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Into the Woods
Into the Woods
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Author: Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine, with additional material by Hugh Wheeler Lyrics by: Stephen Sondheim Publisher: Theatre Communications Group Format: Softcover # of Pages: 160 Pub. Date: 1993 ISBN-10: 0930452933 ISBN-13: 9780930452933 Cast Size: 10 female, 7 male
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About
the Play:
Into
the Woods is a full-length dramatic comedy by the
modern master of musical theatre Stephen Sondheim and
book writer James Lapine. A childless baker and his
wife endeavour to lift their family curse by journeying into the
woods, where they encounter Rapunzel (and her witchly "mother"),
Cinderella, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), Little Red Riding Hood and
other classic fairy tale characters, and they all must learn the
responsibility that comes with getting what you want.
Into the Woods tells a story of a baker and his wife who
learn that they've been cursed by the witch next door and left unable
to bear a child. They set out on a journey "into the woods"
to break the spell. While in the woods, their story weaves in
familiar themes from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel,
and Jack and the Beanstalk, but this production ventures beyond
"happily ever after." What begins as a lively fantasy ends
in lessons of responsibility, consequences for our actions, and what
we teach our children. Little Red has strayed far from the path,
Jack's found a second beanstalk, Prince Charming's eyes are
wandering, and there's a Witch living next door. Stephen
Sondheim's most popular musical turns the world of fairy tales
topsy-turvy, reminding us that granted wishes often bring
complications. Filled with exquisite music and brilliant lyrics, Into
the Woods features notable songs such as I Know
Things Now, No One is Alone, and Children Will Listen,
and the show's title song.
Into
the Woods premiered in 1986 at the Old Globe
Theatre in San Diego, California. The musical later opened on
Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1987. The original Broadway
production, directed by James Lapine, opened in 1987 and ran
for 765 performances at the Martin Beck Theatre. In 1988 it received
Tony Awards for Best Score (Stephen Sondheim) and Best Book
(James Lapine). Most of the original cast reunited for a tenth
anniversary benefit performance in 1997. A national tour ran across
the United States from November 1988 to September 1989, with a longer
residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. It has since been
produced throughout the world and and was revived on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in
2022.
Cast: 10 female, 7 male
What people say:
"That joyous rarity, a work
of sophisticated artistic ambition and deep political purpose that
affords non-stop pure pleasure. A ravishing explosion of color and
melody and magic and laughter." — Time Magazine
"Total enchantment. A
spellbinding score, witty enough to make old stories fresh for
adults, lovely enough to enchant youngsters." — New
York Daily News
"Bewitching... dazzling...
triumphant." — New York Post
"[Sondheim's] lovely score –
poised between melody and dissonance – is the perfect measure of
our tenuous condition. The songs invariably follow the characters'
thinking patterns, as they weigh their options and digest their
experience. Needless to say, that doesn't make for traditional
show-stoppers. But it does make for vivacity of another kind. And
Sondheim's lyrics... are brilliant." — The
Washington Post
About the Playwright:
Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) was an American composer and lyricist known
for his immense contributions to musical theatre for over 50 years.
His musical compositions and lyrics earned him a Pulitzer Prize,
an Academy Award, and numerous Tonys among other awards and honours.
Described by Frank Rich of The New York Times as "now the
greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical
theater."
James Lapine is an American stage director, filmmaker,
playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. Regarded as a major figure
in American theater, he has frequently collaborated with Stephen
Sondheim and William Finn, garnering a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday
in the Park with George. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book
of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos,
and Passion.
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