http://www.youtube.com/v/AgGJWd9JQJw?hl=en_US&Number 44 : Into The Woods(25 points on 1 of 12 lists. Top Vote #1 by Cole Stratton)Synopsis:A narrator presents a series of interlinked tales. A young maiden (Cinderella) who wishes to attend a royal festival, a farmer (Jack) who wishes for a more milkable cow, and a baker and his wife who yearn for a family. Connecting them all is their neighbor, an ugly witch, who has placed a curse on the baker's line after she caught him stealing magic beans from her garden. In addition, the witch had stolen the couple's child, Rapunzel. She will lift the curse, but she requires several items first- "the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold", all before the clock strikes midnight three days hence. So, the Baker, Cinderella, Jack, and Red Riding Hood all head into the woods, with the wife discretely following.
Cinderella receives gift of magic slippers and gown from her mother's spirit. red encounters a gigantic wolf, who devours her grandmother and then Red herself, but is then slain by the Baker, saving the pair. In gratitude, Red givers the Baker her cloak. Jack encounters the Baker while in the woods, and sells his cow to him for a handful of magic beans, which the Baker doesn't think are magic. Cinderella attends the ball, flees and encounters the wife, who spots the golden slippers and chases Cinderella as well, who escapes, but in the chase, the wife loses the cow as well. Upon arriving home, Jack gives the beans to his mother, who tosses them out and a beanstalk grows into the sky. Jack goes a climbing.
The next day, Jack returns to the Baker will gold stolen from the Giant's castle and tries to buy back the cow. The Baker refuses and Jack climbs back into the sky to get more gold. And then the brother Princes meet to discuss the Princesses they met the night before...
...yeah, this is going to take forever. Super fast mode. Rapunzel has her hair cut and banished when she refuses to leave the Prince. The Baker's father has been helping his son remove the curse, but dies. The Baker and his wife get all the items and the curse is removed. Jack gets the cow back. Rapunzel has twins and is found by the Prince. Cinderella finds her Prince too. Her stepsisters are blinded and cut off parts of their feet. The witch has lost her powers in all thing not pertaining to groceries. And the Baker's wife is pregnant.
But they are all still wishing.
Jack misses the castle in the sky. The baker and wife want more room. Cinderella is bored. And Rapunzel is a bit loopy. The Princes lust after two more maidens, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. So they all head back into the woods and...
..oh dear lord, I'm still at the beginning of act 2. Okay, the Giant's wife appears, wanting vengeance on the people who killed her husband , kills half the cast and is finally slain by the remaining cast members who vow to rebuild their lives together. But the Baker is visited by a spirit who gives a final lesson- Tell the children of the woods and learn that actions have consequences, even for future generations. And be careful what you pass onto the children. And the musical ends with one last wish...
Memorable Songs:'Children Will Listen", the show's penultimate song, which warns that the lessons that you try to teach aren't always the lessons that will be learned. And
"Ever After" which will
seem awfully familiar to fans of certain brightly colored ponies.
Awards:A bunch of Tony awards and Olivier awards.
Trivia Notes: There is a shorter, child friendly version for younger children to perform, which removes large parts of the plot (and the second act) and retunes the songs so that kids can perform it. It's titled "Into the Woods Jr."
Disney is currently scheduled to begin shooting a film version of the musical in September. Johnny Depp is playing the Wolf. and Meryll Streep plays the Witch, so if you enjoyed her performance in Mamma Mia, well, you get some more of that.
Coming Soon:Look, look, look at my crotch.