The fairytale mashup musical Into the Woods is back in the West End with the first major revival in over 30 years. If you hear ‘fairy tale’ and immediately think ‘Disney,’ you’re in for a treat. This iconic and much beloved musical goes beyond the ‘happily ever after’ to offer something really different. Here’s everything you need to know about Into the Woods.

Fresh of an Olivier-winning run at the Bridge Theatre, Into the Woods is playing a strictly limited season at the Noël Coward Theatre. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical interweaving of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, is a captivating exploration of what happens after the ‘fairy tale ending.’ It’s witty, it’s dark, and it’s a beloved musical that hasn’t seen a major revival in the West End since 1991.

This is one production you won’t want to miss, and this is everything you need to know.

What is Into the Woods about?

Into the Woods takes several of the Brothers Grimm’s best-known fairy tales and weaves them together around a new, original story: a Baker and his wife who’ve been cursed by their next-door neighbour, a Witch, must venture into the woods to gather a list of magical objects to lift the spell. Along the way they cross paths with fairy tale favourites Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.

The first act plays out more or less as you’d expect from a fairytale, with everyone working toward getting their wish. The second act, though, is a different story. Sondheim and Lapine take the tales a step further and explore what actually happens after ‘happily ever after,’ when wishes collide with consequences and the characters have to reckon with the fallout of getting what they wanted.

Into the Woods becomes a considerably darker, more morally complicated piece but it’s one with the capacity to move and inspire. It’s a show about parenthood, loss, and the responsibility that comes with getting your wish, rather than a straightforward fairytale ending.

The creators: Sondheim and Lapine

Stephen Sondheim, widely regarded as the most significant composer-lyricist in the history of the American musical, wrote the music and lyrics for Into the Woods, and it is often cited as one of Sondheim’s most accessible entry points for audiences new to his work, thanks to its fairytale framing.

The book was written by James Lapine, who had previously collaborated with Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George. They would later work together on Passions, as well as Sondheim on Sondheim, a revue-style musical conceived and directed by Lapine that pulls in music and lyrics written by the composed over the course of his career.

Read more on westendtheatre.com…

Everything you need to know about Into the Woods, Sondheim’s fairy tale mashup musical