Tony Tuesday: INTO THE WOODS

Today Besties, we’re going back to the late 80s for some fantastical musical theatre. Today’s TONY Tuesday is:

‘Into the Woods/Children Will Listen’ from Into the Woods at the 1988 TONY Awards ceremony. 

Into the Woods is a 1986 musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine that sees the plots and characters of several Brothers Grimm fairytales exist in the same world. The narrative follows characters such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack from Jack in the Beanstalk. The narrative is woven together using the story of The Baker and his wife who have struck a deal with a witch to ensure they can fall pregnant. Although the Baker and his wife have their own fable, the characters are in the original beginning to Rapunzel. The show itself is an exploration of parenting, adolescence, morality and wish fulfilment. 

Into the Woods marked Sondheim and Lapine’s second collaboration after their success of Sunday in the Park with George and like Sunday, Lapine also directed Into the Woods. The show debuted at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in December 1986 to strong reviews. A large portion of the cast reprised their roles for the Broadway run, or even changed/reduced to work around creative changes made between the transfer and the opening night on Broadway. The addition ‘No One Is Alone’ was one of these changes. The production opened at the Martin Beck (Now Al Hirschfeld) Theatre on 5 November 1987. The opening night cast included Bernadette Peters as The Witch, Chip Zien as the Baker, Joanna Gleason as The Baker’s Wife, Kin Crosby as Cinderella, Danielle Feland as Little Red Riding Hood, Ben Wright as Jack and Pamela Winslow as Rapunzel. The production had musical staging by Lar Lubovitch, set design by Tony Straiges, lighting design by Richrd Nelson, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward (based on concepts by Ward and Patricia Zipprodt) and makeup by Jeff Raum. Into the Woods opened to strong reviews, winning the Drama Desk for Best Musical and Grammy for Best Musical Album, as well as garnering 10 TONY Award nominations and ultimately winning three. The production itself closed in September 1989. 

The original West End production opened at The Phoenix Theatre in September 1990. The production was directed by Richard Jones, with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, set design by Richard Hudson, costume design by Sue Blaine. The opening night cast included Julia McKenzie as The Witch, Ian Bartholomew as The Baker, Imelda Staunton as The Baker’s Wife, Jacqui Dankworth as Cinderella, Tessa Burbridge as Little Red Ridinghood, Richard Dempsey as Jack and Mary Lincoln as Rapunzel. Staunton won the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical for her role. The West End production saw the introduction of the duet, ‘Our Little World’. The London production was well received critically, however, it didn’t light a spark with British audiences, and it closed on 23 February 1991 after 197 performances. The production was revived in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 1998, directed by John Crowley and designed by his brother Bob. The cast included Clare Burt as the Witch, with Nick Holder as the Baker, Sophie Thompson as The Baker’s Wife, Jenna Russell as Cinderella and Sheridan Smith as Little Red Riding Hood. Thompson won the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical for her Role. 

A revival opened at the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A. in February 2002 for a month. The production transferred to Broadway and began previews a month later in April 2002. The show was helmed by its original director James Lapine and choreographed by John Carrafa. The production starred Vanessa Williams as The Witch, Stephen DeRosa as The Baker, Kerry O’Malley as The Baker’s Wife and Laura Benanti as Cinderella. The script was revised, and with the West End production, ‘Our Little World’ was added as well as ‘Hello Little Girl’ for The Wolf. It closed in December of the same year. 

A major West End revival occurred in 2010 when Regent’s Park Open Air produced the show in an outdoor woodland setting, directed by artistic director Timothy Sheader and choreographed by Liam Steel. Hannah Waddingham played The Witch, with Mark Hadfield as The Baker, Jenna Russell as The Baker’s Wife, Helen Dallimore as Cinderella, Beverley Rudd as Little Red Riding Hood, Ben Stott as Jack and Alice Fearn as Rapunzel. The role of the Narrator in this production was also played by a young boy, further emphasising its themes of parenting and morality. The production received widespread critical acclaim and won the Olivier for Best Musical revival. This version was recorded and can be seen on Digital Theatre. 

The next New York production was seen at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. This production of Into the Woods was a transfer of the 2010 Regent’s Park production and transferred to the Public Theatre’s open-air venue as part of their free ‘Shakespeare in the Park’ season. The show played from July-September 2012 and starred Donna Murphy as The Witch, Amy Adams as The Baker’s Wife, Denis O’Hare as The Baker and Jessie Mueller as Cinderella. Although initially speculated to transfer to Broadway, the production never did. 

The next revival of Into the Woods will take place at London’s Old Vic Theatre, directed by Terry Gilliam. 

The original cast also recorded the production for a PBS special, which was then released on video and later on DVD. 

In 2014, Walt Disney released a film adaptation that was a critical and commercial hit, however, has divided theatre fans due to its taming down and slight retelling of the story as well as the omittance of certain scenes and songs. The cast included Meryl Streep as The Witch, James Corden as The Baker, Emily Blunt as The Baker’s Wife and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. The film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Actress for Meryl Streep.

Besties, if you haven’t listened to this magical show, you must, it’s a stagey requirement!

Cast recordings available on streaming services, filmed productions available from retailers and digital theatre websites. 

FACTS:

Music: Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: James Lapine
Theatre: The Martin Beck Theatre
Run: 5 November 1987 – 3 September 1989 (765 performances)

TONYS: 

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical – James Lapine, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Robert Westenberg, Best Choreography – Lar Lubovitch, Best Scenic Design – Tony Straiges, Best Costume Design – Ann Hould-Ward, Best Lighting Design – Richard Nelson 

(2002) Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – John McMartin, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Vanessa Williams, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Gregg Edelman, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Laura Benanti, Best Direction of a Musical – James Lapine, Best Choreography – John Carrafa, Best Scenic Design – Douglas W. Schmidt, Best Costume Design – Sunsan Hiferty

(WON) Best Score – Stephen Sondheim, Best Book – James Lapine, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical – Joanna Gleason. 

(2002) Best Revival, Best Lighting Design – Brian MacDevitt

OLIVIERS:

(NOMINATED) Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical – Ian Bartholomew, Best Actress in a Musical – Julia Mckenzie, Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Clive Carter, Best Costume Design – Sue Blane. 

(1999) Best Revival of a Musical 

(2011) Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Michael Xavier

(WON) Best Director of a Musical – Richard Jones, Best Actress in a Musical – Imelda Staunton

(1999) Best Actress in a Musical – Sophie Thompson 

(2011) Best Revival of a Musical