50 Fun Facts About Into the Woods

Who wrote the music and lyrics for Into the Woods?

Stephen Sondheim composed the score and lyrics, with James Lapine writing the book; the pair had already won the Pulitzer Prize for their previous musical.

Which four items must the Baker and his Wife bring the Witch to lift the curse?

The Witch demands a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold before the third midnight.

Why did the Witch curse the Baker's family?

His father stole vegetables from her garden, including the magic beans she prized above all, so she cursed his line with childlessness.

What is the name of Jack's cow?

Milky White, Jack's beloved cow, dies in the woods and is revived by the Witch, who needs her to drink the four items that undo the spell.

How is the girl in the tower related to the Baker?

The Witch took her as payment for the stolen vegetables, which is where the Grimms' Rapunzel actually begins.

Who turns out to be the Mysterious Man who wanders the woods?

The Mysterious Man is the Baker's father, who abandoned his family; he drops dead the instant the curse lifts and returns as a spirit for 'No More'.

In which duet do the two Princes compare their romantic suffering?

'Agony' has the two princes one-upping each other over their unreachable maidens; in the Act II reprise they have moved on to Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

How are the two Princes related?

Both are played opposite the same actor doubling roles in many productions, with Cinderella's Prince also playing the Wolf.

Which two roles are traditionally played by the same actor in Into the Woods?

Robert Westenberg played both the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the 1987 Broadway original, and the doubling has been kept in most later productions.

After the Baker rescues Little Red from the belly of the beast, what new garment does she start wearing?

Little Red has the wolf skinned and wears a cape of wolf skin from then on, carrying a knife too and later goading Jack into a second raid on the giants.

What does Cinderella deliberately leave on the palace steps as a clue for her Prince?

Stuck on the pitch-coated steps, she chooses to leave a slipper behind as a clue, then trades her other one for the Baker's Wife's shoes.

What happens to the Witch when the curse is broken?

Her transformation is the show's Act I climax; the loss of magic becomes clear only when Rapunzel refuses to come home.

What is growing, unnoticed, as the cast celebrates 'happily ever after' at the end of Act I?

Another beanstalk sprouts from a discarded bean; down it comes the Giantess in Act II, hunting Jack for killing her husband.

In Into the Woods, which character does the Witch hand to the Giantess, who drops and kills him?

The Narrator is offered up as a sacrifice; the Giantess drops him to his death, leaving the characters to tell the rest of the story themselves.

Who kills Jack's Mother in Act II?

The Steward clubs Jack's Mother with his staff to silence her as she shouts at the Giantess, and the blow kills her.

How does the Baker's Wife die in the stage musical?

The Baker's Wife is trampled by the Giantess as she flees through the woods; her death comes right after her reckoning in 'Moments in the Woods'.

Who seduces the Baker's Wife in the woods in Act II?

Cinderella's Prince, bored with his bride, woos the Baker's Wife in 'Any Moment'; 'Moments in the Woods' is her reckoning with the affair.

Which song, sung by the Witch, closes the show with a warning about the stories we pass on?

The Witch returns for 'Children Will Listen', cautioning that children hear and absorb what adults say and do; it leads into the final reprise of the title song.

How does Cinderella receive her gown and golden slippers in the musical?

Her mother's spirit, speaking from the hazel tree at her grave, provides the gown and golden slippers, following the Grimms' tale rather than Perrault's fairy godmother.

Where did Into the Woods have its pre-Broadway try-out in December 1986?

The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego staged the try-out from 4 December 1986, a 50-performance run directed by James Lapine with several of the future Broadway cast.

Who played the Witch in the original 1987 Broadway production?

Bernadette Peters originated the Witch and stayed about five months; Phylicia Rashad and Ellen Foley were among her replacements in the role.

Which actress won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the Baker's Wife in 1988?

Joanna Gleason took the 1988 Tony for Best Actress in a Musical as the Baker's Wife, one of the show's three wins that night alongside Best Score and Best Book.

Which musical swept the major 1988 Tony Awards, limiting Into the Woods to three wins?

The Phantom of the Opera took seven 1988 Tonys including Best Musical, while Into the Woods won Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical.

How many performances did the original Broadway run play at the Martin Beck Theatre?

The run lasted 765 performances, from the 5 November 1987 opening to the closing on 3 September 1989.

Which talk-show host took over the storytelling role during the original Broadway run?

Dick Cavett stepped into the storytelling role for a stint during the run, succeeding Tom Aldredge, who originated the part on Broadway.

Which singer and actress played the Witch in the 2002 Broadway revival?

Vanessa Williams headlined the 2002 Broadway revival as the Witch, which Lapine again directed and which brought back a Three Little Pigs cameo cut before Broadway in 1987.

Which song, written for the 1990 London production, was added to the 2002 Broadway revival?

'Our Little World', a duet for the Witch and Rapunzel in the tower, was written for the 1990 London production and folded into the 2002 Broadway revival.

Which Oscar-nominated actress played the Baker's Wife in the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park production?

Amy Adams played the Baker's Wife opposite Denis O'Hare's Baker at the Delacorte in 2012, with Donna Murphy as the Witch.

Which pop singer-songwriter played the Baker's Wife in the 2022 Encores! and Broadway revival?

Sara Bareilles played the Baker's Wife in the May 2022 Encores! staging and went with the production to Broadway that summer, earning a Tony nomination.

Who played the Witch when the 2022 revival transferred to Broadway's St. James Theatre?

Patina Miller took over the Witch from Heather Headley for the Broadway transfer, which opened at the St. James in July 2022; Montego Glover later succeeded her.

Which future Ted Lasso star played the Witch at London's Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2010?

Hannah Waddingham played the Witch in Timothy Sheader's 2010 Regent's Park staging, which was later remounted at New York's Delacorte Theater with an American cast.

Which Monty Python member co-directed a 2022 production at the Theatre Royal, Bath?

Terry Gilliam co-directed with Leah Hausman at Bath in August 2022, after the Old Vic's planned staging had been postponed and then dropped.

Who directed the 2014 Disney film of Into the Woods?

Rob Marshall, the Oscar-nominated director of Chicago, made the film for Disney with a script by James Lapine; it opened on Christmas Day 2014.

Who plays the Witch in the 2014 film?

Meryl Streep plays the Witch, with Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella; the role brought Streep her 19th Oscar nomination.

Which actor plays the Wolf in the 2014 film?

Johnny Depp plays the Wolf in a zoot-suit cameo; with Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen as the two princes, the film splits the roles the stage version doubles.

How does the 2014 film change Rapunzel's fate?

Rapunzel survives and flees with her prince in the film, whereas on stage she dies in the Giantess's rampage; her twins and the princes' reprise were also dropped.

Which character tells the story in voice-over in the 2014 film, after the stage storyteller role was cut?

The Baker narrates the film in voice-over, a device that lets the story run without a separate storyteller; the Mysterious Man is reduced to a few brief appearances.

How much did the 2014 film gross worldwide?

The film grossed about $213 million worldwide against a $50 million budget, and it earned three Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

A 1990s attempt to film Into the Woods held a reading with which comedian as the Baker?

Robin Williams read the Baker in the early-1990s Columbia reading, with Goldie Hawn as his Wife and Cher as the Witch, from a Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel script.

Which Sondheim-Lapine musical preceded Into the Woods as their first collaboration?

Sunday in the Park with George, which opened on Broadway in 1984 and won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was the pair's first show; Passion came third in 1994.

Which British comedian plays the Baker in the 2014 Disney film?

James Corden plays the Baker; Disney confirmed his casting in May 2013, two years before he became host of The Late Late Show.

In which song does Jack describe climbing the beanstalk and meeting a giant couple?

In 'Giants in the Sky' Jack recounts the beanstalk climb and the giant couple; he comes down with stolen gold and tries to buy his cow back from the Baker.

After being rescued from the Wolf, Little Red gives the Baker her cape in which song?

'I Know Things Now' is Little Red's account of being swallowed and saved; at its end she hands the Baker the red cape he needs for the Witch.

Who played the Baker in the original 1987 Broadway cast?

Chip Zien originated the Baker on Broadway and came back 25 years later as the Mysterious Man and Cinderella's Father in the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park staging.

Which Witch number replaced 'Boom Crunch!' before the show reached Broadway?

'Last Midnight' replaced 'Boom Crunch!' as the Witch's Act II showstopper between the 1986 try-out and the 1987 Broadway opening.

Which future Oscar nominee won a 1991 Olivier Award as the Baker's Wife in the first West End run?

Imelda Staunton won the 1991 Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical as the Baker's Wife in Richard Jones's Phoenix Theatre production, with Julia McKenzie as the Witch.

Which Dame supplied the pre-recorded voice of the Giantess for the 2002 Broadway revival?

Judi Dench's recorded voice boomed as the Giantess in the 2002 revival, and she reprised it for the 2010 Regent's Park staging, played outdoors among real trees.

Which How I Met Your Mother star played the Baker in the 2022 Encores! concert staging?

Neil Patrick Harris played the Baker in the May 2022 Encores! run at New York City Center, with Heather Headley as the Witch; Brian d'Arcy James took the role for Broadway.

Which two Sondheim shows did Rob Marshall want to film before Sondheim steered him to this one?

Marshall had hoped to film Follies and Sweeney Todd, but when he met the composer after Chicago's 2002 success he was pointed to Into the Woods instead.

Meryl Streep earned an Academy Award nomination for the 2014 film in which category?

Streep was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, her 19th Oscar nod, losing to Patricia Arquette for Boyhood; the film's other nominations were for costume and production design.