This song could also be interrupted as moment in the “woulds”. You can’t live in the woulds. If you’re always thinking about what would have been you aren’t living in the here and now.
Wow I can't believe I'm only just catching this now. Thank you. I don't even know if that's what Sondheim intended writing the song but you're right and its bloody brilliant.
I've always found it so powerful that her final line is "Now I understand, and it's time to leave the woods." Because immediately after she dies. The woods are life and she's finally happy with her life and understands and is at peace. She didn't know when she sang it that the words were about her own death. It's really beautiful.
in my interpretation the Woods are a metaphor for the inconscient, a place where you are obliged to take decisions, make mistakes, do bad things and where you start questioning about the right, the wrong, the good, the evil... A place where your deepest wishes live, a place where you face your worst fears.
other than that, when she starts to reflect about the moment she had and questioning her morals she starts getting deep in the woods, these thoughts, and she gets so deep in these thoughts and this scary place she gets lost in all of these thoughts and end up dying
Interesting idea, but not what Sondheim and James Lapine were thinking. They have said her character's death is about the randomness of fate. This isn't about her achieving inner peace. She just dies.
I used to wonder if there was some deeper meaning to the song like that. I can see why you would think there is. But no. It's just a person who dies, but she does get a moment of true happiness beforehand. So not entirely tragic, though still devastating.
@@christophercobb249 I feel like that isn't really a disagreement honestly. It's still about randomness and sudden death. It's just that her final line is ironic because she's about to die. It's fitting. Also authors intent is not the arbiter of how to interpret a work, but honestly I think both what I said and what you said can happen simultaneously
Joanna Gleason perfected this role and brought more focus onto the Baker and his wife.. Nobody has been as good as she has and therefore every subsequent production has been a little off-balanced and more attention is paid to the showier role of the Witch. I feel like the original cast felt much more like a true ensemble (even with Bernadette Peters as the Witch) and every character had the right amount of attention and emphasis on the right spots. The balance seems off in other productions I've seen with some actors fighting for more spotlight. It's seems less collaborative.
This is absolutely true. Having seen the subsequent productions, it was really hard to have a different interpretation when this interpretation was SPOT ON. And this includes the princes.
This. I return to this version every time... Every character has depths, is flawed and battles against the wish for their happiness, woe betide the consequences... I feel this one is the most true to life too... I find the other performances just... Becayse they are film stars or whatever, not as authentic and the Baker's Wife is such a pivotal character....
There’s something SO natural about this production. And specifically about Gleason. Her voice sounds so natural and not forced. A lot of other actresses over sing this song. Even the ones who act it really well still feel like they overusing to me especially the parts in head voice. Maybe it’s because I have such an attachment to this production from watching the VHS as a kid. But nothing will ever top it
I just saw the recent production in DC and the Bakers wife is fabulous. This interpretation reminded me more about the of Joanna's without being a copy cat
Joanna Gleason won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for this performance (and sorry, she beat Patti LuPone, the favourite of that season, of all people...). She also gave Stephen Sondheim the idea/germ of idea for this specific song. She told him during rehearsals before he had written this song that her character -- the Baker's Wife -- seemed as though she were in the "wrong story" -- well, he took that idea and ran, and wrote this perfect aria. A true amalgam of songwriter and actor. Perfection.
She didn't die because she cheated. If you watch carefully, the playwright kills off the characters who get their true goals. All she wanted was to be memorable and she got it and so her character could die. The only character who die are the ones who accomplish their goals. All right, theater snob over. I KNOW I CRIED SO MUCH WHAT THE HECK.
That's not true for all of them though. Don't their goals change halfway? In the second half there's a song that what the characters thought they wanted wasn't really what they wanted. Cinderella wanted to get away from her life and marry the prince and she did but doesn't die.
ThePaganSun well yeah but she discovered it wasn’t her true goal when he was a jerk and all. She does realize her true goal but only in the very end so too late for more death.
This song and her section of No One Is Alone I think are her shining moments of the whole production. She shows such a large range of emotion from comedy to sorrow to love and does it absolutely brilliantly. She encompasses so much in the lyrics that people would easily miss with her subtle nuances.
One of the greatest acting songs ever written. She is SO GOOD! My god, it's a masterclass. This song is so much fun to perform! An actor's field day! It's not very hard to sing, and it gives the actor enough room to tell an entire story.
Recently heard from an old flame that he is now in a loving relationship. It brought back a lot of old beautiful memories of how we met while i was deployed. Hope everything goes well bud. Wish you nothing but the best, even if I am no longer in your life. This song has a special place now thank you Mr. Sondheim and Mrs. Gleason. Every time my mind wonders too far into the "woulds" I come back.
This is true of any good play that is well written, but what I think will tie all of the theories together is that a character dies, or ambiguously leaves the play because they either achieve their goal, or realize that they will never achieve their goal. For example, Rapunzel dies because she realizes that she will never have a happy life, and the Witch disappears/dies (depending on your interpretation) because she realizes that she will never be everything that she wants, so what's the point of being at all. Similarly, the Baker's Wife realizes that she is finally happy, so she is able to move on, as does the Mysterious Man, when he pushes the Baker to go back. Conversely (I played the role, so I know a lot about it) the Baker could leave the play right after Last Midnight. At that point, he is in utter despair, and believes that he has lost everything. However, because of the Mysterious Man's intervention because of his wish, the Baker is forced to confront the demons that he's been pushing aside his entire life. He believes that he can't bear to be there for his son, because it's too difficult, and it isn't simple, and he no longer has someone to guide him through it. When the Mysterious Man asks him to run away with him, there's a part of him that wants to. But the Mysterious Man has learned too much, and regretted too much to let that happen. The Baker has had a difficult life, and he has had so many terrible things happen to him, but he is still needed, and his goal is not unattainable. The Baker could leave the play, but he would never be able to live with himself if he did, so he faces the music, despite his fears, and he is a hero at the end of the day. I love the Baker. I love Sondheim.
Cinderella didn't really get what she wanted--her prince was unfaithful and she still wasn't sure about her life as a princess The Baker lost his wife, and still had his unresolved issues with his dad; he wasn't truly happy. Little Red lost her mother. No happy ending there. Jack, likewise, was also unhappy with his life and just wanted more adventure. And he loses his mother.
But many of them learned to work together and support one another in times of crisis. So they decided, why not stay together and bring one another joy and comfort? That’s a community.
What was that? Was that me? Was that him? Did a prince really kiss me? And kiss me? And kiss me? And did I kiss him back? Was it wrong? Am I mad? Is that all? Does he miss me? Was he suddenly Getting bored with me? Wake up! Stop dreaming Stop prancing about the woods It's not beseeming What is it about the woods? Back to life, back to sense Back to child, back to husband No one lives in the woods There are vows, there are ties There are needs, there are standards There are shouldn'ts and shoulds Why not both instead? There's the answer, if you're clever Have a child for warmth And a baker for bread And a prince for whatever Never! It's these woods Face the facts, find the boy Join the group, stop the giant Just get out of these woods Was that him? Yes, it was Was that me? No, it wasn't Just a trick of the woods Just a moment One peculiar passing moment Must it all be either less or more? Either plain or grand? Is it always "or?" Is it never "and?" That's what woods are for For those moments in the woods Oh, if life were made of moments Even now and then a bad one! But if life were only moments Then you'd never know you had one First a witch, then a child Then a prince, then a moment Who can live in the woods? And to get what you wish Only just for a moment These are dangerous woods Let the moment go Don't forget it for a moment, though Just remembering you've had an "and" When you're back to "or" Makes the "or" mean more Than it did before Now I understand And it's time to leave the woods
Idk...I think she was musing that yes, it's wrong, but she doesn't feel that bad about it and maybe lesser 'moments' not involving cheating but living a bigger life are okay. I never liked that she died right after, it was like she was being punished for being sexual while the prince got away with it.
I love the performance rather than the audio on the soundtrack because you can see shes tired and thinking it all through at 2:08 she goes *sigh* i feel like live you see many layers of a person you have know all your life and are just seeing them now
I heard this song as a kid. All these years I hated her cos she cheated. But listening to it now, I find it tragic she realized "Just remembering you've had an 'and' when you're back to 'or'... Makes the 'or' mean more than it did before" only to be slain by the giant. Urgh, Sondheim~!! This is so beautifully gut wrenching 😭😭😭
Definitely the best play. There is so much depth to the characters. They are all characters we already know, so you CAN explore the deeper. With new characters you have to spend so much time getting to know them. This twist on fairy tales is a way we revisit our childhood assumptions. This play forces is too reconsider what we think a happy ending is, and that informs or own expectations for our lives. I think that's why it's so powerful. That and "careful the take you tell; that is the spell. Children will listen."
@@christophercobb249 oh no, on one is alone is probably the weakest song in the show and honestly should have been cut as the already long show really starts to drag around there and it throws in another random moral message in a show that already has like 8 of them
Oh if life were only moments, even now and then a bad one// but if life were only moments, then you’d never know you had one Rest in peace Stephen Sondheim
Our school is doing this in November, and I hadn't seen the show all the way through before, so I watched it on Netflix, and as I was watching I was thinking "Ok, the Baker's Wife is awesome, I am totally auditioning for her". Then the scene with the prince came around, and I was like "AAAH! WOAH NOW!" and then, of course, she DIES, and I was like "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" and THEN, when the Baker says "Where did you get that?!" my heart broke, then she comes back at the end!!...And then I exploded.
I don't care if she cheated, she didn't deserve to die! T-T It was just a little moment in the woods... But like seriously this play. We start off with this huge cast and end with only four living characters and a baby. Wtf.
I'm thinking about auditioning for her role in my school's production of into the woods.This is the song i have to sing and it's pretty complicated. and i only have 5 days to learn it
No, I think she just rides out on a horse never to be heard from again. The few reviews I've seen from test screenings say that it's done in a very sad and heartbreaking way. The official screenings start Saturday so I'm sure we'll get more details then.
Aussie High I thought it was horrible. Rapunzel just rode off. It defeated the purpose of the Witch's lament, and her breakdown during "Last Midnight". The movie also missed a lot of the humor.
Oh, I know, metaphors and deep meanings and all that, there's a reason for everything. Although I hadn't quite picked up on that particular tidbit about the characters who got their true goals were the ones to die... :P. It seems like you agree, it still hurt anyway :(
No because they've always been like that. They didn't slip up because that's the kind of person they are. While the Baker's Wife was committed the whole way through, only to end up taking a huge step back by being disloyal. But now I can see what you're responding to, although I will leave my explanation there for any other reason.
I have two questions: 1) Which production was this? (year, location) 2) Who were the (marvellous) performers? Any casting list available? Thanks in advance for answering ;-)
Original Broadway Cast from 1987 reunited in 1989 for one filmed performance...Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife and Robert Westenberg as Cinderella's Prince...the whole thing's on wikipedia :)
Back in 2009 the FREE Players did quite a lame production of Into The Woods, they just messed it all up, for example they left out a major bit of the Baker's Wife's solo song - after "...and did I kiss him back?" and before "First a witch, then a child..." (from 0:28-2:04 if you know what I mean)
QUESTION: I’m currently studying this character. To everyone saying Joana is the best Bakers wife, what is it that makes her stand out to you? Her voice isn’t the best of all of them but people seem to be pulled to her. Can you all chime in and share your reasons for loving her in the role so much??
