Into the Woods Play review

Essay by otterdx1University, Master'sA+, December 2003

download word file, 4 pages 4.5 1 reviews

Once upon a time in a far off kingdom, there lived a young girl on the brink of womanhood, a foolish young lad who loved his cow, an blond-haired child with a red cape, a handsome baker and his pretty wife, a lonely lass with extremely long hair, two handsome princes, a wolf, and a witch. They didn't know each other, but soon, soon...their pitiful lives would all intermingle as they journeyed Into the Woods. All of this in the first act, a long somewhat rambling retelling of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack in the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood tied together by a heretofore unknown baker and his wife who were unfortunate enough to live next to a witch. The five stories wind together fairly well, interacting in unexpected and sometimes quite amusing ways using the woods as a catalyst. At the end of Act I everyone is happy - Cinderella and Rapunzel are with their princes, Jack and his mother are rich, Little Red Riding Hood has a new cape made of wolf skin, and the baker and his wife have successfully completed their tasks and gotten their hearts' desire - the ability to have a child.

The show is only at the halfway point, and yet we've seemed to settle into happily ever after. What next? What comes after happily ever after? Act II, of course. Cinderella is married to her prince and fully settled in the castle. Jack and his mother are living the high life on giant's gold. The baker and his wife are finally parents. Now what? Well, we had our fun in Act I, now in Act II we have to pay the piper and deal with the consequences of prior decisions. Where the first act was fun, breezy, lighthearted, the second act...