Into the Woods [Original Broadway Cast] in Bloomington, MN

With
Into the Woods
, songwriter
Stephen Sondheim
and librettist/director
James Lapine
retold a group of children's stories in an intricate, moving way that worked on many levels. In the show, which opened on Broadway on November 5, 1987, and ran 764 performances before closing on September 3, 1989 (making it
Sondheim
's most popular work in 25 years),
Cinderella
,
Little Red Riding Hood
Rapunzel
, and other familiar fairy tale characters, joined by a few newly invented ones, engage in interrelated adventures.
and
Lapine
's interpretation is informed by child psychologist
Bruno Bettelheim
's book
The Uses of Enchantment
, and they not only retain some of the gorier aspects of the original tales, but also add adult complexities.
's score for
is one of his most tuneful, and slyly acknowledges the melodic simplicity of the
Disney
movie versions of some of these fairy tales, but his lyrics are typically witty and, not infrequently, employ tongue twisters. Song highlights include
's
"On the Steps of the Palace"
; the two versions of
"Agony,"
sung by two princes; and
"Hello, Little Girl,"
sung to
by
the Wolf
. An ensemble cast led by
Bernadette Peters
(as a witch) navigates those words well. Particularly impressive are
Danielle Ferland
as
;
Robert Westenberg
, who plays both
Cinderella's Prince
; and Tony winner
Joanna Gleason
.
succeeded in enchanting children (some of whom, it must be admitted, probably could have left after the deceptive "happy ending" that closed the first act) along with adults who understood the grown-up references. Recorded at a time when the advent of CDs was expanding the previous length limitations of albums, the original Broadway cast recording used its 69-minute running time to give a good sense of the show as a whole rather than being just a collection of musical highlights. ~ William Ruhlmann