Miscast Witches - Who is the Best “Into the Woods” Witch? 

I'm sorry I will always side with Bernadette Peters as the best Witch. She makes me laugh, makes me emotional, and she looks amazing!

Bernadette Peters owns this role as much as Patti Lupone owns Evita.

Mr Mash, On Bernadette not being motherly enough during her interpretation of "Stay with Me"... I always took it that the witch wasn't a very capable mother in the first place. Her actions towards Rapunzel show that she lacks a lot of empathy towards her daughter, and she seems quite immature in herself. Rapunzel, up until the point of meeting the prince, has basically been groomed to be a subservient daughter; essentially how a young mother with little experience would treat a child if given no assistance. No contact with the outside world, treated like a possession more than anything, seemingly discongruent actions and feels shown from the witch (cutting her off from society and saying "it's all for you, because I LOVE you"). Daughter like a flower? A flower is pretty, but it's an object and nonreciprocal. It could even be argued that the witch never really loved Rapunzel (in a matriarchal way), until she was killed. Even when she found her with the prince after her banishment, she seemed more angry that Rapunzel had chosen him vs remorseful over her actions. After, the issue of her magic being lost seems to be more important than her daughter leaving her. For me, the witch is suppose to be a tragic parent figure, rather than a positive and well meaning one. The witch is a display of the one-sidedness of an almost abusive relationship. Bernadette portrays this completely and perfectly.

Lets be honest, Bernadette Peters was the best.

My favorite part of Bernadette peters' performance is her behavior after Rapunzel dies. (Not just right after, but consistently) There's this very subtle but wonderfully present switch that goes off in her performance transitioning from flippant and sarcastic but well meaning to almost completely numb. The line "ask the wolf's mother" gave me chills because there was such bitterness in her voice.

I personally would have ranked Bernadette Peters as #1 but I still loved the video!!!

For whatever reason, Bernadette really takes it for me. Her humour, her character development, and her sense of just...incredible sorrow in the second act turning to rage is, to me, unparalleled. Your top three choices were great, and I do prefer some of the choices made by Murphy and Jocelyn for Last Midnight, but Bernadette is still my fave.

I'm extremely biased because it was the first version I saw but I will always think Bernadette Peters is the best witch. I think the mix of humour and seriousness in her performance is really good and she definitely looks the part.

I would've put Bernadette first hahaha

Berndette ..who I saw 5 times on Broadway...Broke my heart. She is the Witch.

I just think that Meryl really didn’t want to play a “witch” but a more human aspect of this role. But I get why people didn’t think she was right. In my opinion, I loved her interpretation. Bernadette Peters is my favorite though of course.

I kinda wish you had talked about Meryl Streep's "Last Midnight". I thought it was really good. Also, I'd love to hear your insight on the best Baker's Wife. With the witch in the show, I feel like the Baker's Wife gets overshadowed sometimes...but honestly, to me, that's one of the hardest acting roles in the show.

Mannnnn, say what you want...but when Meryl sang 'Stay with me', WHOA! As a mother, I FELT it in my soul! The emotion in her voice, her facial expressions were so vulnerable, personal & relatable. She translated the frustration & the fears that plague motherly love beautifully... The pride of seeing the child you've reared grow in beauty & health, but also selfishly wanting to remain prominent in their lives, missing the nostalgic glint in their eyes when you were their world & knowing that you'll someday have to accept their inevitable need to expand that world beyond you. You have to adjust to a new role in their lives... They're stretching towards the sunlight & almost every protective instinct you've cultivated since their birth has to be brought into submission so you don't crush their 'bloom' or be left behind due to their survival instincts to protect it. It can be both brutal & beautiful at the same time & Meryl conveyed that perfectly💔

Bernadette Peters.

We can all agree that Bernadette Peters is an amazing witch, but can we also talk about how amazing she was in Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella?

I FOR SURE like Peters more than Streep in this role. Also, I love how Donna Murphy as the ugly witch is almost deformed. It's so cool and makes "Stay With Me" so good!

Honestly I loved Meryl Streep in the movie I think her rap was a great take on it (I swear if anyone says oh that was all autotune I will lose my marbles) but I liked her ugly witch better I don't know I think she just did a better job at it and I think Peters should have been much higher on the list (that is my opinion tho)

I agree with Sondheim that Bernadette Peters basically has a superpower when it comes to emoting with her voice, and I think she’s easily the best overall witch (although Streep did better than I had expected based on “Mamma Mia” - her “Last Midnight” was chilling). I enjoyed this review as well, especially the variety of clips, but probably won’t seek out any others. The arguments for/against each performance don’t line up with my personal takes and don’t make unusually convincing points. Maybe a detailed comparison without awarding places would be more effective and less angry-comment-provoking :) I admire the reviewer’s love and knowledge of the subject, just not the ranking aspect.

When Bernadette P. sang “Stay With Me” she made me think of what a mother must feel when their child wants to leave.😢 It made me cry. As I grew older, I still touches my heart. She looks like a unattractive old woman, but sounds like a beautiful Princess.

i can not accept the fact that Bernadette isn’t first on the list, shame

I think a miscast of Glindas from Wicked would be interesting. Comparing the iconic Kristen Chenoweth to the over the top Alli Mauzey

I decided to pause during the disclaimers and read every paragraph. I was not disappointed😂 Oh, and nice video too!

"She has the pipes to get it done!" **Plays clip of Donna Murphy singing flat as hell**

you see I think that stay with me should be very human and not witch, which is why I like Meryl Streep's performance

why is Bernadatte number 4 she should be number 1

FOUR?!

Bernadette Peters wins hands down, she's unbeatable.

For me Peters' Stay With Me shows that The Witch needs Rapunzel more than Rapunzel needs her, if it doesn't sound "motherly" its because it really isn't. Peters' Witch is like a child and her doll... Sure the child acts like a mother to the doll by dressing it up and caring for it like a baby, but in reality, the doll is the one making the child feel safe and secure.

I wasn't upset with your choice at all shes so good but Bernadette will always be my #1!!!

I hope I wasn't the only one who just read the disclaimer... 😂😂😂

I'm still not over the fact that Donna Murphy played both Mother Gothel and The Witch. That's some a+ freaking casting

I was almost upset when Bernadette wasn't in the top 3, but then, you just introduced me to a whole WORLD of Witches that I never knew I needed, thank you so much

I won't disagree with Donna Murphy, she was definitely a great choice for number one, the only witch I don't agree with was Bernadette Peters. Personally, she was the first witch I saw in high school on DVD so I have always loved her as my favorite witch, and yes I agree, she took a comical turn with moments in the Broadway show, but at the same time, I feel like there were moments where she did show the motherly tenderness that you spoke of, especially with Stay with Me. I definitely thought she showed the mothering feeling towards Rapunzel and I feel that was one of her strongest moments in the show, least that is my opinion, but other than that, I can agree with the vast majority of the list

My personal favorite is Meryl Streep. her performance is really impressive in the movies especially when she sang "Last Midnight"

First of all, you’re adorable. Second of all, I think it’s unfair to compare Streep’s Witch-a performance that clearly works in a cinematic portrayal since she’s not having to act to the balcony-with the other women who are clearly giving stage performances with necessary larger than life portrayals. I found the selection of Murphy to be interesting considering your complaints of Rashad’s pitch problems. Murphy, even in the clip you show, is highly inconsistent in her pitch during “Stay With Me.” I’d agree with you on her very fine tuned acting performance-there are few actresses who can match her dimension in that regard-but as the whole package? Probably not. I don’t know who my favorite is. I’ll always love Bernadette’s performance because she was first; I’ll always love Rashad because she was the first I saw live; and I’ll always love how completely different Williams was. But I think the Witch that made me FEEL the most was definitely Streep-and that’s because of the reasons you seemed to NOT like her...which was her completely human approach. I think having a Witch that is like us makes her easier to empathize with. But that’s just me. Keep being adorable.

Peters will always be my #1. She captures the sass and humor of the witch so well, all while being very smart. I thought she did a great job as the mother to Rapunzel, and every time she's on stage, I can't keep my eyes off of her. Her voice, as well, is to die for.

Im sorry, Meryl has never been a 7 lol

Your number 1 pick was off key...a lot. How can a pitchy witch be #1? Peters should be first because she played every inch of that character. From body language to face making to off key "you're so nice" to make the point that nice for nice isn't whats needed. The reason I like Peters so much, especially her Stay With Me is because when she gets loud, theres a reason. It's not just to "belt to the back of the house". She wants things the way she wants them and when she doesn't have her way, she has a witchy temper tantrum. The point of her getting loud at that point is to be LOUD and to try and scare her "daughter" into staying. Thats what shes done her whole life. The witch uses fear of the outside world to keep Rapunzel with her. Streep, well, she was actually really fantastic. But for a real classic musical theater nerd, movies are always going to lose out to stage productions. I think Streep would have fallen a little flat on stage, but on camera, she was everything the witch needed to be. And the song that Sondheim wrote just for her but they sadly had to cut...I mean, cmon. You have to go find it if you haven't seen it already. She'll Be Back was such a good commentary on how the witch is. How she wants what she wants and is devastated when she can't have it. She's used to people doing what she wants because she's THE WITCH (queue spooky music and lightning). I mean, look at the ridiculous quest she sends the baker and his wife on just so she can be pretty again. She doesn't care about giving them a child. She wants her youth and beauty. And lastly, your claim that #3 "nailed the rap"...what rhythm are you referring to? Because I didn't hear her nailing the rhythm at all. I in fact heard her being off rhythm. Is there another recording where the audio might be better to help prove your point? To be honest, I've watched a few of your videos and this is the only comment I'm leaving, though I've thought about leaving lots of them. I don't want to be one of those bitchy commenters that tried to tear you apart, but its opinion. My opinion is that your lists are...not well put together.

Honestly surprised you chose Donna Murphy. I saw the recording of her performance. I'm not a huge fan of her delivery, in most parts. Granted, that might just be because she was flat, for the performance I saw. My personal favorite is really just a tie between Peters and Streep, which is weird, considering they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Take for instance, The Last Midnight. Peters is very good at letting her emotions subtly creep out through her actions and facial cues, while Streep just smashes open a can of crazy. Both are very satisfying performances of telling off a bunch of idiots.

Not all witches need witch voices. :/ (glinda witch of the north)

Please re-do this with Patina Miller!! She played The Witch in the recent Hollywood Bowl production and was absolutely FANTASTIC!! I had the pleasure of going opening night, she gave me chills every time she sang, brought me to tears during Stay With Me, and it was awesome hearing the subtle but audible “wow, she’s amazing!” from the audience around me.

I was lucky enough to have attended Hannah Waddingham's Regent's Park Open Theatre Into the Woods performance back in 2010. I cried my heart out listening to her singing Children will Listen. Simply unforgettable. She's my number one.

I ADORE Hannah and Donna's Witches - I love that they seem to be turning into trees or dryads - it lends so much creepiness and scariness to every scene they appear in, and gives Stay With Me a beautifully sinister feel and look - definitely think they deserved #1 and #2 - my only real personal change would be to switch Meryl and Phylicia, but that's just my own opinion - otherwise this list is truly perfect, at least to my taste. Thanks for a month of the Master of Musicals, Mr. Mash!

This was great! I would love to see a Miscast Grizabella

I loved reading the disclaimer haha! You didn't make very many funny faces, it was mostly your face slowly turning to the right and being blurry. I personally like Bernadette, it was the first one I ever saw and it was so powerful to me. I didn't know about the other versions so that was cool to see!

Mine is Bernadette peters

I understand where you're coming from with the Bernadette Peters motherly instinct stay with me point. But I think it's either an acting choice or I'm reading to much into it. I think the whole point is she doesn't know how to be a mother, she doesn't have that motherly instinct. But that's just what I think.

Meryl at Seven cannot be. Her Last Midnight is EPIC. For that alone she has to be above Five.

Y'all should definitely do a Mama Rose Miscast.

Personally think Bernadette should have been first, and Meryl deserved a hire ranking as the director screwed that up. She was obviously better then the 2002 mess.

My favourite was, without a doubt, Meryl Streep. Her delivery of Last Midnight was just phenomenal to me - the witch going pretty much batshit crazy at the end is what i had always imagined for the witch.

Dude, Bernadette peters is by far the perfect into the woods witch. And when she sang that out there in the woods song, it made me tear up. Her singing was so beautiful, it made me cry. I love her as the witch that much

Hmmmm... Definitely an interesting list. I'm SO happy to see Waddingham and Joselyn toward the top of the list. I gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan of Murphy's rendition of Stay With Me. IDK, it always sounded pitchy and flat in places. Definitely pretty in others, but there are parts that don't sound good to me and it just distracts me from the song. I have yet to watch the full production so maybe I need to see her in the whole thing to get the full effect but from what I've seen of her my thoughts were just generally... "yeah, she's pretty good." My favourite spot prolly goes to Peters or Waddingham, and I definitely wish Meryl were higher on the list. She brought that motherly quality to the role like nothing I've ever seen before and I just loved how she played it with that smug "I know more than all of you idiots" and that torture she feels from her plight. But overall, fantastic list, and BRILLIANTLY presented as always.

Um............. I don't agree with your #1.... The fact that she is singing off-pitch in much of your examples is really off-putting

Let's be real. The only witch worthy of holding the title of best witch is Titus Burgess.

For me Iove I Bernadette:s performance, especially the first scene ;)

Peters was my first witch so she'll always hold a place in my heart! As for the rest of these I will look to them for inspiration as well!

Also, for GOT watchers...Hannah Waddingham is better known as Septa Unella (ie the "shame nun" ) MIND. BLOWN.

For me the best actress I have ever seen play this role was actually Heather Headley. She was apart of the 2015 Muny Production. For me she took the strongest parts of Williams' and Peters' performances as inspiration for the performance she created. She was able to portray motherly affection and concern, without abandoning her witchiness. I don't know if there is any surviving footage of her performance lurking around on the internet, but I would recommend looking it up for anyone who is a fan of this role.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR THE LONGEST TIME!

Wow, Hannah Waddingham is amazing! I think Bernadette also holds too special of a place in my heart, but I can appreciate all of your choices.

Presenter: "The definitive version of the rap as sondheim intended" Witch: *jumbled string of incomprehensible syllables*

Love the video! I had no idea there were so many previous witches. I only knew of Streep and Peters. I really love Meryl Streep's rendition of Last midnight but I adore the style, wit, and delivery Peter gives with every line and her stay with me was gorgeous. Meryl and Peters are my favorites but I enjoyed seeing the ones I had not heard of before, great video.

Man Donna Murphy would make an amazing Margaret White in Carrie!

Hmm. I think Meryl's Stay With Me is my favorite. So layered and nuanced. And she's one of the only people that uses dynamics to her advantage. She def needs to be higher on the list! Side note, Wottingham was acting!!! Goodness. She might be my new fave tbh.

Wow, I need to watch more versions of Into the Woods. This is my favorite musical of all times and I had literally only seen two of these witches (you can guess which two.) Thank you for the introduction to other versions!

YES. I've been waiting for another Miscast video; these are the best!

I love your miscast videos! It's so refreshing to listen to someone's opinion about my favorite musicals and you really have a great educational vibe. Thank you.

Hannah Waddington is my fave. As you said, the 'Children will listen' is spectacular. The whole production is above anything ever 💜

I think he just doesn't like movie adaptations. He never has anything good to say about them.

YESSSSS!!! I left a comment asking you to do this so long ago, and I'm so glad you finally decided to do it. Thanks Mr. Mash!

I just love hearing the passion and intelligence you bring to musical theatre, thank you!

!!! i was worried u werent going to end up doing this before the month was over im hyped

Agreed tha Berna should have been first, but how did Heather Headley not even make the your list?!

I saw Bernadette, Betsy Jocelyn and Donna Murphy (in Central Park. And the added bonus was Chip Zien, as the Mysterious Old Man.)

I was fortunate enough to see your #1 pick live and WOW, I couldn't agree more. It was so wonderful.

Did Meryl place lower because she's in the film version ;-;

I completely agree with this and the closer we were getting to the number one I knew who you would choose. She's absolutely amazing. One thing I will say is that I was much more impressed with Meryl Streep. It seems to me that the things that didn't work were more of a director's choice than her own.

I just found this, and watched all the warnings :) This is my favorite show ever. I once flew to Seattle for 24 hours to watch a production of it. I loved the description of the show in the warnings too. I also have a t-shit that says "This is ridiculous, what am I doing here, I'm in the wrong story!" I really enjoyed the comparison between the witches. Thanks!

This is one of my favorite videos of yours. the production on this is great! you're great!

You were right about me liking #1. I was questioning Bernadette Peters' placement, but I LOVE Donna Murphy! She's such an underrated gem.

She came in at SEVEN? Oh my...Meryl wasn't the best but I found a deleted scene they cut called 'She'll be back', and it would of made her part so much more memorable. That transformation in the last clip made the others cower in the corner.

I just wanted to let you know, I love watching these videos! Okay I just found them like 30 minutes ago and I'm obsessed!

Murphy's "Stay a child, while you can be a child" broke me. I'm in tears, rn. I need to track this version down!

"Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap Hot Pocket and place on baking sheet" *deceased*

Does anyone else really want a miscast of Mama Rose?

Only my second video of yours, but I paused through the entire 'rules' section of the video and read every word. Your humor and musical knowledge is more than enough to earn a sub! My hat off to YOU, sir! :)

Sending some Love!! Great video!!

NOO MERYL SHOULDINT BE 7

I'm sick of musical theatre geeks playing this stupid game of "Downplay the popular version to prove your theatre knowledge." Bernadette was the best, not only because she acted & sang the hell out of the part, but because she understood her role within the ensemble. That whole cast totally gelled with one another, which allowed each of them to shine. I also have to disagree with your assessment of Vanessa Williams. She was EXCELLENT as the Witch, and she shouldn't have to shoulder the blame for a poor re-write and awkward direction.

I go back to Hannah Waddingham's "Children Will Listen" over and over again. It's so good!

YES!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!! MORE OF THIS PLEASE

Peters alllllll the way

STREEP AT 7!!!!!!! no nope whole load of nope

Very intelligent and thought-provoking analysis. I loved all these WItches (and saw most of them), but you managed to put them in an intelligent demobnstration here. Thanks!

Man....I love this musical! I have listened to this so many times and it is an emotional ride every time! I cry virtually everytime. Life is full of choices but number one is Bernadette Peters! She is just spectacular as is that production and the cast. They all just nail it. Bravo and a continuous standing ovation! I'm tearing up just writing this.

I'd really like to write a couple paragraph constructive response but I'm afraid you wouldn't read it

ok ok Bernadette Peters knocked it outta the park

I've learned so much. I now have other versions of Into the Woods that I need to watch! I have only seen one with the original Broadway cast and the Disney version. Thanks for opening my eyes to find more

Love Donna Murphy. She did awesome in her voice over as Evil Mother in Disney's Tangled so I am sure she would have played fantastic as a witch here too! She's got great knack from switching to vulnerable to sinister really quickly with her tone of voice and singing.