LITTLE RED-CAP
… a young girl was known as Little Red-Cap because she would only wear a cap of red velvet given by her grandmother. One day, Red-Cap’s mother sent her with a bottle of wine and a cake to her sick grandmother’s, warning her not stray off the path in the woods. Red-Cap met a wolf, and, not recognizing his wickedness, she followed his advice to pick flowers for her grandmother. The wolf ran straight to devour the grandmother and then dressed in her clothes and laid in her bed. When Little Red-Cap arrived with the gifts, she felt uneasy and noticed her grandmother looked strange. She asked about her grandmother’s big ears (“the better to hear you with, my dear”), big eyes (“the better to see you with”), and big mouth (“the better to eat you with”)! The wolf swallowed up the girl and fell into a deep sleep. A huntsman passed by the house and heard the wolf’s snores. Thinking the wolf may have eaten the old woman, the huntsman did not shoot, but instead cut his stomach with a scissors. Little Red- Cap and her grandmother sprang out. Then, they filled the wolf’s stomach with stones and sewed him back up. When he awoke, the wolf fell dead. Little Red-Cap vowed never again to stray from the path or disobey her mother. Indeed, the next time she went to her grandmother’s house, another wolf tried to entice her, but she paid him no mind. When he arrived at grandmother’s house, they set a trap for this wolf and drowned him in a trough of boiling water. No one ever tried to harm Little Red-Cap again.
RAPUNZEL
...after stealing rampion (a root vegetable) from a witch’s garden, a man and his wife were forced to give their newborn baby to the witch as payment. The Witch called the child Rapunzel and raised the girl as her own. She locked the beautiful girl in a tower with no doors or stairs. The Witch visited the tower, calling “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me,” and the girl dropped her long hair from the tower. A prince heard Rapunzel singing from the tower and spied the Witch climbing her hair. One night, he climbed Rapunzel’s hair. At first she was afraid, but Rapunzel accepted the Prince’s marriage proposal, and they made a plan for her escape. The Witch learned of the plan and cut off Rapunzel’s hair and banished her to a desert. When the Prince returned, the angry Witch surprised him in the tower. He jumped out to escape, piercing his eyes
on thorns. The blind Prince wandered the desert for years, until he finally found Rapunzel and the twins she had borne. Her tears fell into his eyes and healed them. Together they returned to his kingdom, where they were received with joy.
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
… a young boy named Jack lived with his widowed mother. The only source of income came from Milky White, their cow, until one day it stopped giving milk. At his mother’s insistence, Jack took the cow to market, but on the way he met an old man and exchanged the cow for five magic beans. Furious, his mother threw the beans out the window and sent Jack to bed. The next morning, Jack awoke to find a giant beanstalk outside the window. He climbed all the way up to the top and found a large house. Jack approached the house belonging to a giant and his wife, hungry for food. The giant’s wife fed him, and when the giant returned, she hid Jack in the oven. The giant could “smell the blood of an Englishman,” but the giant’s wife kept Jack hidden. After breakfast, Jack heard the giant counting his money. He stole a bag of gold coins and escaped home down the beanstalk. He and his mother lived well until the gold ran out, so Jack returned up the beanstalk. This time, he stole a hen that laid golden eggs. On his third trip, Jack stole a golden harp that plays itself. When the harp called for her master, the giant awoke and chased Jack down the stalk. Jack’s mother got him an axe, Jack chopped down the beanstalk, and the giant fell dead. Jack and his mother lived happily ever after with the golden eggs and
the golden harp. (NOTE: Jack and the Beanstalk is NOT part of the Grimms’ collection.)
THE BAKER AND HIS WIFE
…a childless baker and his wife wished more than anything to have a child. The witch who had cursed them promised to reverse the curse, IF they could bring her four items: a white cow, a red cape, yellow hair, and a gold slipper… At first, the central plot of Into the Woods seems like it could have been pulled from the pages of Grimm. In fact, James Lapine created this original story in order to bring together the other fairy tales he selected for the show. The quest of the Baker and his Wife not only unifies the musical, but it also makes it contemporary. As they struggle to make a living, build a family, and maintain their marriage, they reflect the modern audience. We may not live next door to witches and fairy-tale forests, but many Americans can identify with their concerns. Theirs is a fairy tale for today, and their “happily ever after” turns out to be as complicated as our own life stories.
INTO THE WOODS UPSTAGE GUIDE 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24