theater art class

Abdulla Al Suwaidi

TA 160

Into the Woods

“Be careful what you wish for”

“Into the Woods” is an astonishing musical play based on the book by James Lapine. The music and lyrics for the play were created by Stephen Sondheim. It should be admitted that Sodenheim is the winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize he was awarded for the musical Sunday in the Park with George. The development of the musical lasted from the summer of 1986 and in December 1986, the play was a fully staged production at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. The two-week workshop later was held in New York, in August 1987. The Broadway saw the play in November 5 1987 that ran for impressive 764 performances.

Due to an interesting and intriguing plot of the play that narrates a story about the consequences the wishes and quests of its characters, “Into the Woods” deservedly became one of the most famous musicals of modern times. The musical has a distinctive feature that puts it aside from other traditional plays. The play incorporates several fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. As a result, the musical is filled with unique charismatic characters that are gathered from different tales in one place. Lapine succeeded to make the interaction between his characters interesting to observe. The combination of the main characters from several fairy tails has allowed Lapine to create a truly unique story with an amazing, original, and unexpected plot. The following fragment from the plat demonstrates the aforementioned: “While the BAKER’S WIFE continues to run away from Rapunzel’s tower, in the distance she sees a flutter of gold moving through the moonlit trees. CINDERELLA? She changes course in pursuit” (Lapine). Therefore, a play worth watching for a wide audience.

In addition to a musical play, a story from the books “Into the Woods” was used as a plot for a movie with some adaptations. The movie starred a number of famous, talented actors including Meryl Strip, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and one of the most prominent actors capable of transforming into the most unexpected roles, Johnny Depp.
As it was mentioned earlier, the decision to gather main characters from a number of famous fairy tails is extraordinary. It is easy to hold the view that using heroes from different stories in one play is a complicated task since the author had to depict each hero in accordance with the idea developed by the original creator. Moreover, it is a challenging task to make the interactions between characters interesting for the audience. However, Lapine skillfully combined them in a single play saving the initial portraits of the characters. For instance, the following excerpt from the play shows Lapine’s talent: “The WITCH lunges at RAPUNZEL with a pair of SHEARS and begins to hack off her hair. The girl lets out a mighty shriek” ( Lapine).

The play contains a philosophical idea stating: “Be careful what you wish for”. Although the idea of this quote is the main topic of the play, the audience inevitably begins to think of it as if it related to them. Thus, the viewers are asked to think of the responsibility for every decision and action they make as the consequences of their wishes may be devastating. From the other point of view, the play also raises the question of sacrifices made for the benefit of others. The idea “Be careful what you wish for” remains long after the viewers saw the musical play and generates a number of thought of own existence, beliefs, and values. Similarly to the magical characters from fairy tails, people should understand that every decision should be well thought before making it an action. Similarly to the famous proverb stating that there is no steam without fire, every action will lead to consequences. The idea discussed in the paragraph is reflected in the following fragment from the play:
“PRINCE (CONT'D) DID I ABUSE HER/ 
OR SHOW HER DISDAIN?/ 
WHY DOES SHE RUN FROM ME?/
IF I SHOULD LOSE HER,/ 
HOW SHALL I REGAIN/ 
THE HEART SHE HAS WON FROM ME? AGONY--!/ 
BEYOND POWER OF SPEECH./ 
WHEN THE ONE THING YOU WANT/ 
IS THE ONLY THING OUT OF YOUR REACH. 
R’S 
PRINCE HIGH IN HER TOWER,/ 
SHE SITS BY THE HOUR,/ 
MAINTAINING HER HAIR./ 
BLITHE AND BECOMING,/ 
AND FREQUENTLY HUMMING/
A LIGHTHEARTED AIR:/
“AH-AH-AH-AH-AHAHAH--” AGONY--!/ 
FAR MORE PAINFUL THAN YOURS,/
WHEN YOU KNOW SHE WOULD GO WITH YOU,/
IF THERE ONLY WERE DOORS.”

People often try to ignore the reality with its unresolved problems, challenges, and responsibilities. The musical play under review does not only entertain the audience but emphasizes to act responsibly always thinking of the consequences and people who may be affected. In other words, the play contains an educational component asking viewers to be responsible in their lives. The dreams people dream have the ability to come true, and in order not to be dissatisfied with the consequences it is necessary to think critically about what to dream of.