History Theatre / IntoTheWoods

* ExactWords [=/=] LoopholeAbuse: The Baker needs to find "Hair as yellow as corn." Nothing says that the hair [[spoiler:cannot come from an ''actual'' ear of corn]].

** Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. While Act 1 isn't very action-oriented, they both (along with male counterparts Jack and The Baker) TookALevelInBadass in Act 2, with Cinderella venturing [[AccidentalPun into the woods]] on her own and dumping her "Prince Charming" (who actually turned out to be a douche), and Little Red Riding Hood replacing her red hood with a fur coat, receiving a knife for self-defense, and becoming a [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarking]], AxeCrazy GirlWithPsychoWeapon threatening to gut any potential attackers. Both ladies are among [[spoiler:the only four survivors of the show (five if you count the Baker's infant son)]] and actively participate in defeating the BigBad.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AnAesop: Actions have consequences. You can't just go recklessly about doing whatever you want. This is illustrated by the songs 'No More' and 'Children Will Listen', where the characters lament that their own sins have inspired their children to imitate them in the worst way possible.

** When the second act rolls around the characters get a little sick of the narrator and set on him.

-->'''Baker:''' ''(about the Prince)'' I bet he's off seducing some young maiden.

* LastRequest: [[spoiler:Jack's Mother]], right before dying, demands that the Baker protect [[spoiler:Jack from the giantess. And the Baker obliges, to the best of his ability.]]

* AntiVillain: The Giantess. Let's face it, she's got a lot to complain about, and she has plenty of reason to be upset with Jack. Most of the deaths she causes are accidents and if she were human, Jack would have been thrown into a dungeon for the things he did to her and her husband.

'''''Into the Woods''''' is a Musical by James Lapine and Music/StephenSondheim that [[FairyTaleFreeForAll weaves together]] the {{fairy tale}}s of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'', ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'', ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', and ''Literature/{{Rapunzel}}''.

* ActingForTwo: Productions tend to have multiple roles played by the same actor. In the original production, The Wolf and Cinderella's Prince are played by the same actor, so is The Narrator and the Mysterious Old Man and also Red Riding Hood's Grandmother and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.

** There's also the Baker's Wife eagerly asking Cinderella's questions about the Prince and admiring the Princes.

-->'''Rapunzel's Prince:''' ''(after eavesdropping on the Witch and Rapunzel)'' Rapunzel, Rapunzel! What a strange name...

-->'''Cinderella's Prince:''' And how do you manage a visit?
-->'''Rapunzel's Prince:''' I just stand in front of her tower, and say, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" And she lowers the most beautiful head of hair, yellow as corn.
-->'''Cinderella's Prince:''' Rapunzel? You jest. I've never heard of such a name.

** It also a notable aversion this production undoes some of what is considered the Grimmification of Little Red Riding Hood by adding back the sexual tension that was never in their version.
*** The wolf's, er, prominent genitalia in the filmed version. And the double entendres in "Hello, Little Girl". "Look at that flesh, pink and plump!" And the mentions of "carnality". He actually hip-thrusts at the audience at the end.
*** The Wolf and Prince Charming are traditionally played by the same actor. This is no accident.

* BeautyInversion: Any actress who plays the Witch until the end of the first act. The ultimate example may be Bernadette Peters from the original Broadway production.

* DeathBySex: The heroes split up to search for Jack to protect him from a marauding Giant. While she's searching, the Baker's Wife meets up with the Prince and [[spoiler: has sex with him; she's crushed by the Giant's wife almost immediately afterward.]]
** Meanwhile, by contrast, the entirely '''un'''repentant and equally married [[spoiler: Prince]] is punished by ''hooking up with'' ''Literature/SleepingBeauty''. Then again, who was expecting something by Music/StephenSondheim to be ''fair''?

* BeforeTheClockStrikesTwelve: The Baker and his Wife have [[RuleOfThree three]] days, which are measured by midnight passing, to break the spell on their house and family. Many productions will have a clock chiming in the distance during the Act One climax as they rush to complete their task before the final stroke.

The show is one of Sondheim's most famous, alongside ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' and ''[[Theatre/CompanySondheim Company]]''. In the year dominated by ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', it was able to snag three Tony Awards, for Best Score, Best Book, and Best Leading Actress (Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife). The original Broadway production has since been followed by a notably contentious revival in 2002, as well as numerous productions across the country at everywhere from the regional to the high school drama level.

Many people are most familiar with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqCsQCsinK4 excellent version filmed by PBS]] under its ''American Playhouse'' banner in 1991 and subsequently released on home video; this was based on the original Broadway production and had most of the same cast. In 2012, a limited-run revival as part of New York's Shakespeare in the Park starred Donna Murphy as the witch -- just months after she could be heard playing much the same role in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}''.

** The last lines of the 1st Act are "And happy ever after!", right after the narrator adds "To be continued."

** The Witch. She snarks at everyone with abandon. This is taken UpToEleven in "The Last Midnight" where she derides everyone because she is so tired of being stuck with selfish people who only think about their Happily Ever Afters.

* TheLostWoods: The titular Woods.

*** The 2022 Broadway revival [[spoiler: has a more hopeful one where Rapunzel's Prince is indicated to be happily raising them after Rapunzel's death.]]