Into the Woods

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Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim . The book is by James Lapine and is inspired by Bruno Bettelheim's book Children Need Fairy Tales and includes house fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and other fairy tale collections.

It premiered on November 5, 1987 at the Martin Beck Theater, New York. After 765 performances, the last curtain fell on the original production on September 3, 1989. In 1997 and 2002 there were revival shows.

The German-language premiere took place on March 31, 1990 in Heilbronn. The German libretto , entitled Ab in den Wald , was written by Michael Kunze .

background

The play interweaves the actions of various fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and follows the consequences of the wishes and tasks of the various protagonists. The musical combines the individual stories with a framework story about a baker and his wife who are childless and whose desire for children can be fulfilled by a witch if the bakers bring some things to her.

action

1st act

With the words "Once upon a time ..." the narrator introduces four characters and their wishes: Cinderella (Cinderella), the daughter of a rich man who was made their maidservant by her wicked stepmother and her stepsisters, wishes to attend the king's ball to be able to participate; Jack, a simple poor boy, wishes that his cow Milky White would finally give milk, and a baker and his wife want nothing more than a child.

Then there is Little Red Riding Hood, who wants bread and cake from the baker, who reluctantly gives it to her to bring it to her grandmother's house, Jack's tired old mother, who wants wealth and urges Jack to sell his cow, Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters Florinda and Lucinda; these are raised with the desire to attend the king's ball.

The couple's neighbor, an ugly old witch, comes to the two of them and reveals to them that the couple's source of sterility is a curse that she put on the baker's family after the baker's father found six magic beans from their garden had stolen. In addition to the curse the witch had cast, she also took in the baker's newborn sister, Rapunzel. The witch explains to the baker couple that the curse can be lifted if the baker and his wife bring her four ingredients that the witch needs for a special magic potion: “A cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair like that yellow as corn and a shoe as pure as gold ”. All the ingredients must be brought to the witch to strike at midnight on the third day. Everyone is now beginning their journey into the forest - Jack goes to the market to sell his beloved pet Milky White, Cinderella's family goes to the ball, Cinderella goes to her mother's grave to ask for help, Little Red Riding Hood goes to her grandmother's house and the baker goes to get the ingredients; his wife wants to help him, but he refuses to help (“Prologue”).

Cinderella visits her mother's grave and asks for help, her mother's ghost gives her a beautiful dress and gold shoes (“Cinderella At The Grave”). Jack meets a mysterious man who mocks him for trying to sell his cow for more than a "sack of beans" and then disappears. Little Red Riding Hood meets the hungry wolf who convinces her to take a detour to see her grandmother (“Hello, Little Girl”). The baker sees Little Red Riding Hood in the forest, but doesn't know how to get the cape; the witch appears and yells at him to steal the cape. The baker is so shocked by the witch's appearance and the idea of ​​stealing the cape that he forgets the ingredients he is supposed to get. Fortunately, his wife followed him and reminded him of the ingredients. The two get into an argument over the fact that the baker's wife has followed him into the forest and meet Jack with his cow Milky White. Since the baker couple has no money to buy the cow, they convince Jack that the beans the baker found in his father's old hunting jacket are magical and they would trade the cow for five of them. Jack tearfully says goodbye to his cow (“I Guess This Is Goodbye”), the baker sends his wife back to the village with the cow. He's concerned that they were dishonest with Jack, but his wife addresses his concerns, as the chance of having a child justifies the cheating (“Maybe They're Magic”).

The witch raised Rapunzel as her own daughter and keeps her locked away from the world in a tall tower in the middle of the forest, the only access to the tower is to climb Rapunzel's long, blond hair (“Our Little World”) . Even so, a prince discovered Rapunzel and figured out how to climb the tower. In another part of the forest the baker is following Little Red Riding Hood. As the witch ordered, he steals the cape. The subsequent tantrum of Little Red Riding Hood leads the baker to return the cape. When Little Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother's house, she meets the wolf and is eaten by it. The baker also comes to the grandmother's house looking for the cape, kills the wolf and frees Little Red Riding Hood and his grandmother from the wolf's innards. Out of gratitude for her rescue, Little Red Riding Hood gives the baker her cape and reflects on her new experiences (“I Know Things Now”). Meanwhile Jack comes home and tells his mother about the deal with the baker, she is angry, throws the beans carelessly into the garden and sends Jack to bed without dinner. Cinderella escapes from the king's ball, pursued by another prince and his servant, and meets the baker's wife. The baker's wife helps Cinderella to hide and asks her about the ball. Cinderella tells her that it was a nice ball (“A Very Nice Prince”), but that she is very ambivalent about the experience. When a giant beanstalk grows next to Jack's house, the baker's wife discovers Cinderella's golden shoe. She tries to grab the shoe and chases Cinderella through the forest. Because of this inattention, the cow Milky White can run away. While the bells ring in the first midnight, each person determines their morality and their knowledge of what they have experienced (“First Midnight”) and they travel on through the forest.

The next morning, Jack describes how he climbed the beanstalk and found a lock up there. He stole gold from the giant couple (“Giants In The Sky”). He meets the baker and gives him five gold pieces to buy back his cow. The baker hesitates, which leads Jack to go back to the giants' castle and steal more gold. The mysterious man appears again, he mocks the baker and steals the gold from him. The baker's wife confesses to her husband that the cow has run away, whereupon they decide to split up and look for the animal. The Prince of Cinderella and the Prince of Rapunzel, who are brothers, meet in the forest and compare the misery of their newly won and unattainable love (“agony”). The baker's wife overhears the two princes and learns from Rapunzel's prince that he has found a girl in the forest who lives in a tower and has hair "as yellow as corn". The baker's wife searches for the tower and pretends to Rapunzel that she is the prince. When Rapunzel lets her hair down, she tears out a strand and disappears. The mysterious man meets the baker again and gives him Milky White back.

The baker's wife and Cinderella meet again and the baker's wife makes another desperate attempt to get hold of the shoe, but before she succeeds, Cinderella flees again. The baker and his wife meet again, they now have three of the four ingredients they need. The baker admits to himself and his wife that they can only solve the task if they work together (“It Takes Two”). Jack comes by and has brought a chicken that can lay golden eggs, he wants to trade it for Milky White. When the bells ring at the second midnight, the cow suddenly drops dead. Once again everyone sums up the moral of the story (“Second Midnight”). The witch finds out that the prince has visited Rapunzel and asks Rapunzel to stay with her now (“Stay With Me”). Rapunzel refuses the witch's request, she is so angry that she cuts Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to the desert. The mysterious man gives the baker the money back so that he can buy a new cow. Jack meets Little Red Riding Hood, who is now wearing a wolf's skin instead of a cape and a knife for her protection. He tries to impress her by telling her about his adventures in the realm of the giants, but when she refuses to believe him, Jack feels encouraged to go back to the giants and steal a magical harp.

Cinderella returns from another night at the king's ball and tells how the prince tried to prevent her from escaping by brushing bad luck on the steps of the palace. Caught between the desire to flee and the desire to stay, she decides that the prince should decide how to proceed and leaves a golden shoe as a clue to her identity (“On The Steps Of The Palace”). The baker's wife desperately tries to convince Cinderella to give her the other shoe and offers her the sixth bean. Cinderella tosses the bean carelessly aside, but agrees to exchange shoes with the baker's wife and flees. A second bean stalk grows out of the bean unnoticed. The baker comes back to his wife with another cow and now they have all four ingredients. The prince's servant appears in the forest and snatches the golden shoe from the baker's wife. They are fighting for the shoe when suddenly a loud crack can be heard. Jack's mother storms into the forest and reports that a giant climbed down the first beanstalk and Jack swore revenge for stealing his magical harp. Jack has meanwhile chopped off the beanstalk, whereby the giant fell from the vine and is now dead in the garden of Jack's house. The prince, more preoccupied with the search for Cinderella than anything else, waves him off and continues his search with one of the golden shoes, leaving behind the baker, his wife, Jack's mother and the second golden shoe. To his mother's great relief, Jack also appears in the forest and carries the magical harp with him. Suddenly the witch appears and when she examines the ingredients, she realizes that the cow doesn't know what milk is like, it has been colored with flour. The baker admits that the first cow is dead and that it is only a replacement, whereupon the witch has the dead cow brought back and brings it back to life. She then asks the baker and his wife to feed the cow with the remaining ingredients. Jack tries to milk the cow, but she doesn't give milk. The witch then becomes very angry and the baker's wife tells them that she stole Rapunzel's hair. The witch angrily explains that the spell does not work because she has already touched the hair. The mysterious man appears on the scene and explains to the baker that he should feed the hair-like corn threads to Milky White. Finally the cow gives milk, this is the magic drink. The witch reveals to the baker that the mysterious man is the father of the baker, then she drinks the potion. The mysterious man falls dead after he has made amends by helping him find the ingredients. The witch then transforms into a beautiful young woman.

Cinderella's prince is looking for the girl to whom the golden shoe fits, the stepsisters try to put the shoe on. Since it doesn't fit, the stepmother simply cuts off their toes or heels from their feet. After being warned twice on the way home that the prince was bringing the wrong bride home, the prince returns and demands that the third daughter try on the shoe. Cinderella tries the shoe and it fits perfectly. The prince then takes her with him and makes her his wife. Rapunzel gave birth to twins in the desert and meets her prince, who wanders blindly through the desert. Her tears give him his eyesight back when the witch appears and asks Rapunzel once more to come back to her. When Rapunzel refuses, she tries to curse the two and has to realize that she has lost her power. Step-sisters Florinda and Lucinda try to win their favor at Cinderella's wedding. But a flock of birds appears and attacks the sisters, making them blind. Everyone except the witch and the stepsisters congratulates the others on being able to live happily now (“Ever After”). Nobody notices the beanstalk that grows up into the sky.

2nd act

The narrator begins again with "Once upon a time ... later". All the characters seem happy, but they still want something: the baker and his wife have their longed-for little boy, but want one more room and argue that the baker is not ready to hold his child. Jack and his mother are now rich and well fed, but Jack misses his kingdom in heaven; Cinderella lives with her Prince Charming in the palace, but is bored (“So Happy”).

Suddenly everyone is shaken by a loud crash. A giant's footprints destroyed the witch's garden, only a few beans remained. The baker and his wife decide that they should report this to the royal family and ask for help, so the baker travels to the palace. The prince's servant ignores his message, as does Jack's mother, whom he tells about the giant when he comes to Jack's house to ask for help. When the baker returns home, Little Red Riding Hood passes them on the way to her grandmother: her house has been destroyed and her mother is missing. The baker and his wife accompany Little Red Riding Hood on her way to see her grandmother. Meanwhile, Jack decides that he must kill the giant. Cinderella learns from her bird friends that her mother's grave has been destroyed and decides to investigate. In her old clothes she sets off for the forest. Once again everyone is drawn to the forest, but this time the mood is gloomy and the birds have stopped singing (“Into the Woods (Reprise)”).

While everyone else has moved back into the woods, Rapunzel, maddened by the treatment of the witch, has fled in a fit of hysterics. Her prince has followed her, but when he meets his brother they confess to each other the real reason for their presence in the woods. They are bored and frustrated with their marriages and now they desire two beautiful women they found sleeping in the forest - Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (“Agony (Reprise)”).

The baker, his wife and Little Red Riding Hood get lost in the forest, whereupon they meet Cinderella's family and the servant who tells them that the castle was destroyed by a giant. The witch now also appears and brings the news that a giant has destroyed the entire village and the baker's hut. Suddenly thunderous footsteps can be heard and the giant appears. To everyone's surprise, this giant is a woman. She came down the second beanstalk and is the widow of the giant Jack killed while chopping off the first beanstalk. The giantess' booming voice announces that she wants Jack's blood as revenge for her husband. In order for the giantess to be satisfied, everyone in the group realizes they need to give someone, but they are unable to agree on one until they realize that the narrator is still commenting on the plot from the side. Everyone now offers the narrator as a sacrifice, but he tries to convince everyone that they are lost without him. Finally the witch throws him into the arms of the giantess, who recognizes the deception and drops the narrator, whereupon he dies. Jack's mother joins the group and aggressively defends her son, upset the giantess. The servant then hits Jack's mother on the head to calm her down, but unfortunately kills her in the process. The giantess leaves the group to look for Jack, Rapunzel runs in her way and is trampled to death, much to the horror of the witch and her prince (“Witches Lament”).

The royal family continues their flight to a hidden kingdom, despite the baker's pleading to stay and stand by them in the battle against the giantess. The witch now decides to find Jack and sacrifice him to the giantess. The baker and his wife decide that they have to find Jack first. They part in search of him. The baker's wife meets Cinderella's prince on her way, he seduces the baker's wife (“Any Moment”). The baker has since found Cinderella on her mother's destroyed grave and convinces her to join the group so that she is safe. Satisfied with the success, the prince leaves the baker's wife, he only has a few platitudes for her. She realizes her mistake and decides to return to her happy life with the baker and her son (“Moments In The Woods”). However, she got lost and crosses the path of the giantess.

The baker, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella await the return of the baker's wife when the witch appears with Jack. She found him when he was kneeling over the baker's wife, crying. The baker is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of his wife's death and unintentionally agrees to hand Jack over to the giantess. The people initially blame each other for their predicament, until ultimately everyone decides that the witch who grew the beans is primarily to blame for the misery (“Your Fault”). Disgusted by these accusations, the witch curses everyone present and throws the remaining magic beans around. She reactivates her mother's curse and disappears (“Last Midnight”).

The grieving baker flees into the forest. There he is visited by the spirit of his father who convinces him to face his responsibility (“No More”). The baker returns and helps plan to kill the giantess. Cinderella's bird friends are supposed to pick out the giantess's eyes after the baker and Jack have taken her to a spot that they previously painted with bad luck. Cinderella stays behind and protects the baker's child. Her prince comes by and almost doesn't recognize her. She confronts him with his infidelity, which she learned about from her bird friends. He explains to her how unfulfilled he is and why he seduced another woman. Cinderella asks him to go, he disappears, leaving her sad.

Little Red Riding Hood returns with the news that her grandmother was killed by the giantess. The baker has meanwhile reported to Jack that his mother is dead. Jack vows to kill the servant in revenge, but the baker convinces him that no one would benefit from the servant's death. Cinderella comforts Little Red Riding Hood and tries to dispel her scruples that killing the giantess will not make anyone better than the giantess herself. Meanwhile, the baker tries to explain his inability to Jack, which is morally right. (“No One Is Alone”).

The four remaining kill the giantess. The deceased, the royal family (who got lost in the forest and starved to death), and the princes (who carry their new lovers, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, in their arms) return once more to share one final moral with the audience. The survivors decide to band together and rebuild everything. The spirit of the baker's wife appears to her grieving husband, she comforts him and advises him to tell her child her story. The baker begins to tell the story, using the same words as the narrator at the beginning of the play. The witch reappears and warns everyone: “Be careful what you say to children, children listen!” (“Children Will Listen”). Everyone goes back to a last reprise of the title song and speculates that everyone has to venture into the forest once, but must never forget the past (“Finale”). Cinderella closes the show with a final "I wish ...".

Music numbers

1st act 2nd act
Act One Prologue - Act 1 Opening Act Two Prologue - Act 2 Opening
Cinderella at the grave - Cinderella at the grave Agony (reprise) - agony of love (reprise)
Hello, little girl - Hello, little woman Witch's lament
The spell is on my house (Reprise) Any moment
I guess this is goodbye - now it's goodbye Any moment (recapitulation)
Maybe they're magic - Maybe they're magic Moments in the woods - deep in the woods
Our little world Your fault - you are to blame
Maybe they're magic (reprise) - maybe they're magic (reprise) Last midnight - midnight hour
I know things now - and I know more now No more - enough
A very nice Prince - The prince is friendly No one is alone (Part 1) - Nobody is alone (Part 1)
First Midnight - The first night No one is alone (Part 2) - Nobody is alone (Part 2)
Giants in the sky - giants above us Act Two Finale - Act 2 Finale
Agony - agony of love
A very nice Prince (reprise) - The prince is friendly (reprise)
It takes two - just for two
Second midnight - The second night
Stay with me
On the steps of the Palace - On the steps of the palace
Act One Finale - Act 1 Finale

music

Orchestration after Jonathan Tunick

Reed I: piccolo, flute
Reed II: clarinet
Reed III: bassoon
2 horns
Trumpet or piccolo trumpet
Drums
synthesizer
piano
Strings

Premiere cast

  • Tom Aldredge (Narrator / Mysterious Man)
  • Chip Zien (baker)
  • Joanna Gleason (wife of the baker)
  • Bernadette Peters (witch)
  • Ben Wright (Jack with the Beanstalk)
  • Barbara Bryne (Jack's mother)
  • Danielle Ferland (Little Red Riding Hood)
  • Robert Westenberg (Wolf / Cinderella's Prince)
  • Kim Crosby (Cinderella)
  • Merle Louise (Cinderella's mother / Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother / giantess)
  • Edmund Lyndeck (Cinderella's father)
  • Joy Franz (Cinderella's stepmother)
  • Kay McClelland (Florinda, Cinderella's stepsister)
  • Lauren Mitchell (Lucinda, Cinderella's stepsister)
  • Chuck Wagner (Rapunzel's Prince)
  • Pamela Winslow (Rapunzel)
  • Maureen Davis (Sleeping Beauty)
  • Jean Kelly (Snow White)
  • Philip Hoffman (valet)

Movie

In 2014 Rob Marshall directed a film version of the musical with Meryl Streep as the witch. Walt Disney Pictures released the film in the US on December 25, 2014. In Germany, the film opened in cinemas on February 19, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Into the Woods  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Don Whittaker and Missy Wigley: No One is Alone , at www.sondheim.com, accessed March 4, 2015
  2. ↑ Off to the forest , piece information at "Music and Stage"