Theatre play review: Into the Woods

Into the Woods Review
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Introduction
Into the Woods is a play created by Stephen Sondheim that is based on four fairy tales. These include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack, and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood. This play utilizes numerous elements such as sound, motifs, and development of characters to portray the daily struggles and triumphs people have in their daily lives (Conley, 2017). The paper will analyze this musical by providing a summary of the play and highlight the various elements utilized in the play.
Summary
The basic plot of Into the Woods is that the Baker and his Wife are cursed by the neighborhood Witch never to have any children. These individuals can only overcome the curse through acquiring Jack’s cow, Cinderella’s slipper, Red Riding Hood’s cape and also Rapunzel’s hair. Through the acquisition of these items, they only create mischief and even the deaths of some of the main characters in the musical. However, once the first act comes to a close, Cinderella and Rapunzel both have their Princes, Red Riding Hood has already killed her Wolf and the Baker’s Wife is newly pregnant.
In the second act, the two princes start developing wandering eyes and are after Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Giant then investigates the death of her spouse and kills off his murderer. Jack’s mother then interposes herself between her son and his pursuer and is ultimately killed. The Baker’s Wife was romantically involved with a prince and is eventually crushed by the marauding giant’s wife. The narrator of the play is also sacrificed. Towards the end, the only surviving characters are the Baker and his child, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Jack who unite to overcome their enemy. This is only possible with the assistance of Cinderella’s friends, the birds. In the closing movements of the musical, all the characters reassemble together to offer reassurance and hope to themselves and also the audience.
Analysis
The writing and music from the play are highly masterful and simplified. The entire play is performed by an ensemble of ten individuals including actresses, actors, a pianist, and musicians. The production of the play triples down on the concept of having few actors playing numerous roles and also instruments which executes the objective of the play effectively (Soloski, 2015). In the play, the actors rarely leave the stage and play numerous instruments that range from the guitar to the bassoon to the trumpet. The musical is a group effort as there is no weak link among the characters.