Note 14: Into the woods

Many of you may have noticed that there is going to be a new Disney movie with lots of super stars, such as Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep released, named ‘into the woods,’ which is the adaption of the Tony award-winning stage musical written by James Lapine and features music/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Before the film is actually released, I would like to introduce you the original musical version.

So here the story goes-The musical combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Ridinghood with the story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child. Unfortunately, the Baker and his Wife have been cursed with childlessness by a witch and must perform various missions involving the characters in the other fairy tales to break the spell. The Baker and his Wife must bring the witch a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a slipper as pure as gold. After a series of failed attempts, the Baker and his Wife finally are able to perform the tasks necessary to break the spell. Once the characters have accomplished their goals, however, they learn about the pitfalls of greed and gluttony. Finally, they learn about the need for community and family when they must unite to fight against the wife of the giant Jack killed who has decided to come back for revenge.

And did they all live happily ever after? An afterthought of the question is the reason why I enjoy this musical so much. There’s much more to fairy stories than initially meets the child’s naïve eye, and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s popular musical explores many of these issues, and more, not so immediately obvious. Into the Woods is held together by Sondheim’s music and ingenious lyrics, and moments of laugh – out-comedy, with a large cast of characters you thought you knew, including a cow, birds, a giant and the narrator. My favorite number is the ‘The spell is on my house’, it’s the reprise of mainly all the characters sing together.

This show always inspired warm but mixed feelings in me whenever I’ve encountered it. Never mind that this production doesn’t feature anything like the usual highly trained vocalists and orchestra customary. But they can carry meaning, and the sense that every song in this show is an expression of both individual character and universal hopes and fears and confusions. In other words, all the people onstage are there to tell us stories that they utterly believe in, no matter how improbable they seem. And their care and concern for their stories makes us pay attention to this “Woods” as we perhaps never have before.