Faith & Film: Into the Woods
More than 25 years ago, Stephen Sondheim’s musical about fairy tales opened on Broadway. The musical brings together the familiar tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Rapunzel with an original story of a Baker and his Wife. The Baker’s Father has been cursed by a Witch, and they are unable to have children. The Witch comes to the couple and tells them the curse will be reversed if they bring her what she asks. So all the characters venture “Into the Woods” to do what they need to do.
Sondheim’s musical begins on a light, witty note, with the familiar stories intersecting with one another. At the end of the first act, it looks like they all got what they wanted, and will live happily ever after. But Act II lets us know that there is no “happily ever after,” at least not in the way we expect.
I loved “Into the Woods” on stage, with its wonderful score and story line that gets darker before turning around. I was unexpectedly moved by the depth of the story. Although we lose people in the woods, we are comforted by the haunting song “You Are Not Alone.” In order to get through the challenges of the woods, we are given companions with whom we form community.
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