All the things you've known And the world you've left And the little you own- The fun is done. You steal what you can and run. And you scramble down And you look below, And the world you know Begins to grow: The roof, the house, and your Mother at the door. The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore. And you think of all of the things you've seen, And you wish that you could live in between, And you're back again, Only different than before, After the sky. There are Giants in the sky! There are big tall terrible awesome scary wonderful Giants in the sky!
This song sums up just about every fairy tale and fantasy story in about four lines - "You think of all of the things you've seen, and you wish that you could live in between and you're back again only different than before - after the sky"
comparing wright's performance to huttlestone (and anyone from the musical to the movie version) seems incongruous to me because of the major differences between singing in a musical to singing on a movie's ost. for example, while wright has to emote during his performance, he is more focused on his sound and also projecting to the audience, while huttlestone is awarded the luxury of singing in a studio for the movie and soundtrack, as well as having a more authentic background to create an environment that can be considered more engaging for the audience. it can be argued that the musical actors' vocal abilities are paramount to that of the movie's, but again musicals feature (usually) singers who can act, while movies feature (usually) actors who can sing. even if that isn't true, the importance in a movie is usually more shifted from sound and tone to acting and conveying emotion and vice versa. as for age difference, i figure jack's character can have great flexibility when it comes to actors having to fulfill the role (anywhere from 6 to 16) ... due to child labor laws and experience live musicals would probably take on an older boy/young man, but i think it was nice seeing huttlestone in the movie - it was refreshing and i thought he was good in les mis.
not to mention if you f*ck up while taping all they to do is yell "CUT!" and start from the beginning again. If you mess up on stage you're pretty much "F*CKED"
I like how in the movie, they have Jack sing this song to the Baker while showing small flashbacks of when Jack was climbing up and down the beanstalk. It's a nice addition.
I saw this production on broadway with the original cast, his voice is terrific especially that last note, Gleason was good too who won the tony that year as I recall
AAAAAAAAAAAHH HE'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (BREATH) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AMAZINGGGGGGINNNNNGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in other words... he is amazing :)
[JACK] There are Giants in the sky! There are big tall terrible Giants in the sky! When you're way up high And you look below At the world you left And the things you know, Little more than a glance Is enough to show You just how small you are. When you're way up high And you're own your own In a world like none That you've ever known, Where the sky is lead And the earth is stone, You're free, to do Whatever pleases you, Exploring things you'd never dare 'Cause you don't care, When suddenly there's A big tall terrible Giant at the door, A big tall terrible lady Giant sweeping the floor. And she gives you food And she gives you rest And she draws you close To her Giant breast, And you know things now that you never knew before, Not till the sky. Only just when you've made A friend and all, And you know she's big But you don't feel small, Someone bigger than her Comes along the hall To swallow you for lunch. And you heart is lead And your stomach stone And you're really scared Being all alone... And it's then that you miss All the things you've known And the world you've left And the little you own- The fun is done. You steal what you can and run. And you scramble down And you look below, And the world you know Begins to grow: The roof, the house, and your Mother at the door. The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore. And you think of all of the things you've seen, And you wish that you could live in between, And you're back again, Only different than before, After the sky. There are Giants in the sky! There are big tall terrible awesome scary wonderful Giants in the sky!
Okay...call your Uncle. Dial him up...I'll wait. Okay now tell him that Bella from youtube want's to thank him for existing. I mean seriously, his voice is like...indescribable. PERFECT!
I'm auditioning for a performing arts group with this song (as a soprano, i transposed it) and I'll be using this as inspiration for the movement! great performance!
+mermermer123 the thing about that is that he doesn't look 16. In 2012 he played Gavroche who's traditionally played by a 10 or 11 year old and in Into The Woods he looks and sounds no different. It's impossible to tell he was 14 when it was filmed, because he still looks like a little kid.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
This will always be my favorite version of this song. His voice is so beautiful, and he really captures the innocence of it without forcing it. This production all around is better then the new movie.
+Anne Raquel Thank you. You understand it so well. Huttlestone just can't compare to Wright on any level, live theater is always more difficult.
what, you didn't like "theww aww big taww tewwibul giants in the skyyy"? lol
Seriously though this is absolutely the best version imo as well
Both of them are lit
The movie makes him seem younger (because he is), and this one, the singer has a more developed voice. They are both food interpretations.
100 times better. I love that they used adults for the kids. Sondheim musically and emotionally is really not captured by kids.
Am I the only one who loves the way the light reflects off his eyes? It just seems to make him seem more innocent.
totally agree!!
couldn't agree more!! He is so precious🥺🥺
It’s the codpiece 😅
Reading all these comments about my dad feels awesome and super weird. So glad y'all love him as much as I (and the rest of our family) do. Best dad ever.
You're dad is so cool 😭
"And you think of all of the things you've seen, And you wish that you could live in between."
Sondheim captures the lessons learned from childhood to adulthood so well in these bars, it kills me.
And ties it into other songs (Moments In The Woods and Red’s song(don’t know the name))
Sondheim and his patter songs. Between this, "Getting Married Today", "Your Fault", and "Another Hundred People", I think he enjoys trying to make people collapse mid-song! :p
The two things Sondheim can't do: extended melisma and slow tonically-defined form. Sondheim, for all his greatness, never quite manages a "tableau" on the level of Marriage of Figaro first act finale. He's essentially a didactic composer, not a lyric one.
Getting Married is proof he hates singers lol
I think it’s genius how Sondheim structured the entire melody around the bean motif for a song describing what Jack saw when he went up the beanstalk
And the underscoring re-establishes the nine-note theme that is also Rapunzel's wordless song and the Witch's "Stay With Me," and I'm sure is to be found elsewhere in the show as well.
I am so obsessed with him. The actor, his voice, the character, the portrayal of his growth and innocence, and nobody wants to hear me ramble about this so I'll just post it on the internet so I can let it out. This is not me trying to demonstrate any kind of actual knowledge; this is just me geeking out without annoying my friends lol.
Firstly, I love the makeup they've done for him. The placement of the dirt on his cheeks severely de-ages his appearance. It's like that blush children get from playing outside or being cold and some kids just have that little tint in their cheeks and I think that's so genius. It's also directly perpendicular to his cheekbones, taking away the definition that can form with age by losing the roundness in your cheeks. I've never loved makeup this much, ever. I also love his little hat and the little strings on it.
I am so obsessed with and IN LOVE with his vowels, all over the entire piece. "Sky" at 0:03 is now part of my small list of favorite sounds on earth. It's my favorite one he does here, but others are worth mentioning, like "door" at 1:42 and 0:42 (even though it's a little flat I honestly don't even care). Also "than" at 2:03 and the "o" vowel in "exploring" at 0:34. A specific choice he makes for his vowels is at 1:05 on the "fore" of "before". Using vowels to act?? 10/10. He alters this one because he's talking about being held to a giant breast. Little Red sings "I know things now," like Jack does here verbatim, when she's talking about a sexual encounter with the wolf. Jack is describing the same thing; he's experiencing arousal at the hand of another (though not deliberately) and in his mind, it's naughty, even funny. At that age and with those first experiences, that little grin and giggle is the typical response of someone who's just ~touched a breast omg lol~ and he NAILS that sound and expression exactly. I love that vowel so so much. 1:56 is a specific kind of nasal ending, almost a diphthong on "seen". I can't recreate it, and I only hear it in recordings from the 70s and 80s, usually I notice it in speaking voices. But I've always loved that sound and the strange, so recognizable but hard to put your finger on dialect that he displays here.
His phrasing is beautiful. Obviously he has great lung capacity and breath control, and he doesn't split up his phrases in spots where you even notice he needs to breath. I adore his cutoffs, like at 0:23. It moves me somewhere deep in my gut. And at 0:21? THAT SUSTAIN. THAT VIBRATO. I'm not sure if "giant" is written as even eighths, but I love that he sings it that way here in a couple spots (for example 0:40). Not in this performance but on the original cast recording he even throws in a triplet after a breath. How intrinsically musical!! The startled breath he takes at 1:07 like "oh back to reality, stop thinking about boobies" is so great. Just **chef's kiss**
Consonants. He almost sounds vaguely British in the way he dictates certain consonants, particularly the letter "L". It's like it's flipped a little. It could be because he starts the "L" on the note of the vowel it opens to instead of closing to it on the first note and opening it on the second. I'm not a musical theater singer, I'm a jazz singer, so singing with the same diction and patterns you use when speaking is important and even practiced. The opposite goes for musical theater, especially in a Sondheim. You might hear less enunciation in modern shows like Dear Evan Hansen or Legally Blonde, but classic broadway enunciation and diction are important in this context, so I suspect that's where his calculated consonants come from. But man does that calculation pay off. It's not distracting; it's intriguing, and it makes the lyrics much more understandable. At 2:18 he goes "wondehful" and he drags that "w" up with him. He also drags me along for the ride. Wow.
1:19 "lunch" speaks for itself. There's something so grand and simple about it. Grandly simple and simply grand at the same time. It's everything about the way he delivers that word. The abruptness of the cutoff, the exaggerated flipped "L", the expression on his face, the breathing afterward, even the "ch". How does he energize an aspirated cutoff?? With air, I guess? I don't know, it's just great. 1:25 "alone" also speaks for itself. Love, love, love it. No particular reason why, just everything about it.
I love when he's running around the stage and he does a little skip?! So cute. So fun. He's so excited. 1:27-1:39 has great physicality. He doesn't do a lot of moving in this song, but the movement clearly has purpose, and it's not just in moving across the stage. I also like that his scarf flicks up, lol.
Just the fact that he says the word "awesome" sticks with me for some reason. I do not know why. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just nice. ;) ;)
His tone? His placement? I don't think I have the words to describe how pleasing it is to listen to. It's so easy, so warm, so smooth, I just sink into my chair the moment he starts singing. There's such depth to it but it's so light and graceful at the same time. He's singing very healthfully. It's an incredibly pure sound. You never hear a rasp, a break, straining, pushing; it's all like a continuous pully system with the smoothest machinery you've ever seen. Sort of like a violin but better. I like that he didn't do falsetto or head anywhere, because as a child you wouldn't need to. Kids don't really break the same way, on Broadway they're sort of trained to just do everything in chest. He has a beautiful low swinging tenor that I'm in love with. The whole song is a seamless transition of chest and mix, and there's something so peaceful about that. It's not brash and all in chest, but you're never like "oh, that was too high for that register". You don't notice him moving through placements. All this seamlessness is wonderful, however, in the recording and not in this performance, at the very end of the song when he sings "in the sky," you can hear the slightest rasp/push on the end of the word "the". It makes me weak. In. The. Knees. That last push at the end of the song, a kid trying to express how awesome this thing he just discovered is, a last ditch effort to express how important this revelation is. I'm in love with that little push. If I could marry a sound and it couldn't be his first delivery of "sky," it would be his delivery of the word "the" on the original recording. That one thing is so dear to me even though I only heard it for the first time like three days ago. We know his vibrato is angelic, we've mentioned it, but his straight tone is such a change from that and it's perfect. There's a moment he goes into chest and straight tone at the end on "wonderful" at 2:19. We even get some of that purity on the last note in the original recording. He starts vibrato a bit earlier here, but like I said, his vibrato is beautiful, so I'm not complaining.
His smile at the end... I don't need to say anything about that. I think we're all on the same page there.
So that was my impromptu analysis of Ben Wright's performance of Giants in the Sky. It's now 3:26am and I've been thinking about, listening to, and writing about this and ONLY THIS for about two hours, maybe one and a half. It's been consuming my days. I watched the recent movie four days ago and got super into the music, but hated that it was auto-tuned, so I turned to the original cast. I'd heard the clip of Ben doing the opening line in someone's compilation of something or other a while ago, and I was like "wtf this is so underrated I need to listen to this one million more times." So now I have lol. I don't know if a lot of other people get super obsessed with one thing like this the way I do, but I'm sure there are some people that do. It's legitimately difficult to stop thinking about, but luckily I don't get sick of it. I could probably listen to it again and write even more, but I think I hit all the points that stick out to me the most.
Goodnight all, and dream sweet dreams of beanstalks, festivals, and hair as yellow as corn.
Edit: I forgot to mention the rhythm he uses at the beginning on "just how small you are"! That's another thing I love about this performance specifically. That phrase seems more natural and rushed and excited. And at the beginning, too, he's trying to get out his point and the rhythmic word stress there makes sense in that context. Okay, that's all!
omg your comment is so amazing
I love that little rasp now you mentioned it at the last ‘in the sky’! Man that’s subtle but wonderful
May you know where he is now or any of his socials my friend and I are obsessed over this cast and we cant find where he is now. If you do know please tell me by replying to this comment.
Best comment!
this comment is so in-depth I love it
very fun to read!!! a lot of things I didn't notice at first :0!!!!!! very cool!!!!
I love that despite being kind of a moron, you really do understand Jack's innocence and what he feels during this song. He's not malicious and he didn't mean to be, but he's broke and still a young guy who has been sheltered most of his life.
Am I the only person that finds Ben Wright really attractive?
Kerah Bundy no
Kerah Bundy Bit of a baby face, but I see what you're talking about
Not at all! I think he's positively DREAMY! One of the most attractive guys I've never met - heee! I wish I could find him in more videos. I wish he were still singing. Maybe I haven't looked thoroughly enough. What makes him so attractive to me - in addition to his looks - is the awareness and intelligence in his performance. From his phrasing to his character, and his vocal technique too! His voice is so clear and strong. What a beautiful human! :)
lol
Kerah Bundy um no i find him EXTREMELY attractive it’s gone too unnoticed for my liking
I went to Into the Woods on broadway (The new revival cast) and when Jack came out after First Midnight and went "There are Giants in the Sky!" The whole audience went crazy and he just stood there for like 30 seconds while we all cheered until continuing the song.
His smile is so beautiful, and his voice is indescribable.
His interpretation, his tone quality, his gorgeous stunning vibrato, which is so incredibly controlled, just makes this the definitive interpretation of the song. Of all of the performances that we see on youtube, none come close to this one. It will remain the benchmark performance of this song. Bravo!!!
I was Jack for my school's production and honestly only the Witch's songs are as hard as this one. I couldn't breathe after this at all!
Keegan Connolly I’m playing jack right now and you’re so right
im playing Jack i practiced a lot and i don't get out of breath at all anyomore
I’m Jack now I’m not really good at the low notes :/
I am Jack this year :D
i got Jack today and I have asthma 💀😭
it really is impressive the more I watch this (and I used to watch the hell out of this version of ITW when I was a kid). Not only is his voice beautiful, he tells the story so well in his facial expressions, his motions... and somehow manages to breathe and enunciate so well when both of those things are HARD in this song!
Agreed. So many people overdo the gestures and other "business" when they sing this song. This is actually a pretty restrained, yet beautifully focused and moving, performance.
This is the definitive version of "Giants in the Sky". No one has sung it this well since Ben Wright.
This is the only acceptable version to watch. 💖
As a recent college grad, I really relate to this song.
And you're back again, only different than before :)
After the sky/college
Saw Mr. Wright today in brooklyn at the ItW reunion, and he was perfect. 28 years later and there was very little noticeable difference between this recording and today. To think, the best singer there has been out of the biz for over 20 years!
If only Mrs. Gleason had retained her voice the same way the whole event would have been flawless.
ok but honestly ben wright is so talented and cute. his voice is so fantastic!
I’m auditioning for a production of “Into The Woods” later this week and this is the song I’ll be using for my audition. Here’s hoping it goes well!
So, how'd it go
Yeah tell us!
Short answer:
It was an incredible experience!
Long answer:
I got cast as The Wolf. It was more in my vocal range, anyway. I had an incredible time doing the show. We ran into several setbacks and delays due to Covid. Two nights before the opening night, our actor playing the Steward tested positive for Covid, and I had to learn his blocking, entrances and exits in less than 48 hours. Thankfully I am intimately familiar with this musical; I know the entire show forwards and backwards, to the point that if someone called “Line?” in rehearsal, I would instinctively feed it to them before even the director could. Normally directors don’t like when actors do that, but that was not the case for the director of this show. She was actually legitimately impressed that I knew the show so well. Perhaps that’s why she asked me to fill in for the Steward at the last minute when the original actor was indisposed. So I did the performances as The Wolf and the Steward. It was probably the most fun show I’ve done in years. The last five minutes of our final performance (May 15th), it started to rain, which was a problem since our stage was outside. It started right around the finale, after the Giant was killed. I think, in a thematic sense, the rain actually made it better. That whole idea of washing away the old and making way for the new as the surviving characters look to the future… when we finished the bows and ran back to the changing rooms, the whole cast was over the moon! I even remarked, “If Covid couldn’t stop our show, what makes Mother Nature think she could fare any better?”
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. And in having to play two parts, I learned a theater term I never knew before. It’s called a “swing”. Apparently it means “an actor or actress who can be plugged into any role of the show”. It was definitely a first for me, having to pick up a second part on such short notice.
I thank you all for listening to all of this now. I can’t wait to see what show we do next. I’m hoping for “Beauty and the Beast”. I’d love to play Gaston.
I’ll keep you all posted! Thanks for listening!
Same here :)
Dream role would def be the witch, but jack is perfectly in my range. This is the first musical ill ever actually audition for, so wish me luck I suppose
HE IS SO HANDSOME
I really appreciate how much weight and warmth he puts on the low notes here. When you think about it, it's a bit odd that a tenor song with lyrics about the sky/being up high should put such emphasis on its lowest notes, right? But I think the purpose of this is to show musically how Jack has matured. So it's unfortunate that so many productions either cast children with child voices potentially singing an octave up so that there are no low notes, or tenors who aren't willing to give these low notes the love the deserve. This guy gets it. Jack really should be college-age, imo. Old enough that expecting him to be a man is reasonable, young enough that his man-child behavior isn't hopelessly ingrained.
Agreed. The actor, *Ben Wright* (b. *September 3, 1969),* was *18* when *_Into the Woods_* opened on *Broadway* in *November 1987,* and *19* when this was filmed for *PBS* in *May 1989* (though it wasn't broadcast until *March 1991).* The show closed on his *20th* birthday in *September 1989.*
He is WAY TOO CUTE!
Jack is my favorite character, and "Agony" and "Moments in the Woods" are my favorite songs!
I love into the woods!
its funny bc now he's nearly unrecognizable from the cute little jack he was before... i'm sad he didn't do more musical stuff, but he's happy now doing what he loves !
Who is he
This was a piece of repertoire I had that really meant a lot to me for my development early in my classical training. Without this recording I would have never made the strides I did
I’m actually so in love with him
Omg hi again SAMEEEE
this song is SOOO fuckin hard and he makes it seem the simplest thing ever!
He's hot, bye!
No one has ever sung this song as well as Ben Wright. Even years later in the concert version, he owned this role.
Cool. I like the way he portrayed jack; he's my favorite character.
he came to see Moulin Rouge a few months ago and I ended up talking with him. He wanted to go backstage because that's where into the woods had played at our theater but because of Covid he was unable to go. I chatted with him for a few minutes it was before the transfer of into the woods and he had not seen Encores version. I wish I had seen this clip before I chatted with him. He was there to see the show with his daughter and I'm glad I had a moment in the woods with him that night.
There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible Giants
in the sky!
When you're way up high
And you look below
At the world you left
And the things you know,
Little more than a glance
Is enough to show
You just how small you are.
When you're way up high
And you're own your own
In a world like none
That you've ever known,
Where the sky is lead
And the earth is stone,
You're free, to do
Whatever pleases you,
Exploring things you'd never dare
'Cause you don't care,
When suddenly there's
A big tall terrible Giant at the door,
A big tall terrible lady Giant
sweeping the floor.
And she gives you food
And she gives you rest
And she draws you close
To her Giant breast,
And you know things now
that you never knew before,
Not till the sky.
Only just when you've made
A friend and all,
And you know she's big
But you don't feel small,
Someone bigger than her
Comes along the hall
To swallow you for lunch.
And you heart is lead
And your stomach stone
And you're really scared
Being all alone...
And it's then that you miss
All the things you've known
And the world you've left
And the little you own-
The fun is done.
You steal what you can and run.
And you scramble down
And you look below,
And the world you know
Begins to grow:
The roof, the house, and your Mother at the door.
The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore.
And you think of all of the things you've seen,
And you wish that you could live in between,
And you're back again,
Only different than before,
After the sky.
There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible awesome scary wonderful
Giants in the sky!
Best version of one of the best musical songs of all time!
Some how, this is my favourite song in this play. Thanks for uploading!
I'd ALMOST agree... but then there's "AGONY" for the 2 princes.
Best performance of this song, hands down.
This does something to me he’s too cute for his own good
Rest in peace, Mr. Sondheim.
I played Jack in a production a couple of years ago (even though I'm a girl) I loved the role SO MUCH, I miss him!
same im playing Jack now im also a girl
i miss him aswell i couldn't perform him yet because of the corona virus
the way he transitions into the chorus :o can i like please sing like him!
This song sums up just about every fairy tale and fantasy story in about four lines -
"You think of all of the things you've seen,
and you wish that you could live in between
and you're back again only different than before -
after the sky"
comparing wright's performance to huttlestone (and anyone from the musical to the movie version) seems incongruous to me because of the major differences between singing in a musical to singing on a movie's ost.
for example, while wright has to emote during his performance, he is more focused on his sound and also projecting to the audience, while huttlestone is awarded the luxury of singing in a studio for the movie and soundtrack, as well as having a more authentic background to create an environment that can be considered more engaging for the audience. it can be argued that the musical actors' vocal abilities are paramount to that of the movie's, but again musicals feature (usually) singers who can act, while movies feature (usually) actors who can sing. even if that isn't true, the importance in a movie is usually more shifted from sound and tone to acting and conveying emotion and vice versa.
as for age difference, i figure jack's character can have great flexibility when it comes to actors having to fulfill the role (anywhere from 6 to 16) ... due to child labor laws and experience live musicals would probably take on an older boy/young man, but i think it was nice seeing huttlestone in the movie - it was refreshing and i thought he was good in les mis.
Exactly
not to mention if you f*ck up while taping all they to do is yell "CUT!" and start from the beginning again. If you mess up on stage you're pretty much "F*CKED"
"thank you!"
true totally true but i still think the movie version is better because in the movie he's a little boy and in the play he's an adult i think
+Adam J so true
I absolutely love this version! I think I watched this clip close to ten times yesterday and today.
Can't help but like this version better. Still love the movie's version though!
I like how in the movie, they have Jack sing this song to the Baker while showing small flashbacks of when Jack was climbing up and down the beanstalk. It's a nice addition.
He's sooo cute !
He's lovely! Great cast, great composer. :)
La mejor versión de Into the woods, definitivamente
and he sings very well
I saw this production on broadway with the original cast, his voice is terrific especially that last note, Gleason was good too who won the tony that year as I recall
THE BEST JACK. Period
I was lucky enough to see him in the original cast--magic!
His performance, his singing, his eyes....🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰🥰😭😭😭
0:26 is my favorite part because of that gorgeous smile!
The actor playing Jack is Ben Wright. I saw him on broadway and he was superb.
I got cast as jack for my school's production of into the woods, and as a bass singer, pray for me.
AAAAAAAAAAAHH HE'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (BREATH) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AMAZINGGGGGGINNNNNGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
in other words... he is amazing :)
i have watched this way too many times, it is truley amazing how it never ceases to amaze me
His voice is so dreamy
[JACK]
There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible Giants
in the sky!
When you're way up high
And you look below
At the world you left
And the things you know,
Little more than a glance
Is enough to show
You just how small you are.
When you're way up high
And you're own your own
In a world like none
That you've ever known,
Where the sky is lead
And the earth is stone,
You're free, to do
Whatever pleases you,
Exploring things you'd never dare
'Cause you don't care,
When suddenly there's
A big tall terrible Giant at the door,
A big tall terrible lady Giant
sweeping the floor.
And she gives you food
And she gives you rest
And she draws you close
To her Giant breast,
And you know things now
that you never knew before,
Not till the sky.
Only just when you've made
A friend and all,
And you know she's big
But you don't feel small,
Someone bigger than her
Comes along the hall
To swallow you for lunch.
And you heart is lead
And your stomach stone
And you're really scared
Being all alone...
And it's then that you miss
All the things you've known
And the world you've left
And the little you own-
The fun is done.
You steal what you can and run.
And you scramble down
And you look below,
And the world you know
Begins to grow:
The roof, the house, and your Mother at the door.
The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore.
And you think of all of the things you've seen,
And you wish that you could live in between,
And you're back again,
Only different than before,
After the sky.
There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible awesome scary wonderful
Giants in the sky!
Best Jack so far ❤
I like how he is on the older side. Portraying probably 18/19. It makes the most sense for Jacks character.
One of my favorite songs in this
This is kind of off topic, but isn't it ironic that many mythical creatures that live in the sky are large? Dragons, gryphons, giants...
more oxygen maybe?
Mark Lance Errr, what?
more room
Dragons and Griffins live in the sky?
Did you mean they fly? Cuz then pixies and fairies, etc
ben wright is so lovely in this act
oh hes very cute
I love how chip is just laying there
haha absolutely :) i thought he was cute when i saw this a few years ago. and now looking again, he is still just as gorgeous :)
No one does it like Ben Wright 💓
I love into the woods with all the song soliloquy’s it really shows their thoughts and emotions!
this young man has a bright future
One of the best performances ever
I'm in Into the Woods, and my friends always sing along to this backstage. "And she gives you food and she gives you rice!" :)
Love this song.
Honestly, this song IS hard, but once you fully learn it, it does NOT seem as hard.
jack=best part. loved playing his role
i don't get how ben wright isn't more famous, he's amazing!
Ok I have a giant crush I wanna die
+Silvia Sala
A GIANT crush.
I AGREE
This song is so beautiful. I often find myself wishing I could live in between, too. ❤
I think this is my favorite play ever.
Okay...call your Uncle. Dial him up...I'll wait. Okay now tell him that Bella from youtube want's to thank him for existing. I mean seriously, his voice is like...indescribable. PERFECT!
I'm auditioning for a performing arts group with this song (as a soprano, i transposed it) and I'll be using this as inspiration for the movement! great performance!
i love his expression in this.
Such a sensational performance.
Rip Sondheim ❤️❤️
Watching this makes me so nostalgic of the past
omg this is wonderful~
LOLOL THE BAKER JUST FALLS BEHIND HIM.
Shit you need to run and sing but you look so calm!!! Fuking awesome
The crush I had on him when I was in middle school still trying to figure out who I was.
I think in the movie Jack should of been a young teenager not a little boy. i think that would of made the movie better just being honest
+Louise Dwyer
I agree. It would have fit best with the growing up theme, in my opinion-
He was 16😂
+Louise Dwyer He was a young teenager, he was 14 when it was filmed
Saying that is kind of like saying Toby should be a teenager in Sweeney Todd. I think they were men in the show as to how dark they are.
+mermermer123 the thing about that is that he doesn't look 16. In 2012 he played Gavroche who's traditionally played by a 10 or 11 year old and in Into The Woods he looks and sounds no different. It's impossible to tell he was 14 when it was filmed, because he still looks like a little kid.
I love this song! It has been stuck in my head all day! Haha at the beginning when the baker falls behind him, I laughed so hard!
I love this guy and in my theater I'm playing him!!! Well, Jack ;)
This is so perfect.
Good singer!
He has great tone, but I can hear him taking in breaths.
Eric McGill its the song
Eric McGill You can't sing without breathing...just saying.
This song quickly became my fav after Stay w/ me & the Witch's greens prologue
Cool! Just found that. Big Robert Duncan McNeill Fan !
Nick Jonas was actually really good in 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' when I saw it on Broadway. Don't underestimate him.
This is stuck in my head
Let's just realize how difficult this song is!