This is perhaps my favourite song in all of Sondheim's canon; a perfect diamond of pacing, wordplay, characterisation, wit and a brilliantly awful punchline.
I absolutely love the Baker’s dead-pan *Y e s* Not leaving much room for his wife to come up with an excuse as to why they just ripped off a little boy
Me too. This song identifies one of the major points of the play itself. Does the end justify the means (beans)? It also reveals more of the Baker and the Baker's Wife as characters. They did manage to convey what the song dealt with, but I think they should have left this one in.
TEC1 I'll admit that I actually forgot about this song when I saw the into the woods movie, but yeah, it does sum up the complex themes. I didn't mind its absence while watching the film, but then again, I hadn't seen the original stage play in quite a long time. I'll have to see the film again if this song's absence hurts it.
when I heard this song I was thinking :hmm the style similar to sweeney todd and then i realized the author of the play is the same one that wrote sweeney! this is awesome
[BAKER'S WIFE] If you know What you want, Then you go And you find it And you get it- [BAKER] Home. [BAKER'S WIFE] Do we want a child or not? And you give And you take And you bid And you bargain Or youl ive To regret it. [BAKER] Will you please go home? [BAKER'S WIFE] There are rights and wrongs And in-betweens- No one waits When fortune intervenes. Amd maybe they're really magic, Who knows? Why you do What you do, That's the point: All the rest of it Is chatter. [BAKER] Look at her. She's crying. [BAKER'S WIFE] If the thing you do Is pure in intent, If it's meant, And it's just a little bent, Does it matter? [BAKER] Yes. [BAKER'S WIFE] No, what matters is that Everyone tells tiny lies. What's important, really is, the size. Only three more tries and we'll have our prize. When the end's in sight, You'll realize: If the end is right, It justifies The beans!
@MrMrMrprofessor Into the Woods is an awesome musical... but very, very tough. The music is some of the toughest a high school drama club could be thrown. If he's resistant, that's probably why. Most schools that do this (even some colleges) really tones the music down and slows it down... which takes away a *lot* of its charm.
@bluffgrad07 Dude, she won a Tony for this performance. You don't win a freaking Tony if you aren't a *great* singer (and performer and actress and everything).
Can Someone Tell me The Order of the female Leads???? I am doing this play with my theater company and we have to put down the three parts that we absaloutly want and i want to know if Cinderella, Backers Wife, and Little Red are good Parts :)
@Ryeguy123a You have a very good point. Oh well, maybe some other time. (By the way, my Drama teacher is a woman LoL) Still. Johanna is an Awesome singer.
