Ep. 47: Into the Woods - Act I

Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

"Do you know what you wish? Are you certain what you wish it what you want?"
Have we said "we're excited" enough yet? Probably, but we're going to say it approximately fifty more times. Drew and Cassie are joined by Drew's sister, Daurie, to work our way through the complexities of Act I of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods. This 1987 musical tells the tale of a Baker and his Wife who learn that their next-door neighbor, a Witch, was once wronged by the Baker's father and so she placed a spell on them so they could never have a child. In order to break this spell, the Witch sends them "into the woods" to collect various iconic fairy tale objects. Act I of this musical weaves together the plots of four fairy tales: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. Along the way, we talk about the show's themes, the double-cast roles, Jack and Little Red's ages, sibling rivalry, the varied portrayals of the Baker and his relationship with the Baker's Wife, Milky White, Cassie's cues from the production she assistant stage managed, the Baker's Wife's "celebrity list," the show's choreography, Daurie's experience playing Rapunzel, the brilliance of this interpretation of Cinderella, and much more, including a plethora of our favorite quotes!
Throughout the episode, we reference the following productions of Into the Woods. As always, we recommend watching before listening to the episode, but you definitely don’t need to watch all of these! The original Broadway production is the one to watch for sure!
- The 1987 original Broadway production, professionally filmed in 1989 (available on Broadway HD), starring Bernadette Peters as the Witch, Chip Zien as the Baker, Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife, Tom Aldredge as the Narrator/Mysterious Man, and Kim Crosby as Cinderella
- The 2002 Broadway Revival production, starring Vanessa Williams as the Witch, Stephen DeRosa as the Baker, Kerry O'Malley as the Baker's Wife, John McMartin as the Narrator/Mysterious Man, and Laura Benanti as Cinderella
- The 2010 West End Regent's Park production (available on Broadway HD), starring Hannah Waddingham as the Witch, Mark Hadfield as the Baker, Jenna Russell as the Baker's Wife, Billy Boyle as the Mysterious Man, and Helen Dallimore as Cinderella
- The 2012 Central Park production, an American recreation of the West End Regent's Park production, starring Donna Murphy as the Witch, Denis O'Hare as the Baker, Amy Adams as Cinderella, Chip Zien as the Mysterious Man, and Jessie Mueller as Cinderella
- The 2019 Hollywood Bowl production, starring Patina Miller as the Witch, Skyler Astin as the Baker, Sutton Foster as the Baker's Wife, Anthony Crivello as the Mysterious Man, and Sierra Boggess as Cinderella
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Music: Through The Woods by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com