Submitted by John Mcqueen DVD Analysis Paper

* I Summary I Choose Into the Woods it is a musical with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, from a book written by James Lapine . I choose this play from all the others selections because I’am a huge Bernadette Peters fan. Peters plays the wicked witch . The play won several Tony awards , including Best Book, Best Score , and Best Actress. The Musical Intermingles , Different stories from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, stories such as Little Red Riding Hood , Rapunzel, Jack and the Bean Stalk and Cinderella and they join it to a Baker and his wife, who want a child but have a curse on them to be childless , because his father stole from the witches garden but the witch tells them that if they go into the woods and gather 4 items in three days , she will reverse the curse. 1 A red cape 2 a gold slipper 3 a white cow and 4 Golden Hair These items will allow the Witch to make a potion that will bring her youth and beauty again . The Bakers wife played by Joanna Gleeson joins him in the woods, on their quest to gather the items. The Baker first finds Little Red Riding hood, and just steals her cape, and then returns it to her, after she got mad at him. Then later he kills the bad wolf , and takes granny out of the wolfs stomach, and Little Red Riding Hood gives him the cape as a reward for his help. The Bakers wife over hears the prince speaking about a girl whose hair is yellow as corn , and goes to the location the Prince says , she tricks Rapunzel into dropping her Hair and takes a Portion of the hair. The Bakers wife runs into Cinderella and tries to grab her slipper , she could not . Jack of Jack in the Beanstalk sold the White Cow for Magic Beans to The Baker , which he had 3 of the four items. Jack used the magic Beans to grow the Beanstalk to the Giants House, which he went to and stole the Giants goose that laid golden eggs and The golden Harp. The Prince was searching the Kingdom for who would fit the golden slipper , and the Giant was mad , at having his items stole and looking for jack, Jack cut the beanstalk down and the Giant crashed and was Killed. This is when the prince gave a slipper to the Bakers Wife giving them the 4 items. The witch made the potion and was made young again, and the childless curse was removed from the Bakers Family.Like all the Grimm Fairy Tales there is a morale that is shared at the end of the Play. * II Performances I felt like Bernadette Peters and Joanna Gleeson, stood way above everyone else in talent, and acting ability, singing ability , Peters was great as a witch, very forceful has a great voice. . Gleeson just stole every scene she was in with her intensity, and her talent just was so noticeable.Peters when she became the young beautiful person, even played that to perfection she is very pretty and talented. * III Other Theatrical Elements The way the story unfolded was truly magical to me, I grew up on Brothers Grimm fairytales, it was so innovative to bring them all together and adding the narrator to bring the story line together , who as the narrator he is thrown to the giant, he tells them who will tell the story and you will never know how it turns out without me and the characters told they didnt like the way the story was being told was hilarious. And to make it very funny in spots was truly one of the best I have seen , unlike a basic musical The musical aspect was beautifully performed and told a story , like the wolf singing to Little Red Riding Hood that she was his dinner. .I totally was rooting for the characters , The Baker and His wife to get the itemss for them to start a family. I seen were the moral of the fairy tale stories translated to here were Little Red Riding hood says the Giant is a person too,,and Cinderella says that no one is alone