8 Reasons Why You Should Watch Into the Woods!

Read: Bios of the Into The Woods Cast | For More info: Into the Woods Manila Philippines FAQs

I came to watch it because Mila was raving about it and it was one of her favorite musical show. I intentionally watched without any background information on it. Into the Woods brilliantly combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with the original story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child. I honestly thought that the show ended with a cliche ending in Act 1 (which is almost 2 hours already) and the characters lived happily ever after. Act 1 is for the kids and Act 2 is for the big boys and girls. I love the non-cliche, adult-themed, and crazy ending of Into the Woods! Spanx describe it as “thought-provoking, foot-tapping,”WTF was that?!?!?!”- chuckle inducing, night at the theater.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if we also have our own home grown musical which combines the story of Captain Barbell, Darna, Mulawin and ang Panday combined with the original story of Inday. First Act will revolve around how they met and fall in love with their special someone and how they conquer their own challenges or situation. The fun begins with Act 2 when Panday falls in love with Inday and there is a love triangle with Captain Barbell. Act 2 would focus on intrigas, kaliwaan, and scandals made for showbiz’s exposes and lessons learned from them.

Into the Woods is a theater star-studded production that is highly recommended to watch! It is too bad that the shows are not sold out because not a lot of people know what Into the Woods is all about.

SYNOPSIS
by June Abernathy (from sondheim.com: Putting it together since 1994)

Into The Woods blends various familiar fairy tales with an original story of a childless Baker and his Wife, who catalyze the action of the story by attempting to reverse a spell on their family in order to have a child.

In the first act, the characters set out to achieve their goal of living “Happily Ever After” through familiar routes – Cinderella goes to the Ball and captures the heart of Prince Charming, Jack climbs the Beanstalk and finds a land of Giants and Gold, Little Red Riding Hood survives her clash with the wolf at Grandma’s house, and Rapunzel manages to escape her tower with the aid of a handsome prince who climbs her long hair. The Baker and his Wife move through their stories while pursuing their own goal – the Witch who keeps Rapunzel (revealed to be the Baker’s sister) has put the curse on his house, and agrees to lift it if the Baker and his Wife can find the ingredients to help her reverse a spell which her mother has laid on her, keeping her old and ugly. Those ingredients are: A Slipper As Pure As Gold, which the Baker’s Wife gets from Cinderella, A Cow As White As Milk, which the Baker buys from Jack in exchange for magic beans, A Cape As Red As Blood, which the Baker gets from Little Red Riding Hood in exchange for freeing her and Granny from the Wolf, and Hair As Yellow As Corn, which they get from Rapunzel. The ingredients are gathered, and the spell works, stripping the Witch of her power, but restoring her beauty. At the end of Act I, all the characters seem poised to live “Happily Ever After”. Act Two, however, deals with the consequences that traditional fairy tales conveniently ignore. What does one do with a dead Giant in the back yard? Does marrying a Prince really lead to a happy and fulfilling life? Is carving up the wolf the solution? Is the Giant always wrong? In Act two, all the characters must deal with what happens AFTER “Happily Ever After”. As they face a genuine threat to their community, they realize that all actions have consequences, and their lives are inescapably interdependent, but also that that interdependence is their greatest strength.

(Left to Right) 1. Menchu Lauchengco Yulo as the Bakers Wife & Cathy Azanza as Cinderella, 2. Angela Padilla as Rapunzel, 3. Joaqui Valdes as Jack, 4. Julia Abueva as Little Red Riding Hood & Menchu Lauchengco Yulo & Michael Williams

8 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH Into the Woods (a musical)
1. To know why people are raving about Into the Woods because of Act 2 where the fairy tale characters have to live with the consequences of their actions.
2. To see why Into the Woods was a winner of three Tony Awards – including Best Book and Best Score and has produced a Grammy award-winning album.
3. To bond with your kids and discussing themes like growing up, parents and children relationship, accepting responsibility, morality and wish fulfilment and its consequences.
4. To count the number of people who died in Act 2 which includes the Narrator (for some reason).
5. To rave about Julia Abueva’s performance (who is only 11 years old) as the Little Red Riding Hood. In fact, I think she deserves the best performance award for that show. I regret not watching her in Children’s Letters To God, a musical.
6. To impress your date with a highly entertaining night of a crazy fairy tale story 🙂
7. To simply watch why Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo is one of the country’s leading musical theatre stars!
8. To be mesmerized by how Into the Woods brilliantly combines the well-known fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with the original story of the Baker and his Wife who desperately want a child.

More Information and Reviews:
Into the Woods Manila Philippines FAQs by Bachelor girl
Into the Woods by New Voice Company by Watergirl
THE WOODS are Lovely, Dark, and Deep…by Spanx