into the woods - 1987

MUSIC & LYRICS: Stephen Sondheim
BOOK: James Lapine

INTO THE WOODS was inspired by a book called The Uses Of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim and follows a group of fairytale characters as their stories intertwine. Many famous characters appear such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and his Mother from Jack In The Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella. They are joined by two original characters who aim to collect items from the characters on their journey through the woods to break a curse.

Stephen Sondheim, famous for his intricate compositions and clever wordplay, wrote both the music and lyrics, while James Lapine supplied the book.

The show premiered on Broadway in 1987and starred Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason who won a Tony for her performance as the Baker's Wife. In 1989, the Broadway cast reunited to film the production which has been released on DVD. Into The Woods was revived on Broadway in 2002, with a reworked plot, extra characters in the form of the three little pigs and starred Vanessa Williams, Laura Benanti and John McMartin. This production won Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design and Best Revival Of A Musical.

From 1994 to 1997 much was made of a possible movie version possibly starring Robin Williams and Goldie Hawn and directed by Rob Minkoff. Unfortunately nothing came of this project. 2010 saw a brand new open-air production of the show in London's Regent Park, seeing the characters go literally into the woods.