There are two types of people in the world: people who think musicals are cheesy and annoying, and people who ADORE musicals in all their glory. I am proudly a member of the latter group. So just imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered in junior high that a musical about Grimm fairy tales was out there. Of course I am referring to the 1987 Stephen Sondheim classic Into the Woods.
A Fairy Tale Mashup—Which Happens to Be a Musical
If you’ve never heard of this production, look this one up! Though maybe not if you’re an anti-musical hater. Into the Woods is definitely weird, but it’s also based on well-known stories and is absolutely hilarious. Maybe I should have more faith in its mainstream appeal.
I happen to think that Into the Woods is a masterpiece, though I am not referring to the 2014 Disney movie. That version has some very off-putting casting choices and takes itself WAY too seriously. Lighten up, people. However, I am a resounding fan of the original Broadway musical filmed onstage and released in 1991. It just can’t be beat. So if you’re looking for non-spoilery reasons to give this musical a try, here are nine based purely on my personal opinions.
9 Reasons I Love Into the Woods
Reason #1: The Collision of Four Beloved Fairy Tales
Into the Woods weaves together four fairy tales we all know: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk. All four stories happen simultaneously in the same forest, all told in their original Grimm-dark form. I guess Jack and the Beanstalk isn’t technically a Grimm fairy tale, but it fits right in with this collection of stories. And the way that all the classic characters interact is fantastic.
The frame story that throws all these tales together is a childless baker and his wife frantically collecting objects from the four fairy tales. A witch has promised to give them a child if they bring her Jack’s cow, Cinderella’s slipper, Red Riding Hood’s cape, and Rapunzel’s hair before midnight. Obviously shenanigans ensue, and the way all these stories are plotted together is frankly brilliant.
Reason #2: THE MUSIC
Any musical worth its salt needs to have GREAT music. And Into the Woods does. I’ve found that many musicals have one, maybe two distinct flavors of music in the show. This musical has it all. Soulful ballads. Funny songs. Cute songs. And a couple songs that are tearjerkers. But it’s the lyrics of Into the Woods where Sondheim truly outdoes himself. There’s brilliant wordplay in this musical. To show you what I mean, here’s one of my favorite songs sung by the unbelievably talented Bernadette Peters, who was the original witch on Broadway. Please excuse the poor video quality and just listen to these tongue twisters . . .
Reason #3: The Witch
Speaking of Bernadette Peters: the witch is the absolute best part of this story. If you watched the clip above, you can tell that this character is based off the witch in the Rapunzel story who steals her neighbors’ baby girl as payment for stolen vegetables. In this story, the witch also curses her neighbors with barrenness, just out of spite apparently. The spell also affects their son, who is now the baker grown up. To reverse the curse, he must deliver the fairy-tale objects to the witch, who apparently wants to break a curse of her own . . . But no spoilers!
The witch is by far the most complex and funniest character of the show. She’s so much more than just a villain, and she even has some places where she becomes the singular voice of reason. She gets the coolest songs throughout the show too. Why else would you cast a singing legend like Bernadette Peters in the role?
Reason #4: The Humor
This musical really captures the zaniness of classic fairy tales. Because fairy tales are weird. And random. Sometimes downright ridiculous. I absolutely adore the way that Into the Woods showcases how hilarious many aspects of classic fairy tales really are. And some of the humor gets pretty dark since death and violence is just par for the course with fairy tales. Other times the humor is lighter, pointing out that you’d have to be super dumb to believe in magic beans. Into the Woods has a refreshing self-awareness of its fairy tale content that allows the show to honor its source material while also breaking the fourth wall now and then to wink at its modern audience. This show knows it’s ridiculous, so instead of tiptoeing around the fact, it embraces every joke possible.
Reason #5: The Two Princes Singing “Agony”
Speaking of humor, this song is comedy gold. Basically Cinderella’s Prince Charming and Rapunzel’s prince are brothers. Wanting what you can’t have seems to run in the family as they sing this duet about the women they’re pursuing, each lamenting the woes of their situation. Both claiming their conundrum is worse than their brother’s while strutting their princely machismo to the max. You have to watch it to appreciate it.
Reason #6: The Perfection that Is Act I
Seriously, the first act of Into the Woods is just magical, filled with fun and everything good about fairy tales. There’s love, adventure, clever twists in the plot where the fairy tales intersect, and a very satisfying midpoint conclusion. I can’t really spoil this part of the musical since we all know how the fairy tales originally ended: happily ever after. Act I has the best comedy and also the most charming songs as the characters learn something new: Little Red’s “I Know Things Now,” Jack’s song “Giants in the Sky,” Cinderella’s “On the Steps of the Palace,” and the baker and his wife singing a duet called “It Takes Two.” And just when you think the show is over . . . Wait. This is just the intermission?
Reason #7: The Dark Complexity that is Act II
I admit that when I saw Into the Woods for the first time as a teen, I passionately hated Act II. Like, what even is this?! I didn’t like it one bit. But watching it now as an adult writer who analyzes fairy tales, there’s a lot of brilliant stuff going on in the second half. I can’t get into the details without spoiling the whole musical, but the main difference between Act I and Act II is that the morality of the entire story goes from black and white to SUPER gray. Act I is neatly clean cut. The good people prevail, and the bad people get what they deserve. Then Act II blows everything up with new story material, lots of misfortune to go around, and no clear answer of who’s good or what’s true anymore.
Although Act II felt bizarre and deeply uncomfortable to me as a teen, I can sure appreciate it now. Because the truth is that once you’re an adult, life isn’t clear cut anymore. People make bad decisions, freak accidents change everything, and sometimes people in stressful situations are just looking for someone to blame. While Act I is nice and tidy for the kids, Act II is grown up and floundering, acknowledging that life isn’t easy. Happy endings sometimes taste a little bitter after a big loss. And sometimes getting the things you wish for can destroy you. Personally, I think that’s a brilliant message and so relevant to the fairy tale genre.
Reason #8: The Enduring Messages about Family & Children
By far the most powerful message of Into the Woods is what it says about families. Conflict between parents and children is EVERYWHERE in classic fairy tales, and this musical doesn’t shy away from that. But it does give a balanced view of both the parents’ and the children’s perspective. The witch sings one of my favorite lines in the whole musical about her adopted daughter, Rapunzel: “Children can only grow from something you love to something you lose.”
That line really hits home for me at the stage of life I’m in. There are SO MANY depictions of mother-daughter woes in fairy tales. Now that I have a baby daughter of my own, I can personally appreciate the biggest message of Into the Woods: people—especially parents—aren’t perfect. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love deeply even while making mistakes with their children. The ballad above, “Children Will Listen,” illustrates perfectly how even in their rebellion, kids are the most precious thing to their parents. And the biggest lesson we can share with them is our stories so they can learn, grow up, and eventually leave us to be who they want to be. Sad as that message sounds, it’s still beautiful.
Reason #9: Into the Woods Embodies Everything Great about Fairy Tales
Having studied a whole slew of fairy tales myself, I can assure you that Into the Woods captures the fairy tale spirit perfectly. The adventure and longing. The magic and mythical loopholes. All of these beloved characters running around in one set of woods, messing things up, and then falling back together in the funniest ways. This musical is masterful in the way it brings these old stories to life for a modern audience to enjoy. And of course Into the Woods carries the most universal message of fairy tales there is: there can be magic in anything, no matter how mundane. Stolen beans, trees watered with tears, a farm boy, a plucky little girl, a cinder maid, and even a baker can be magical.
In conclusion, I invite you to enjoy the most famous song of Into the Woods: “No One Is Alone.” And seriously, if you haven’t watched it yet, give this musical a try. Even if you end up hating it, it’s sure to make you laugh. ❧
