Be sure to scroll through to see photos and video of several iterations of my setup for Into the Woods over the years. You’ll see some elements have remained the same and others have been adjusted.
2012
No timpani and no chimes for my first production of this show.
2015
Second production was again without chimes and timpani, but I used electronics to substitute.
2019
Every time I play Into the Woods is an adventure in setup. I’ve had to fit in a variety of spaces. I think I made a great utilization on this particular space. Through stacking and lots of mounts, I was able to really work a ton into the setup. I had to put the timpani and chimes onto the DTX. I was fortunate to know someone who provided me with the extended crotale notes. Having those couple of notes makes such a difference hearing the lines without octave displacement. Thanks, DFW Percussion Rentals.
2021
My fourth run at this show, and the first time I was able to use acoustic timpani and chimes. I subbed rototoms instead of the electronic drums for the witch’s rap. While I personally like the somewhat dated cheesiness of the e-drum sound, I really wanted to go all acoustic. Detuning the rotos gave them a slight pitch bend when played, reminiscent of the e-drums.
Dallas Theater Center 2023
My fifth production of Into the Woods. Into the Woods is absolutely one of the shows I love playing the most, along with being the one I’ve done the most different productions of (at this time of writing). It was wonderful having a chance to work with Gary Adler (Avenue Q, Altar Boyz, to name a few) as Music Director. This production was a bit different as it used Tunick’s original orchestrations from San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre before the Broadway transfer. The orchestrations were revised for the 2012 New York revival. Although largely the same, there are some differences between the percussion parts in the version that is licensed. Once again DFW Percussion Rentals provided the two extended crotales notes.
