Into The Woods: Mr. Baker, Jack, And Little Red Riding Hood

In 1987, Into the Woods first premiered on Broadway staged as a musical. James Lapine, the director of the musical partnered with Sondheim who composed and created the lyrics. The musical also turned into a Hollywood film in 2014 directed by Rob Marshall. The musical involved varieties of old fairy tales commonly know around the world. James used the pleasure of magic to explore the dark secrets of one’s actions. The idea of happily ever after became twisted and darkened throughout the musical. From the successful performances during Into the Woods, the musical earned a Best Score Tony Award. Because of James Lapine’s work of Into the Woods the review will summarize the plot, theme, and audience connections (Biography).

James moved to New York

City after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. In New York City, he designed the magazine of the Yale School of Drama. The school offered Lapine a full-time job designing all printed materials for Yale’s drama and theatre department. As he worked at Yale, students encouraged him to direct a play called Photograph. The play grabbed the attention of Lee Breuer who helped Lapine arrange a small performance for the play. This one play inspired to create more pieces and collaborate with other writers to land his success with Sondheim (Biography).
In the opening act, Mr.

Baker, Mrs. Baker, Cinderella, Jack, and Little Red Riding Hood tell their stories. The storyline starts out with Mr. and Mrs. Baker fighting to reverse a curse the witch granted on their family. Baker and his wife attempt to reverse the curse for the sake of a child. To reverse the curse the Bakers must find a milk-white cow, hair as yellow as corn, blood-red cape, and a golden slipper. Cinderella’s story starts out living with disrespectful stepsisters and a stepmother. The stepfamily forces Cinderella to serve them causing Cinderella to desire a better life. Cinderella also wishes to attend the King’s Festival to meet the prince. Jack wishes for his cow Milky White to produce milk. Jack’s mother forces Jack to sell Milky White before the cow is worth nothing. Little Red Riding Hood adventures of into the woods to visit her grandma, as a wolf has an appetite for her. Each character travels on a quest into the woods to achieve their happy

ending.
In the musical, the actors deliver a message to the audience. Each character successfully achieved their wishes. The Bakers accomplished their tasks allowing them to produce a baby, Cinderella becomes high loyalty because she married the prince, Jack received Milky White back from the Bakers and the cow produces milk again, and Little Red Riding Hood realized the little things around her. Even though the fairy tales achieved their happy again from their familiar stories the audience connects with a plot twist begins. The twist starts with the witch using magic to become young, but the consequence for the witch’s actions leaves the audience stunted. Since the witch used magic to become young, the witch no longer obtains the power of magic. Florinda and Lucinda, Cinderella’s stepsisters also pay a price. The greediness and jealously the stepsisters act towards Cinderella leave the sisters blind.
The audience consumed the dark twist and think of them as life lessons.

The life lesson from the blind sisters causes the audience to realize how greed and jealousy blind people from the outside world. Florinda and Lucinda did not realize the opportunities laid out in from of them. After the birds cause the sister blind, they finally realized the opportunities in their life. The witch also taught the audience a life lesson. The witch’s life lesson to for the audience to not take life for granted. The witch lost her daughter Rapunzel and her magic powers because of her desire to be young. The witch then realizes her youth caused her to lose the most important things in her

life.
This musical kept the audience on their toes. The characters unexpected twist to the original story kept the audience wondering when the next twist might occur. When one of the fairy tales achieves their goals, another character did as well. If people are into dark, mystery, and comedy of different fairy tales, Into the Woods is highly recommended for people’s enjoyment.