Stephen Sondheim’s second collaboration with James Lapine, Into the Woods, opened Nov. 5, 1987, at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 765 performances on Broadway. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairytales, tied together by a story of a childless baker and his wife on their quest to lift the curse a witch has placed on them and start a family.
The musical debuted Dec. 4, 1986, at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where it ran for 50 performances. After nearly a year of rewriting and reworking the characters, the show opened on Broadway. The cast included Tom Aldredge (Narrator, Mysterious Man), Kim Crosby (Cinderella), Ben Wright (Jack), Chip Zien (Baker), Joanna Gleason (Baker’s Wife), Joy Franz (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Kay McClelland (Florinda), Lauren Mitchell (Lucinda), Barbara Bryne (Jack’s Mother), Danielle Ferland (Little Red Ridinghood), Bernadette Peters (Witch), Edmund Lyndeck (Cinderella’s Father), Merle Louise (Cinderella’s Mother, Grandmother, Giant), Robert Westenberg (Wolf, Cinderella’s Prince), Pamela Winslow (Rapunzel), Chuck Wagner (Rapunzel’s Prince), Philip Hoffman (Steward), Jean Kelly (Snow White), and Maureen Davis (Sleeping Beauty).
The creative team was Stephen Sondheim (music, lyrics), James Lapine (book, direction), Paul Gemignani (music direction), Lar Lubovitch (musical staging), Charles Reynolds (magic consultant), Tony Straiges (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes), Phyllis Della Illien (hair), Richard Nelson (lights), Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), Wendall Harrington (projections), and Alan Stieb and James Brousseau (sound).
The original cast recording won a Grammy Award, and the Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three: score (Sondheim), book (Lapine), and actress (Gleason). Peters left the show after five months due to a film commitment, and the Witch was played by Phylicia Rashad when the show performed at the 1988 Tony Awards. Below is a medley by the cast at the Tony ceremony.
In May 1989, the original cast reunited for three performances to tape the musical for the PBS American Playhouse series, which first aired on Mar. 15, 1991. Below is Peters and the cast in “Last Midnight.”
The musical has since been produced many times, including a 1988 US national tour, 1990 West End production, 1997 tenth anniversary concert, 2002 Broadway revival, 2010 London revival, and 2012 Shakespeare in the Park outdoor production. Disney released a film adaptation on Dec. 25, 2014. The cast included James Corden (Baker), Emily Blunt (Baker’s Wife), Meryl Streep (Witch), Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Daniel Huttlestone (Jack), Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood), Mackenzie Mauzy (Rapunzel), Chris Prince (Cinderella’s Prince), Billy Mangussen (Rapunzel’s Prince), Tracey Ullman (Jack’s Mother), Simon Russell Beale (Baker’s Father), Frances de a Tour (Giant), Johnny Depp (Wolf), Christine Baranski (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Tammy Blanchard (Florinda), Lucy Punch (Lucinda), Richard Glover (Steward), Joanna Riding (Cinderella’s Mother), and Annette Crosbie (Grandmother).
The creative team was Rob Marshall (direction), Stephen Sondheim (music, lyrics), James Lapine (screenplay), Dion Beebe (cinematography), Wyatt Smith (editing), Dennis Gassner (production design), and Colleen Atwood (costumes). The film earned three Oscar nominations: supporting actress (Streep), production design (Gassner), and costume design (Atwood). Below is Streep and the cast in “Last Midnight.”