A NOTE FROM YOUR DRAMATURG: Typically, in dramaturgy research, I include information about the original productions of a work, and then notable subsequent productions that have defined contemporary understanding of the work. For Into the Woods, the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park and 2022 Broadway revival may be notable subsequent productions. However, more important, I think, is the 2014 filmic adaptation of Woods, a commercial success that is likely part of audiences’ cultural memory of Sondheim and Lapine’s musical. Thus, I include information about this adaptation for the screen for comparison with the original stage musical.
Director Robert Marshall became interested in adapting Into the Woods for the screen from President Obama’s speech on the twelfth anniversary of 9/11, in which he said, “Know this, that you will never be alone. Your loved ones will never be forgotten.” According to Mark Eden Horowitz, “Obama seemingly echoed the essential phrase from the Woods song, ‘No One Is Alone.’” Marshall explained:
I remember hearing that and it hit me in such a powerful way because, to me, it’s such an important message for today, and it’s the central message, for me, of Into the Woods, that song “No One Is Alone.” And I thought, “Wow, what an important message for children of today, especially, but families as well, because I feel like children are dealing with a much more unstable and fragile world than existed when I was growing up.”
According to Horowitz, “Soon after hearing the Obama speech, Marshall sought approval from Sondheim and Lapine to pursue making the film.” (Efforts had been made twice before to adapt Woods to screen.)
Notable changes between the film and stage versions of Woods include the following: The narrator was excised, and his lines were given by the Baker (who has an identifiable voice) over voiceover instead. Horowitz assesses, “There was no question that the Baker would double as the Narrator.” Lapine reportedly observed, “It’s always been his story.” Additionally, the costumes drew anachronistically from many periods; for example, Rapunzel was styled medievally and the Princes from Renaissance Europe. Of the four “I know things now” songs, sung by Red, Jack, Cinderella, and the Baker’s Wife, many were originally written to have the character address the audience. Jack’s “Giants in the Sky” and Red’s “I Know Things Now” were addressed to the Baker, with minor lyric changes, as Jack and Red recount their experiences, with intercuts of their adventures. Cinderella’s “On the Steps of the Palace” was changed from Cinderella recounting her story after having run away to Cinderella walking through her indecisive thought process in real-time, as time stands still for a moment while she stands on the steps of the palace; once again, minor lyric changes were employed. Most notably, Rapunzel was asked to be spared from inclusion of the deaths at the beginning of the second act. According to Horowitz, “At this point in the stage version, Rapunzel runs toward the Giant and we hear the ‘squish’ offstage; her Prince verifies her demise with a shake of his head. Her survival in the film is believed to be one of the changes requested by Disney.” Horowitz postulates: “one presumes in the film that Rapunzel and her Prince are still together.” (In the film, Rapunzel is also not shown to have given birth to twins presumably out of wedlock, like she does in the musical.)
Creative Team
- Director Robert Marshal
- Screenwriter James Lapine
Cast: Chris Pine (Cinderella’s Prince), MacKenzie Mauzy (Rapunzel), Emily Blunt (Baker’s Wife), Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel’s Prince), Christine Baranski (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Tammy Blanchard (Florinda), Meryl Streep (Witch), Johnny Depp (Wolf), Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Simon Russell Beale (Baker’s Father), Daniel Huttlestone (Jack), Frances De La Tour (Giant), Lilla Crawford (Red), Lucy Punch (Lucinda), Annette Crosbie (Granny), Joanna Riding (Cinderella’s Mother), Tracey Ullman (Jack’s Mother), James Corden (Baker), Richard Glover (Steward)