Into The Woods 

I really wish more musicals would put up recordings of the original cast like this. It's really awesome for people like me who are poor.

It's so sad that the baker never got to know Rapunzel since she was his long lost sister.

They really had the confidence to open with like 3-4 plot lines all running at the same time. They feared not crosstalk, but made it their tool, and honestly, holy SHIT.

No one will EVER be better than the little girl who plays Red. Her comedic relief moments are my favorite "you can talk to birds?" 😂

This entire play is just proof that everyone is chaotically neutral. Sometimes, they're selfish but sometimes they're kind, and sometimes they're just nice

The fact that musicals are professional shot to be stored for archives records, just collecting dust is so unfair. They should be released to the public.

The baking accident joke, “I was just trying to be a good mother” and so many other iconic jokes. This is such an iconic musical

"he was sobbing over her like she was his own mother" is a gut wrenching line and i haven't seen anyone else talk abt it

Me: thinks that the musical is going to have a wholesome, happy ending Musical: Act Two

Most emotional part of the whole show: "I wish..." "...I know."

I've watched this musical a dozen times but I just realized that the curse on the witch says that she cannot touch the items because she's supposed to be getting help from others. Instead she just blackmails others into doing it which is why her powers aren't restored in the process of lifting the curse.

Everyone’s going "Bernadette Peters this, Bernadette Peters that" and I wholeheartedly agree but can we talk about Joanna Gleason (Baker's Wife)?! She’s one of the absolute best performances both vocally and acting-wise I’ve ever seen. She’s just so goddamn good

A lot of people in the comments don't seem to realize this is the original Broadway cast for this Musical, that is why many of these actors seem so perfect for the role, they were the first to play the role creating the expectations that we have for these characters.

I love how the baker is all depressed and the witch is just like; "She's dead."

I love how Bernadette just walks onstage and everyone immediately applauds

This stage play shows exactly why the movie didn't work. The narrator is a vital part of this story, and removing him from the movie made the second half fall apart.

into the woods is the crossover we never wanted but the one we would end up loving

I still refuse to watch the movie there's no way this chaotic neutral energy can be repeated

I like the implication of what it means that the characters killed the narrator before he finished telling the story and that he's the only one who knows it. It's an incredible creative choice. If the person leading the characters you happy ever after, the person telling their story, is no more... Then presumably those characters aren't quite so noble and wonderful as fairytales would have us believe. It's a really good way to show the the indecisive characters literally HAVE to make their own choices now because no one else is there to make (narrate) those choices for them.

You know it's such a shame that there was never a film adaptation of this. Such a tragedy.

So, I hear that some people will actually leave during intermission thinking that the show is over...is that really true? Because that is both sad and hilarious!

The bit with the narrator and the giant was the best bit of fourth-wall breaking I've ever seen.

The one good thing the movie adaptation did was force Sideways and Snugboy to make two wonderful videos ripping it to shreds; and therefore lead me here.

"You can talk to birds". It is the way she said it that made it one of the funniest lines in the show. It was perfect. The actress playing Litty Red Riding Hood was amazing.

"How many wolves have you carved up?" "A wolf's not the same!" "Ask a wolf's mother." I'm never gonna get over this line.

The way Bernadette sings, ‘You’re so nice/you’re not good, you’re not bad/you’re just nice’ is a mood. I love her Witch.

i love the recurring theme of “nice vs good” in this! sometimes people are nice but not good because they have evil intentions (the wolf), sometimes people are nice but not good because they’re morally grey but want to be good (the main cast near the end). also how cinderella kept describing the prince and the ball as nice, never good, just nice. it’s an interesting idea!

You know the fact the narrator is talking over them when they sing is reason enough to sacrifice him

This video won't load... AGONNNNNYYYYYYY!!!

No one can do the role of The Witch like Bernadette Peters.

When my parents and I went to see this play a few years ago, the theater having this decided to make a special addition to the story. Before the first song starts, we sit in darkness as we hear all these angry voices yelling at a boy saying how he's messed up and they're disappointed in the things he's done etc. This leads to the boy running away. When the lights on stage come on, we see that the boy arrives at an abandoned house. When he sits down to catch his breath and let out his tears, he sees besides him a stack of fairytale books. He then grabs out a notebook in his backpack deciding to write a crossover of these fairytales. This then begins the first song. So the boy serves as the play's narrator. And of course, just like in the third act, he sacrificed to the Giant's Wife with the characters pretending he's Jack. I have to say, it does make more sense in sacrificing another boy pretending he's Jack. But Giant's Wife realizes it's not him and we see his backpack fall from the sky. However, he's not dead. Right after the ghost of the Baker's Wife tells the Baker to tell the baby a story, we transition to seeing the narrator asleep by the stack of books. The front door of the abandoned house opens revealing the his worried father. The narrator's father is played by the same actor that plays the Baker in the play. He rushes over to his son relieved he's all right. His son then gives him his notebook in which his father reads aloud, impressed. Basically, the narrator wrote all of this so he could be closer to his father. As the last song comes to an end as the father and the boy exit through the front door, the narrator looks at the audience one last time with a big smile on his face and sings "I wish!" I have to say, this was an interesting thing to add to the story.

I saw this comment under Sideway’s Into The Woods analysis video that perfectly sums up the arcs of the musical: “In Act 1, everyone gets what they wish; but in Act 2, everyone gets what they deserve.” That had me pretty shook and riveted if you ask me.

the wolf in the stage production is so much darker and gross in this production compared to the Disney version. I love it.

No one: 1989 costume designers: so this wolf FUCKS

"Who are you going to tell?" that line was delivered so perfectly

The chaotic neutral energy in this is immeasurable

We've no time to sit and dither While her withers wither with her Lyricist Level = Genius

2:10:50 my favourite thing in the whole play: Little Red saying in the most sardonic voice possible "...You can talk to birds?"

I just now realized Cinderella does a Customer Service Voice when she's trying to be the dewey-eyed fairy tale maiden like she's been told all her life.

what i love about this version is that it’s like so unserious it was like on a different level of consciousness that the movie was not. plays have a unique way the can lose the thread.

Little Red Riding Hood was 18 years old in this play. She looks so much younger. Her dob is 1/31/71. They aired this when she was 20 but filmed when she was 18.

"some of us dont like the way you've been telling it"

Florinda and Lucinda (cinderella’s step sisters) are unbelievably underrated characters. Like the pure batshit insanity they go through is hilarious. Their mother literally cut off parts of their feet to fit into the slipper and they were all so casual about it, and both of them GO BLIND and none of the other characters gave a shit.

“Sometimes people leave you halfway through the woods, do not let it grieve you, no one leaves for good.” Sondheim created a work of art that has stood the test of time, this show means so much to me ever since I saw it as a small child, children did listen. May his memory be a blessing.

Jack: "I can recognize a giant's footprints!" - because it is so hard to tell if insanely large footprints came from a giant.

I love how the first and last sung lyric is Cinderella singing “I wish...!”

The way the princes jump into scene kills me they are so funny

The line "You forgot your scarf" gets me if only because of the voice she uses when she says it, she sounds like my grandmother from northern Michigan I love it

"you can talk to birds?" is the best line ever delivered in the history of theater

"i have no children" "thats okay too"

Idk why but Jack's song is so moving. He goes from being a simpleton in a small world to his eyes being opened by a world he never dreamed of.

honestly i don't know if any moment makes me think harder than Jack's mother showing up in Act 2 This woman who has spent the whole show so far being absolutely EXHAUSTED at her son, shutting him down, demanding he shelter himself, twisting his ear And she puts on the bravest face out of anyone and DEMANDS that her son remain safe. She was willing to be crushed by the giant no matter how much shit she had to talk. And everyone else was too much of a coward to protect her.

I'm definitely in the group that prefers this stage version to that of the movie version.

The woods is a perfect metaphor for life. That's the main reason I love this musical

“I wish…” “….I know.” I don’t see nearly enough people talking about this line, I will never get over it

00:54 1 - Opening (Part I) 04:44 1a - Opening (Part II) 05:48 1b - Opening (PartIIa) 06:36 1c - Opening (Part III) 10:56 1d - Opening (Part IV) 12:23 1e - Opening (Part V) 13:06 1f - Opening (Part VI) 13:28 1g - Opening (Part VII) 14:16 1h - Opening (Part VIII) 15:53 2 - Cinderella at the Grave 18:09 3 - Hello, Little Girl 21:21 3a - Underscore 24:20 4 - I Guess This Is Goodbye 25:20 5 - Maybe They're Magic 26:18 5a - Rapunzel 28:35 5b - Baker's Reprise 29:10 5c - Grandmother's House 31:49 6 - I Know Things Now 33:55 6a - Jack's Mother 34:27 6b - Cinderella Coming from the Ball 35:52 7 - A Very Nice Prince 36:59 8 - First Midnight 38:22 9 - Giants in the Sky 43:00 9a - Fanfares 45:14 10 - Agony 47:53 10a-1 - Agony Playoff 48:08 10a-2 - Jack, Jack / Spells 49:35 10a-3 - Rapunzel Hair Pull 50:35 10b - Cinderella Coming from the Ball Again 51:24 10c - A Very Nice Prince (Reprise) 53:55 11 - It Takes Two 56:50 11a - Cow Death 57:27 12 - Second Midnight 58:40 12a - Stay with Me 1:02:23 12b - Underscore 1:03:55 13 - On the Steps of the Palace 1:10:30 13a - Underscore 1:11:01 14 - The Potion 1:13:10 15 - Finale (Part I) 1:15:01 15a - Finale (Part II) 1:18:39 15b - Finale (Part III) 1:19:26 15c - Finale (Part IV) 1:23:10 16 - Opening (Part I) 1:23:48 16a - Opening (Part II) 1:26:21 16b - Opening (Part III) 1:28:37 16c - Opening (Part IV) 1:30:21 16d - Opening (Part V) 1:30:54 16e - Opening (Part VI) 1:31:29 16f - Opening (Part VII) 1:31:56 16g - Opening (Part VIII) 1:32:16 16h - Opening (Part IX) 1:33:53 16i - Fanfares 1:34:45 17 - Agony Reprise 1:37:24 17a - After Agony Reprise 1:38:40 17a-1 - Underscore Giant 1:39:01 18 - Underscore 1:41:48 18a - Cues 1:44:35 19 - Witch's Lament 1:48:30 19a - 100 Paces 1:49:21 20 - Any Moment (Part I) 1:50:55 20a - Any Moment (Part II)

That poor narrator has to change outfits every 5 minutes

when i watched this in class and milky white died the clown said “right of course they killed the best character”

Me: Hmmm maybe if I search "into the woods original" it will give me the original cast soundtrack RU-vid: Hey whats up here's a full stage recording of the original cast

Nothing will ever compare to Joanna Gleeson, Chip Zien and Bernadette Peter’s comedic timing in this show. Also super underrated is Ben Wright as Jack who just nails There Are Giants in the Sky

how did the witch change so quickly?? like that was seriously amazing. like the make up and the hair and the fake fingers. truly amazing.

Fun Fact:Robert Westenberg(Prince Charming) and Kim Crosby(Cinderella) actually married in real life.

I watched this play so many times as a kid, and it took until I was an adult before I really started understanding it. A lot of this play is a criticism for the way we raise kids, and particularly the influence that fairy tales and stories have on them. A lot of themes combine here, but none more potently than the witch's mothering. She locks Rapunzel away from the world to try and shield her from it, but Rapunzel still wants to see the world, and she ends up sleeping with the prince (implied) So the witch sends Rapunzel to face the "consequences" of that by leaving her alone in the desert to try and raise the kids. But that pulls Rapunzel away from the witch and even when she's out of the dark situation, she's traumatized. The witch finally, at Rapunzel's death, says, "No one can prepare you for the world... How could I have shielded you from earth?" and laments that her entire problem is that children don't listen. But then at the end, she sings that children will listen, and that we have to be careful what we tell them. And the entire second act deconstructs the simple fairy tales of the first act. It shows consequences--marrying a person you've barely met leaves CInderalla/Rapunzel with a cheating spouse, and it leaves Rapunzel's prince with an extremely unstable one. Jack left a dead husband in his wake, and Little Red's innocence was shattered, and now she's cynical and won't trust anyone. The baker's child still didn't fix the problems in his relationship, either. The play is deconstructing the overly simplistic view of the world taught to children through fairy tales, and saying, "No. The world is more complicated than this, and actions have consequences."

I wonder if they know how unbelievably iconic this performance is

Now that I've seen the original, I now realize just how much story/conflict/tension/whimsy/snark/deadpan humor was lost in the movie version. The songs/settings/interactions and even some of the dialogue make more sense. The movie was nice (visually) but it could have been great if it managed to incorporate these elements into the film.

I love how as they lose people they sort of take each other into their family, kind of like how Cinderella acted like a motherly figure to Red

To me when the Witch sings "stay at home, I am home" is such a clever lyric and brings so much to the meaning of all this, seeing that this musical is about families, what we tell children and how the world is different from fairytales. We have the habit of making homes out of people, our parents, our friends, our romantic partners, and that is one of the most human things to do, but it's also a bad decision, our hopes, interests, loves, don't always make sense to people in our lives and they might hold you back without even knowing, while thinking that they're doing the best for you, like the witch "trying to be a good mother". It's okay to love and share your life with other people, but in the end, your real house is you.

Rest in peace, Stephen. You will be so dearly missed. Sometimes people leave you Halfway through the wood Do not let it grieve you, No one leaves for good

I swear 'I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right!' Is the best quote in history

never wear mauve at a ball. or pink. or open your mouth. best lines ever

Did anyone notice how in the first song Cinderella sings, "Mother said be good. Father said be Nice." The mother was good to Cinderella so she tried to teach her how to be good. While the father was a bad person and he taught her to "act" like a good person, hence be nice. I don't know, I thought that that could be an early connection to the main plot.

the difference between the first and second 'Agony' is so important imo. like the rapunzel refrain her prince sings the first time 47:07 changed to that dischordant harmony the princes both sing in the second 1:36:30. so creepy. also going from hestiant/difficult princesses to literally helpless sleeping princesses just goes with the whole decsent into chaos and darkness in the second half.

Baker: "You take care of yourself now, Jack. It's time." Little red riding hood: "No it's not, I can take care of you." Jack: "Oh, really?" Little red riding hood: "Yes, I CAN BE YOUR MOTHER NOW." She will be a great mother

The casting of people because of how their characters are similar is amazing: Narrator/mysterious man (aka bakers father- both have input in the story but don't want any involvement in it Wolf/Cinderellas Prince- both want things that are running away from them//things they just want for a moment Granny/Cinderellas Mother/Giant Women- mother like figures who give guidance and support This show just blows me away everytime!!! Also how them killing the giant was showing how you decide whats good and bad because she was killed even though jack did steal from her and kill her husband after they were kind to him

i can’t imagine the amount of headaches to put so many stories into one and make it actually make sense. definitely an ambitious plot

By far, without a doubt, without exception, this remains the best recording of a Broadway musical to date.

what acting. Despite all of the horrible things the witch has done.....her sorrow, her remorse, her heartbreak at the loss of her daughter. I am actually crying. I feel her pain. Bravo my lady. bravo. now excuse me as I wipe the tears from my eyes. what a performance.

“Princes yes, but wolves and witches too” When u realise Cinderella’s prince also plays the Wolf. Also side note, that the wolf is noted as ‘nice’ but not good. Similarly when Cinderella is asked about the prince she says, ‘he’s a very nice prince’, but not that he was good. Idk if that’s interesting to anyone else, jus thought I’d share it.

At the song: Last midnight. I love how they others are walking back when the witch gets closer. It really shows that even though she has lost her powers, she’s still powerfull. She is beyond the others at this point.

If a movie makes me cry, whatever,no big deal. If a MUSICAL makes me cry, we have a masterpiece on our hands.

This recording is a treasure. I wish they could record every original cast for posterity. Imagine being able to watch Michael Crawford and Sara Brightman in Phantom...sigh...

That witch threw some sick lyrics

Jack’s mother is everything rn 48:34 “i have no children..” “……..that’s okay too.” IM DYING

I don't think anything can top THIS wonderful cast and production. Ever.

I died when the witch started going: "THTHTH THH THHTHTH"

Did anyone else notice that the wolf's junk is just hanging out?

This musical constantly takes on new meaning in my life as I continue to grow up. From enjoying the whimsical elements in childhood to feeling the angst in my teenage years to understanding the insurmountable heartache the characters face. It one of the greatest pieces of art in my opinion.

“…….you can talk to birds?” Seriously one of the best moments in the whole show.

I love jack's voice manages to be strong, yet gentle all at once

If the movie did not cut the Mysterious Man it would have been much better. That's one of the bigger reasons why I think this version is superior.

"Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the woods" Is a great line

For six years, I was afraid to pursue this musical because of how "bad" the movie adaptation was. But then Sideways uploaded a video on it and I realised how good the musical probably actually was. So, obviously I went looking. And I found the full thing here. Thank you, Special_Effect, for uploading this whole video. I am truly thankful that I have been able to experience this thing of beauty in its true form.

Bernadette Peters, man. What a frickin’ talent

wow the disney version really had Absolutely No Flavour huh

I had the opportunity to meet Johanna Gleason & Danielle Ferland following my senior year production of into the woods, and they both were the most beautifully kind and down to earth people I’ve ever met. So wonderfully talented as well

Came here after watching the new Sideways video. A classic to revisit :)

At 1:50:52 Rapunzel's prince and Cinderella's prince are brothers and Rapunzel's brother is the wife's husband, the baker. So he fooled around with the wife of his brother's brother-in-law. What happened in the woods, stays in the woods.

Let’s all just admit this has more heart then the Disney version

No one: Sondheim and Lapine: [Write a fifteen minute opening musical number]

"Into the Woods" is actually extremely operatic in its musical ways. It begins with an introduction or in classical terms and overture, and then a chorus of almost all the characters, which is how many Mozart and Vivaldi operas begin, then followed by a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano, a common match in the operatic repertoire. The talking represents recitatives, mainly in Italian and French operas, but this specific production matches more with the German _dialog_ meaning just simply talking and chatting. The narrators' lines, accompanied with the orchestra, are like that of the accompanied recitative, quite popular in Italian operas and English oratorios. Both the finales of act one and act two are in the traditional finale form, a complete chorus with full orchestra, and finishing up the story line, and naturally brings the musical to a contented end, much like those of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, The Magic Flute and La clemenza di Tito.