"I was thinking of calling all four songs, " I know Things Now" because the phrase, in fact, occurs in all the songs. I had toyed with the idea of doing four versions of the same song with different lyrics. You take a look at The Wizard of Oz with "If I Only Had a Brain,"and "If I only had a Heart" and "If I Only Had the Nerve'"...But I wanted to give it some mystery and I think that's why I chose to make each song like variations..."

"Back in 1987, I got a lot of letters from people saying, 'Oh, I see, the giant is supposed to represent AIDS.' I said no, the giant represents a giant, that's all. James and I were not trying to make a subliminal point about anything, from AIDS to politics..."

-Stephen Sondheim-

Act one of Into The Woods is the retelling of several fairy tales by blending them with an original tale; A childless baker and his wife, who yearn to have children, must first remove the curse that stands in their way. Once that is accomplished they can all live happily ever after or can they? In Act two,we see that happy endings are rather elusive. The characters must deal with the consequences of the actions they took to get their wish in act one. As The Baker, his wife and child, The Witch, Jack, Little Red, Repunzel and Cinderella and their princes journey deep into the woods.

Into The Woods opened at the Martin Beck Theatre November 5, 1987. It closed September 3, 1989 after running for 764 performances. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book and Direction by James Lapine. Sets designed by Tony Straiges , Lighting by Richard Nelson, Costumes by Ann Hould-Ward based on original concepts by Patricia Zipprodt and Ann Hould-Ward, Magic Consultant: Charles Reynolds, Sound by Alan Stieb and James Brousseau. Musical Staging by Lar Lubovitch, Musical Direction by Paul Gemignani, Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Tony Awards include Best Score and Best Book for a Musical.

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Synopsis
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Into The Woods Postcard
The Giant's Boot 2002
New York Times Article
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