Whether these stories were created in ancient civilizations, were part of an oral tradition among indigenous peoples, or gained popularity within European cultures, they served two purposes. On one hand, they could be used for entertainment (the same way ghost stories never seem to go out of fashion). On the other, they could be used for educational purposes to teach children right from wrong and instill in their minds a core set of values for future reference. Whether these stories contained a princess, a demon, a hero, or a dragon, they created unforgettable images in children's literature.
In 1987, when Stephen Sondheim's musical Into The Woods reached Broadway, it asked audiences to consider what would happen if the wishes made by characters in some of the most beloved fairy tales came true. Would everyone live happily ever after?
When I first saw Into The Woods during its San Diego tryout at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, the 10-minute prologue crafted by Sondheim and James Lapine instantly established itself as a masterpiece of theatrical exposition. Because so much is happening onstage so quickly, it's often hard for the audience to grasp how carefully this number has been crafted to set the stage for subsequent events.
Sondheim's latest book, Finishing The Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1971) With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes was recently published by Random House. Its sequel, Look, I Made A Hat: Volume Two is currently in preparation. In the meantime, here in its entirety is the text to the Prologue from Into The Woods:
[NARRATOR]
Once upon a time
[CINDERELLA]
I wish...
[NARRATOR]
in a far-off kingdom
[CINDERELLA]
More than anything...
[NARRATOR]
lived a fair maiden,
[CINDERELLA]
More than jewels...
[NARRATOR]
a sad young lad
[JACK]
I wish...
[NARRATOR]
and a childless baker
[JACK]
More than life...
[CINDERELLA & BAKER]
I wish...
[NARRATOR]
with his wife.
[JACK]
More than anything...
[CINDERELLA, BAKER & JACK]
More than the moon...
[BAKER'S WIFE]
I wish...
[CINDERELLA]
The King is giving a Festival.
[BAKER & WIFE]
More than life...
[JACK]
I wish...
[CINDERELLA]
I wish to go to the Festival.
[BAKER & WIFE]
More than riches...
[JACK]
I wish my cow would
give us some milk.
[BAKER'S WIFE]
More than anything...
[CINDERELLA]
And the Ball...
[JACK]
Please, pal-
[BAKER]
I wish we had a child.
[BAKER'S WIFE]
I want a child...
[CINDERELLA]
I wish to go to the Festival.
[JACK]
Squeeze, pal...
[JACK]
I wish you'd give us some
milk or even cheese...
I wish...
[BAKER & WIFE]
I wish we might have a child.
I wish...
[CINDERELLA]
I wish...
[STEPMOTHER]
You wish to go to the Festival?
[NARRATOR]
The poor girl's mother had died,
[STEPMOTHER]
You, Cinderella, the Festival?
You wish to go to the Festival?
[FLORINDA]
What, you, Cinderella, the Festival?
The Festival?!
[LUCINDA]
What, you wish to go to the Festival?
[ALL THREE]
The Festival?
The King's Festival?
[NARRATOR]
And her father had taken for his new wife
[STEPMOTHER]
The Festival...
[NARRATOR]
a woman with two daughters of her own.
[FLORINDA]
Look at you nails!
[LUCINDA]
Look at your dress!
[STEPMOTHER]
People would laugh at you-
[CINDERELLA]
Nevertheless,
I still want to go to the Festival
And dance before the Prince.
[STEPMOTHER & STEPSISTERS]
She still wants to go to the Festival
And dance before the Prince?!
[NARRATOR]
All three were beautiful of face, but vile and black of heart.
Jack, on the other hand, had no father, and his mother-
[JACK'S MOTHER]
I wish...
[NARRATOR]
Well, she was not quite beautiful-
[JACK'S MOTHER]
I wish my son were not a fool.
I wish my house was not a mess.
I wish the cow was full of milk.
I wish the house was full of gold-
I wish a lot of things...
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Why, come in, little girl.
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
I wish...
It's not for me,
It's for my Granny in the woods.
A loaf of bread, please-
To bring my poor old hungry
Granny in the woods...
Just a loaf of bread, please...
[NARRATOR]
Cinderella's Stepmother had a surprise for her.
[STEPMOTHER]
I have emptied a pot of lentils into the ashes for you.
If you have picked them out again in two hours' time,
you shall go to the ball with us.
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
And perhaps a sticky bun?...
Or four?...
[CINDERELLA]
Birds in the sky,
Birds in the eaves,
In the leaves,
In the fields,
In the castles and ponds...
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
And a few of those pies... please...
[CINDERELLA]
Come, little birds,
Down from the eaves
And the leaves,
Over fields,
Out of castles and ponds...
[JACK]
No, squeeze, pal...
[CINDERELLA]
Ahhh...
Quick, little birds,
Flick through the ashes.
Pick and peck, but swiftly,
Sift through the ashes,
Into the pot...
[JACK'S MOTHER]
Listen well, son. Milky-White must be taken to market.
[JACK]
But, mother, no- he's the best cow-
[JACK'S MOTHER]
look at her.
There are bugs on her dugs.
There are flies in her eyes.
There's a lump on her rump
Big enough to be a hump-
[JACK]
But-
[JACK'S MOTHER]
Son,
We've no time to sit and dither,
While her wither's wither with her-
And no one keeps a cow for a friend!
Sometimes I fear you're touched.
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
Into the woods,
It's time to go,
I hate to leave,
I have to, though.
Into the woods-
It's time, and so
I must begin my journey.
Into the woods
And through the trees
To where I am
Expected ma'am,
Into the woods
To Grandmother's house-
Into the woods
To Grandmother's house-
[BAKER'S WIFE]
You're certain of your way?
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
The way is clear,
The light is good,
I have no fear,
Nor no one should.
The woods are just trees,
The trees are just wood.
I sort of hate to ask it,
But do you have a basket?
Into the woods
And down the dell,
The path is straight,
I know it well.
Into the woods,
And who can tell
What's waiting on the journey?
Into the woods
To bring some bread
To Granny who
Is sick in bed.
Never can tell
What lies ahead.
For all that I know,
She's already dead.
But into the woods,
Into the woods,
Into the woods
To Grandmother's house
And home before dark.
[CINDERELLA]
Fly, birds,
Back to the sky,
Back to the eaves
And the leaves
And the fields
And the-
[FLORINDA]
Hurry up and do my hair, Cinderella!
Are you really wearing that?
[LUCINDA]
Here, I found a little tear, Cinderella.
Can't you hide it with a hat?
[CINDERELLA]
You look beautiful.
[FLORINDA]
I know.
[LUCINDA]
She means me.
[FLORINDA]
Put it in a twist.
[LUCINDA]
Who will be there?...
[CINDERELLA]
Mother said be good,
Father said be nice,
That was always their advice.
So be nice, Cinderella,
Good, Cinderella,
Nice good good nice-
[FLORINDA]
Tighter!
[CINDERELLA]
What's the good of being good
If everyone is blind
And you're always left behind?
Never mind, Cinderella,
Kind Cinderella-
Nice good nice kind good nice-
[FLORINDA]
Not that tight!
[CINDERELLA]
Sorry.
[FLORINDA]
Clod.
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Who might that be?
[BAKER]
It's the witch from next door.
[NARRATOR]
The old enchantress told the couple she had
placed a spell on their house.
[BAKER]
What spell?
[WITCH]
In the past, when your mother was with child, she developed
an unusual appetite. She took one look at my beautiful garden
and told your father that what she wanted more than
anything in the world was
Greens, greens and nothing but greens:
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,
Asparagus and watercress and
Fiddle ferns and lettuce-!
He said, "All right,"
But it wasn't, quite,
'Cause I caught him in the autumn
In my garden one night!
He was robbing me,
Raping me,
Rooting through my rutabaga,
Raiding my arugula and
Ripping up my rampion
(My champion! My favorite!)-
I should have laid a spell on him
Right there,
Could have changed him into stone
Or a dog or a chair...
But I let him have the rampion-
I'd lots to spare.
In return, however,
I said, "Fair is fair:
You can let me have the baby
That your wife will bear.
And we'll call it square."
[BAKER]
I had a brother?
[WITCH]
No. But you had a sister.
[NARRATOR]
But the witch refused to tell him any more of his sister.
Not even that her name was Rapunzel.
[WITCH]
I thought I had been more than reasonable.
But how was I to know what your father
had also hidden in his pocket?!
[BAKER]
What?
[WITCH]
Beans.
[BAKER & WIFE]
Beans?
[WITCH]
The special beans.
I let him go,
I didn't know
He'd stolen my beans!
I was watching him crawl,
Back over the wall-!
Then bang! Crash!
And the lightning flash!
And- well, that's another story,
Never mind-
Anyway, at last
The big day came,
And I made my claim.
"Oh, don't take away the baby,"
They shrieked and screeched,
But I did,
And I hid her
Where she'll never be reached.
And your father cried,
And your mother died
When for extra measure-
I admit it was a pleasure-
I said, "Sorry,
I'm still not mollified."
And I laid little spell on them-
You, too, son-
That your family tree
Would always be a barren one...
So there's no more fuss
And there's no more scenes
And my garden thrives-
You should see my nectarines!
But I'm telling you the same
I tell kings and queens:
Don't ever never ever
Mess around with my greens!
Especially the beans.
[JACK'S MOTHER]
Now listen closely to me, Jack. Lead Milky-White to market and
fetch the best price you can. Are you listening to me?
Jack Jack Jack,
Head in a sack,
The house is getting colder,
This is not the time for dreaming.
Chimney stack
Starting to crack,
The mice are getting bolder,
The floor's gone slack,
Your mother's getting older,
Your father's not back,
And you can't just sit here dreaming pretty dreams.
To wish and wait
From day to day
Will never keep
The wolves away.
So into the woods
The time is now.
We have to live,
I don't care how.
Into the woods
To sell the cow,
You must begin the journey.
Straight to the woods
and don't delay-
You have to face
The marketplace.
Into the woods to journey's end-
[JACK]
Into the woods to sell a friend-
[NARRATOR]
Meanwhile, the Witch, for purposes of her own,
explained how the Baker might lift the spell;
[WITCH]
You wish to have
The curse reversed?
I'll need a certain
Potion first.
Go to the woods and bring me back
One: the cow as white as milk,
Two: the cape as red as blood,
Three: the hair as yellow as corn,
Four: the slipper as pure as gold.
Bring me these
Before the chime
Of midnight,
In three day's time,
And you shall have,
I guarantee,
A child as perfect
As child can be.
Go to the wood!
[STEPMOTHER]
Ladies.
Our carriage waits.
[CINDERELLA]
Now may I go to the Festival?
[STEPMOTHER]
The Festival-!
Darling, those nails!
Darling, those clothes!
Lentils are one thing but
Darling, with those,
You'd make us the fools of the Festival
And mortify the Prince!
[CINDERELLA'S FATHER]
Our carriage is waiting.
[STEPMOTHER]
We must be gone.
[CINDERELLA]
Good night, Father.
I wish...
[BAKER]
Look what I found in father's hunting jacket.
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Six beans. We'll take them with us.
[BAKER]
No!
The spell is on my house.
Only I can lift the spell,
The spell is on my house.
[BAKER'S WIFE]
No, no, the spell is on our house.
We must lift the spell.
[BAKER]
No. You are not to come and that is final.
Now what am I to return with?
[BAKER'S WIFE]
You don't remember?
The cow as white as milk,
The cape as red as blood,
The hair as yellow as corn,
The slipper as pure as gold-
[BAKER]
The cow as white as milk,
The cape as red as blood,
The hair as yellow as corn,
The slipper as pure as gold...
[NARRATOR]
And so the Baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the
enchantress' demands.
As for Cinderella:
[CINDERELLA]
I still wish to go to the Festival,
But how am I ever to get to the Festival?
[BAKER]
The cow as white as milk,
The cape as red as blood,
The hair as yellow as corn-
[CINDERELLA]
I know!
I'll visit Mother's grave,
The grave at the hazel tree,
And tell her I just want to
Go to the King's Festival...
[BAKER]
The slipper as pure as gold...
The cow, the cape,
The slipper as pure as gold-
[BAKER'S WIFE]
The hair-!
[CINDERELLA & BAKER]
Into the woods,
It's time to go,
It may be all
In vain, you/I know.
Into the woods-
But even so,
I have to take the journey.
[CINDERELLA, BAKER & WIFE]
Into the woods,
The path is straight,
You know it well,
But who can tell-
[BAKER & WIFE]
Into the woods to lift the spell-
[CINDERELLA]
Into the woods to visit Mother-
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Into the woods to fetch the things-
[BAKER]
To make the potion-
[CINDERELLA]
To got to the Festival-
[CINDERELLA, JACK, JACK'S MOTHER, BAKER, WIFE]
Into the woods
Without regret,
The choice is made,
The task is set.
Into the woods,
But not forget-
Ting why I'm on the journey.
(Little Red Riding hood Joins)
Into the woods
to get my wish,
I don't care how,
The time is now.
[JACK'S MOTHER]
Into the woods to sell the cow-
[JACK]
Into the woods to get the money-
[BAKER'S WIFE]
Into the woods to lift the spell-
[BAKER]
To make the potion-
[CINDERELLA]
To go to the Festival-
[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
Into the woods to Grandmother's house...
Into the woods to Grandmother's house...
[ALL]
The way is clear,
The light is good,
I have no fear,
Nor no one should.
The woods are just trees,
The trees are just wood.
No need to be afraid there-
[CINDERELLA & BAKER]
There's something in the glade there...
[ALL]
Into the woods,
Without delay,
But careful not
To lose the way.
Into the woods,
Who knows what may
Be lurking on the journey?
Into the woods
To get the thing
That makes it worth
The journeying.
into the woods-
[STEPMOTHER & STEPSISTERS]
To see the King-
[JACK & MOTHER]
To sell the cow-
[BAKER & WIFE]
To make the potion-
[ALL]
To see-
To sell-
To get-
To bring-
To make-
To lift-
To go to the Festival-!
Into the woods!
Into the woods!
Into the woods,
Then out of the woods,
And home before dark!
* * * * * * * * *
Not every fairy tale comes from Western sources. The main character in the classic Chinese novel entitled Journey to the West is the mischievous Sun Wukong (also known as the Monkey King). A new DVD of Monkey King at Spider Cave has just been released and is well worth the price for anyone interested in shadow puppetry.Using the techniques he has perfected at San Francisco's ShadowLight Productions, Larry Reed directs 19 performers and musicians from Taipei and the Bay area in a rare combination of shadow theatre and film. One of the few Americans who has been trained in wayang kulit and Balinese shadow puppetry, Reed has performed around the world in this tradition for 35 years. In the early 1990's, he began expanding the scope of ShadowLight's artistic activities and invented a shadow casting method that combines traditional techniques of shadow theatre techniques with cinematic effects, modern theatre, and dance styles.
Performed both behind and in front of a 15 x 30 foot screen, the original works Reed has created for ShadowLight employ specially-designed projectors that can cast silhouettes of puppets, actors, and cut-out sets (which can all be manipulated to create cinematic effects live on stage). Created by a collaborating ensemble of writers, choreographers, composers, designers, actors, dancers, musicians, and puppeteers from Chinese, Tibetan, Indonesian, Japanese, Filipino, and Latin American. performing arts traditions, each show features live music and is performed before a live audience.
Performed in Mandarin with English subtitles, Monkey King at Spider Cave's fascinating blend of theatrical techniques makes it feel like an exotic form of black-and-white animation. The film's charming visuals are enhanced by a stunning score (click here to order your own copy). Here's a brief trailer:
* * * * * * * * * * *
The big news, this week, was the arrival of Shrek the Musical at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre. While I arrived at the theatre with lowered expectations (the show was greeted with modest reviews when it opened in New York and friends had been quick to label it as "drek"), for the first time in years I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed the show. |
| Eric Petersen as Shrek (Photo by: Joan Marcus) |
How much, you ask? I liked Shrek the Musical a helluva lot more than Spamalot or Wicked. I also think that Tim Hatley's costume, puppet, and scenic designs are the most inventive -- and most thrilling -- to be seen since Julie Taymor's work on 1997's musical adaptation of The Lion King. In an interview for Live Design, Hatley (who won the Tony Awards for Best Costume and Best Scenic design for both Spamalot and Shrek the Musical) described some of the challenges he faced in bringing a popular full-length animation feature to the stage:
"With everything up for grabs in the early stages, the biggest decisions were how much to stick to the 2001 movie. The designers could, however, do it differently. “The clothes in the movie are plain and not very detailed. At the beginning of the project, I spent a few days with the animators in Los Angeles, who were working on Shrek the Third. They said that the one thing they weren’t able to do on the first Shrek was animate fabric, which was time-consuming and expensive. If I just copied the film, it would look really, really dull. So we went for great cuts, colors, and textures.
For Shrek’s vertically-challenged nemesis, the fairy tale-hating Lord Farquaad, the design is a simple vaudeville trick, just sticking a pair of shoes on his kneecaps. We cover his shins in a shin guard that is molded to his leg and heavily padded. The shoes are on a complicated, articulated mechanism that allows the feet to move up and down so it appears as if he’s walking."
 |
| Lord Farquaad (David F. M. Vaughn) and the ensemble in Shrek Photo by: Joan Marcus |
From the moment is greeted by a Julie Andrews-like voice admonishing them to turn off their cell phones and get out their candy wrappers (or else a terrible fate awaits them), Shrek the Musical starts strong and never loses its momentum. With plenty of song and spectacle, it propels itself forward with a momentum that may only be matched by 1966's Mame. A highlight of the first act is "Forever," the number in which the female dragon (sung by Carrie Compere) falls in love with Donkey (Alan Mingo, Jr.)
 |
| The Dragon and the Donkey (Alan Mingo, Jr.) in Shrek Photo by: Joan Marcus |
The design for Hatley's dragon (better than any I've seen in productions of Richard Wagner's opera, Siegfried) is worth the price of admission. The constant wit behind the costume designs for familiar characters like Pinocchio, TheWicked Witch, The Three Bears, Tweedledum, the Three Blind Mice, Peter Pan, the big bad wolf, and a dwarf named Grumpy deliver a superb comic spectacle, egged on by Jeanine Tesori's delightful score.
The entire show has been staged with great wit and athleticism (watch for a snarky dig at Les Miserables) by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford (the hilarious joy of Princess Fiona's tap dance number with a chorus of rats makes up for having sat through the abomination known as The Nutcracker in 3D).
As the two romantic leads, Eric Petersen (Shrek) and Haven Burton (Princess Fiona) demonstrated that fart jokes as old as Plautus -- and that were once staples of vaudeville -- will never lose their popularity. They received solid support from Alan Mingo, Jr. (Donkey), Blakely Slaybaugh (Pinocchio) and Aymee Garcia (Mama Bear, Gingy). Although Shrek may be the protagonist, the evening really belongs to David F. M. Vaughn, whose portrayal of the obnoxious Lord Farquaard provokes frightening thoughts about what might happen if the Rachel (Ben Schatz) ever dropped out of the Kinsey Sicks and landed in the middle of a fairy tale gone wrong.
Often, when one attends an opening night of a touring production, the audience reaction may seem overhyped and over the top. In this case (as with the recent revival of Dreamgirls), the audience's screaming was fully justified. Shrek the Musical is a grand piece of old-fashioned entertainment. Performances continue at the Orpheum Theatre through January 2, 2011 (click here to order tickets). In the meantime, here's the trailer with members of the original Broadway cast:
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