The musical Into The Woods is one of the most beloved scores and scripts in the theater world. Premiering in 1987 with music/lyrics by the late Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, the musical weaves together the plot of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales as characters work to reverse a witch’s curse and defeat a giant. The musical went on to win three Tony Awards and has spurred multiple revivals including the critically acclaimed 2022 production that is currently on a limited 10 city national tour.
For fans, the love for Into The Woods runs deep. Two members of our team – Public Relations Intern Megan Rapp and Marketing Content Associate Morgan Horell – are self-proclaimed superfans. Read below to learn more about the show and why it is a MUST SEE for your theater bucket list!
The original Broadway cast film, featuring Bernadette Peters as the Witch.
MEGAN: When perusing Netflix in 2012, my sister and I stumbled on the 1987 proshot stage film of Into the Woods that reunited almost the entirety of the original Broadway cast. Being the musical theater lovers we are, it obviously piqued our interest! And I’m thankful it did because we enjoyed every second of it. I rushed to buy the Original Broadway Cast album after, and it quickly rose to become one of my most listened to musicals.
MORGAN: Honestly, I did not fall in love with Into The Woods the first time I heard it. I did not grow up listening to musicals, I had seen the 2014 film and a high school production of it over the years (my twin cousins played the Princes!), but I did not come out from either experience with any need to hear the musical again. That all changed the minute I saw the 2022 revival. This minimalistic, stripped-down revival featuring Sara Bareilles, Brian d’Arcy James, Patina Miller, Joshua Henry, Gavin Creel and Philippa Soo blew me away, making me see Into The Woods in an entirely new light.
The original Broadway cast of the 2022 revival at the St. James Theater.
MEGAN: Into the Woods is one of the late Stephen Sondheim’s most well-known musicals. I love how it explores not just the intertwining of well-known fairytales, but (more importantly) the consequences of the actions in those stories. Characters include names you probably know like Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and her wicked Step-family, Rapunzel, and charming Princes. The show has such a very cheery and upbeat Act One as each story plays out to its happy ending, but the tone shifts in Act Two as the characters’ choices come back to haunt them, leading to a far more ‘Grimm’ ending. If you ever saw a middle school or high school production of it, you may only know Act One as the Junior version of the musical actually ends there!
The original Broadway marquee at the Al Hirschfield Theater with a “giant” boot climbing down the side.
MEGAN: The show first debuted at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA in 1986, where it continually evolved, most notably adding of the emotional “No One is Alone.” The musical went on to premiere on Broadway in 1987 at the Al Hirschfield Theater and won three major Tony Awards including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical for Joanna Gleason. It ultimately lost Best Musical to another long-lasting Broadway hit, The Phantom of the Opera. Into The Woods has seen many further productions including a 1988 US National Tour, a 1990 West End Production, a film version with a star-studded cast in 2014 (which I saw when it was first released in theaters!), and, of course, the 2022 production which originated at New York City Centers Encores! before heading to Broadway and now a limited national tour.
Aymee Garcia, Cole Thompson, Kennedy Kanagawa (with Milky White) who all starred in the 2022 production and continued their roles in the current national tour.
MORGAN: The staying power of Into The Woods I think really is rooted in Sondheim’s lyrics. There is so much storytelling and layers in his words that I find something new to discover in them. I find myself noticing new jokes or play-on-words all the time, for example just the other day I realized that “the slotted spoon doesn’t hold much soup” is mean to be about Jack. And the intensity and speed of Sondheim’s writing is thrilling to see performed live! People like to see how fast they can sing the rap section of “Satisfied” from Hamilton, but I think a better challenge is the Witch’s rap from “Prologue” or the entirety of “Your Fault” from Into the Woods! Every word has to be perfectly pronounced or you lose the entire flow – what a task for actors but a delight for audiences.
A mainstay in musical theater, Into The Woods has had multiple albums and covers recorded over the years. Hear them all in one playlist, Into The Woods Over The Years, on our Spotify.
MEGAN: Besides the film versions, I’ve actually never seen Into The Woods on stage so I am super excited to see this new production when it comes through Philly!
Don’t miss your chance to see Into The Woods when it makes a stop in Philadelphia for ONE WEEK ONLY at the Miller Theater, April 4-9, 2023.