Sondheim and Lapine's Into the Woods

More about the book

This book offers an introduction to one of Stephen Sondheim's most beloved shows, Into the Woods (1987), a musical that combines traditional fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella to form a funny and heartfelt exploration of what it means to act responsibly as a member of society, both as a parent and as a child. After situating the musical in the Broadway canon, the author proceeds with a detailed reading of the show itself, before discussing key productions of the show in New York and London, whose radically different approaches to staging are testament to how open the musical is to re-interpretation.