Into the Woods mixes
the characters of four classic fairy tales into an original story. Everyone pursues
their wish in a fast, funny, tightly plotted act one. Act two shows the sour
side of happy ever after. The wishes have ugly consequences and half the cast
dies. Like
Candide and
The Fantasticks the survivors sing an
older but wiser ballad and replace adventure with domestic life. It’s messy,
depressing and unfulfilling… which some say is the point.
I’ve seen about eight live productions, thus far, and the
second act has never satisfied me. One director will be slavishly following the
original Broadway staging. Then I read their program note… BAM… Cinderella’s Castle
is the World Trade Center! The Giant is Global Warming! Wait… what? Before
seeing the
new film I thought I’d jot down some thoughts for my dream
production.
Who are your
protagonists?
Little Red, Bakers Wife or Witch can steal the show but they
can’t carry it. Their arcs wrap up too quickly. I’ve seen many productions hit
their emotional climax at the Witch’s “
Last Midnight.” Show’s over folks, you
can all go home…
Only we can’t. There are three more ballads and a reprise to
sit through. If your Cinderella hasn't grown a spine and your Baker is
charmless the energy sinks like a lead balloon. No one wants to hear Louise
reprise “Little Lamb” after Rose has sung “Rose’s Turn.”
The film has cut The Baker’s “No More” and I know Anna
Kendrick can play Cinderella’s arc. I’ll be curious to see how this shifts the
balance.
What’s your favorite
theme?
Sexual Awakening. Little
Red, Jack, Cinderella and the Baker’s Wife each get seduced. Their flings lead
to heartbreak, violence and self-growth. When the Baker’s Wife sings “
Momentsin the Woods” the conclusions she draws can be a culmination of the lessons all
four characters have learned. If your Jack and Little Red are cast too young,
or your Wolf/Prince Charming is staged too chaste, the theme can be buried.
Death. Lots of
people die in Into the Woods. I’ve
seen a production where the actors built a grave for each death till the stage
was covered in them… but Cinderella’s mother became a ghost in a tree so where
does spirituality fit in? And what happens to the witch when she vanishes? Some
productions turn her back into a crone. Some have her kill herself or be killed
by the curse.
I’d like to see a production where she turns into a tree.
Perhaps when the dead characters come back in the epilogue they are all trees and
the survivors are holding a memorial ceremony. Which brings me to…
Community Building. Is
“
No One Is Alone” your thesis statement? Are the characters moving from
separate journeys to pursuit of a common goal? If it results in two mob murders
(The Narrator and the Giant) is it a good thing? It’s easy to lose this thread
among all the late show exposition. When do your actors consciously decide to
change their ways and work together? Can it be physicalized? Perhaps we see
them rebuilding the broken homes, burying the Giant or holding the aforementioned
tree funeral in the final scene?
Flawed Parents. Is
“
Children Will Listen” your thesis statement? Most of the characters are abused
or abandoned by their parents. The Baker and his Wife want a baby. When they
get one, they neglect it. The Narrator was killed for telling a harmful story
to the cast but we end with the Baker telling the same story to his son. I
always see this staged like it’s a positive thing. Are we supposed to believe
the Baker is going to try to do better now? Your Baker had better have given us
a reason to like him before that point or it will ring hollow.
And about that Narrator... I hate that his death is handled
as a throw away gag. I’ve never seen a production where his absence has any
consequence. Some directors deconstruct their set at intermission. Maybe save
your big reveal for when the Narrator dies. Without him your set/structure/woods
begin to fall apart.
I’d also like to see a production where Cinderella acknowledges
the Narrator is gone. He steered her to her mother’s tree in act one. She’s
offstage when he dies. Her next scene is at the fallen tree. Give her a moment
to look to the narrator’s corner. The spot light comes up. No one is there.
This is new. His death is real. Now she has officially lost her last parental
figure and has to write her own story.
What does this all add up to? Maybe nothing. These are a
collection of “moments” that have bugged me after watching multiple
productions. They may go over the heads of other audience members. But I wanted
to write them down before the movie becomes a new generation’s definitive
version.
Look, tell him the
story
Of how it all
happened.
Be father and mother,
You'll know what to
do.
