Luc
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The Official Into the Woods Question and Answer Thread!!!You've got a question? Somebody on this forum is bound to have an answer! A similar thread (created, I believe, by qpidsangel) is found in the RENT forum. You can ask any question you like about the show, and anybody can answer. The only rule is that you are not allowed to make fun of the person for asking the question - if you think it's a silly question, TOUGH LUCK!! Hold your piece.
Here, qpidsangel said it better in the RENT forum:
| Quote: | The all encompassing I don't understand ________. Use for help with lyrics/lines and plot confusion etc
The Rules in this thread is that no one, not even jokingly is allowed to make fun of anyone for asking a question. Safe enviornment people. Safe enviornment. |
GO!!
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BroadwayBud
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I don't mean to be rude, but how is it that You can make an "official" thread of anything?
It really isn't a bad idea, but... 
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qpidsangel
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Thanks for the nod.
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Luc
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| BroadwayBud wrote: | I don't mean to be rude, but how is it that You can make an "official" thread of anything?
It really isn't a bad idea, but... |
Sorry. Just don't click on it, and everything will be fine.
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stlgurl702
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i dont get how the bakers wife died... ive never seen the show though... ive just listened to the cast recording obsessivly...
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broadwaybabe1364
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| stlgurl702 wrote: | | i dont get how the bakers wife died... ive never seen the show though... ive just listened to the cast recording obsessivly... |
The earth comes open and she falls into it. (sorry....I really don't know how to explain it)
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ConverseSneaker
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What happens is the giant comes stomping around and she knocks a tree over and it crushes the Baker's Wife.
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Luc
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^Are you sure? I'm pretty certain that that doesn't happen in the OBC DVD.... I think it's exactly how broadwaybabe1364 explained it (we have SO many broadwaybabes on this forum  ).
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qpidsangel
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| ConverseSneaker wrote: | | What happens is the giant comes stomping around and she knocks a tree over and it crushes the Baker's Wife. |
This is correct
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Baker
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The way it's done in the OBC is a bit vague and artistic... she falls behind a platform thing and the background changes to red... but later Jack says, "I found her beneath a tree," or something like that, doesn't he? That would imply that she was crushed by the tree. Then the sounds of the giant's footsteps just before she dies and the fact that Jack buried her in a footprint shows that the tree was knocked down by the giant.
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what_the_heck013
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| BroadwayBud wrote: | | It really isn't a bad idea, but... |
I believe that smiley was deemed condescending.
Anyways, I always thought that the baker's wife was eaten by the giant.
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The Drama Queen
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| what_the_heck013 wrote: | | BroadwayBud wrote: | | It really isn't a bad idea, but... |
I believe that smiley was deemed condescending.
Anyways, I always thought that the baker's wife was eaten by the giant. |
If she was eaten, then what did Jack bury?
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what_the_heck013
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Shhhh... Jack is a loon anyways. ITW gets very confusing once everyone starts dying. The first time my sister saw it, she was 11 and she kept turning to me and asking "What just happened?"
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Luc
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| what_the_heck013 wrote: | | Shhhh... Jack is a loon anyways. ITW gets very confusing once everyone starts dying. The first time my sister saw it, she was 11 and she kept turning to me and asking "What just happened?" |
I can just see it now:
"Oh, it makes perfect sense, sis. She was just beaten over the head and died standing up. How did you not see that??"
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Baker
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I was definitely very confused when I saw it for the first time when I was 9... I understood everything that went on except for the Baker's Wife's death. When that happened, I just looked over at my mom and whispered, "Did she just die?"
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Theatregeeke
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New question:
How old is the Baker's wife supposed to be? I'm auditioning for the show in Nov. and I would love to audition for her, but I'm not sure if I'm too young. I'm 20. And I think with this company all the parts will be cast age appropriate.
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ConverseSneaker
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that should be about right. I believe she's not an older woman, like over 35, but she's not 19. I would guess anywhere from 21-30.
| Quote: | | we have SO many broadwaybabes on this forum |
Atleast they aren't Hollywood hotties. :-&
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KateyGee
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If the Baker's father ran away when he was very young and his mother died when Rapunzel was born, then who raised Jack? And how does he know his father 'died' in a baking accident?
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Impossible Dream
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I'm pretty sure Jack was raised by his mother. No idea about the Baker but I would presume he had some adoptive parents somewhere (Mother and Father Bear of Goldilocks fame?) who might well have made up the "baking accident" thing as the easiest thing to tell a child until he was older.
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Theatregeeke
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| KateyGee wrote: | | If the Baker's father ran away when he was very young and his mother died when Rapunzel was born, then who raised Jack? And how does he know his father 'died' in a baking accident? |
Did you mean to say who raised the baker? Jack was raised by mommy.It never says who raised the baker, maybe he lived at an orphanage or something.
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ConverseSneaker
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He could have raised himself, like he told Jack to do because it was time, he was a man now. And maybe that's just what he told himself, a baking accident.
As for Jack, after the non-existing father left, his mther raised him.
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Impossible Dream
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Might the Baker not be a bit young to do that? His father must have vanished from the scene early, or the Baker would have had some memory of him.
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Baker
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In fairy tales, young children are often left to fend for themselves. I think the Baker probably did raise himself, maybe he fed himself off of the Witch's garden and received charity (or stole, a la Little Red).
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KateyGee
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i meant the baker. yeah, i mean i guess he was raising himself. i was just wondering where he got "baking accident" from.
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Impossible Dream
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Perhaps he just thought that was the most likely explanation?
Great, now I'm having mental images of the Baker doing Oliver! and singing about "gotta pick a pocket or two ..."
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KateyGee
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HAHA! that would be good!
But I mean he would have to have been at least a year old when his parents left/died. So how did he care for himself?
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Theaterfan101
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New Question
What Fairy Tale are the Baker and his Wife (and the witch and Mysterous man?) supposed to be from? All of the rest of the charecters are self-explainitory, but I never understood where The baker and his wife were from.
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InaraSanguine
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The baker and his wife are to tie the story together. (The witch from Rapunzel.) (Mysterious man, also to tie the story together)
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Salome
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| Theaterfan101 wrote: | New Question
What Fairy Tale are the Baker and his Wife (and the witch and Mysterous man?) supposed to be from? All of the rest of the charecters are self-explainitory, but I never understood where The baker and his wife were from. |
James Lapine created the Baker and His Wife for the show.
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Luc
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I always find it so cool that "Baker" and "Baker's Wife" are names of the leads in the show. Normally that would be a one-liner in a chorus number!
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Bombafanatic
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| Quote: | | I always find it so cool that "Baker" and "Baker's Wife" are names of the leads in the show. Normally that would be a one-liner in a chorus number! |
Yes, but also kind of sad. . . I mean, they don't even get names!
Now that I think of it, a lot of ItW characters have no names- the Witch, the Princes (they're named after Rapunzel and Cinderella, for goodness' sakes!) the Stepmother, the Old Man, and probably more, which my tired brain can't remember. . .
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beck
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yeah i noticed that too. i just got cast as baker's wife, and i find it really interesting to develope your character, when you dont even know your own name!
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Baker
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There are only 5 characters in Into the Woods with real names - Cinderella, Jack, Florinda, Lucinda, and Rapunzel. In fairy tales, it's rare for characters to be named if they aren't the main character and sometimes the main character isn't even named either. I'm really glad Sondheim and Lapine decided to continue on that way, it keeps it very fairy tale-like.
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TheatreGirl
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| beck wrote: | | yeah i noticed that too. i just got cast as baker's wife, and i find it really interesting to develope your character, when you dont even know your own name! |
actually, in a way, it makes it more interesting because then you can make up a name for yourself, just like all of the other unknown info you have to make up when playing a character. when i was in a small skit this past summer, i had a name, but i created an entire backstory for my character that nobody watching the performance would ever know, but it provided me with lots of entertainment, so all was good in the world.
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Eponine93
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| Quote: | | There are only 5 characters in Into the Woods with real names - Cinderella, Jack, Florinda, Lucinda, and Rapunzel. |
All of these characters need names because they are well-known, common names in fairy tales- except for Lucinda and Florinda. I find it interesting the two most minor characters in the show are named while the two most major characters created for the show are not- Baker and Bakers Wife.
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Baker
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I'm not saying it's bad that they had these characters named. I'm just stating the facts. 
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Bombafanatic
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| Quote: | | I find it interesting the two most minor characters in the show are named while the two most major characters created for the show are not- Baker and Bakers Wife. |
Whether or not Lucinda and Florinda are the most minor characters can be debated.
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Eponine93
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Sorry, they're not. They fall third and fourth to Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. However, they are not huge parts, to be honest and their names never really come up individually in the show. The fact the leads of the Bakers Wife and the Baker have no names while the small roles of the stepsisters are called Lucinda and Florinda is really intriguing. What message do you think Sondhiem is trying to tell with that?
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bwayluvor31
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Neither the witch or the two princes have real names either. I think Sondheim was going for two things with this. One: That your name doesn't necessarily reflect who you are or how important you are. Two: I think he gave the lesser characters rel names so that audiences would remember who they were. Not many people who've seen ITW need to know the name of the Baker's Wife to remember who she was, but they might need to be reminded about Lucinda and Florinda.
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The Drama Queen
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I'd think the Steward and Cinderella's Father would be smaller parts also. Not to mention Granny, Giantess, Cinderella's Mother, all three of which form a decent sized cameo while combined, but in their seperate forms are quite small.
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Eponine93
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Sorry, I was thinking mostly about the Jr. version. The thing is, the young women playing Lucinda and Florinda ONLY play Lucinda and Florinda, while the rest of those roles are combined. Lucinda and Florinda aren't the smallest roles, but the actresses playing them have the smallest parts.
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The Drama Queen
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| Eponine93 wrote: | | Lucinda and Florinda aren't the smallest roles, but the actresses playing them have the smallest parts. |
I'm confused, because it sounds like "role" and "part" are the same thing to me.
Lucinda and Florinda have several solo's as well as speaking parts and for the first act at least are the main source of comic relief. Their parts are MUCH bigger than that of Cinderella's Father, who only says "The carriage is waiting." and "I've always wanted a son", and the Steward, who does get a bit more stage time than Cinderella's Father, but still doesn't even sing. Lucinda and Florinda are very memorable characters and are in no way the smallest parts, or roles.
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christinadaae
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I have a question: why isn't Our Little World used more often.
We did it in my production (Raupnzel) and it was one of my favorite songs. Maybe I'm biased, but it really sets up the relationship between Rapunzel and the witch.
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newbiedirector
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Personally, Our Little World just doesn't seem to fit right to me. It wasn't in the original show, and the show already runs so long! I guess I feel like this relationship is already implied and the song is mostly goofy, so it doesn't add any depth to the characters.
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ConverseSneaker
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It was added to the show during the revival, which wasn't very good. Most productions pick and choose if they want to use that song or go with the orignal verison.
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Kaiana
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| christinadaae wrote: | I have a question: why isn't Our Little World used more often.
We did it in my production (Raupnzel) and it was one of my favorite songs. Maybe I'm biased, but it really sets up the relationship between Rapunzel and the witch. |
As another biased former Rapunzel, I agree that Our Little World should be used more often. I think Rapunzel really can be developed a lot more than she is just in the script, and Our little world is the perfect opportunity to convey this to the audience. It doesn't have to be done as goofy either.
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christinadaae
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| newbiedirector wrote: | | Personally, Our Little World just doesn't seem to fit right to me. It wasn't in the original show, and the show already runs so long! I guess I feel like this relationship is already implied and the song is mostly goofy, so it doesn't add any depth to the characters. |
I disagree. It adds so much depth to the characters.
Without the song, we have know idea how Rapunzel really feels about her "mother." Yes, the song is good for laughs. But, if our production hadn't have done this song, I wouldn't have known who my character was as well as I did. And I think it makes "Stay With Me" so much more powerful, because we know that it is really breaking Rapunzels heart to be cast away. Before, someone could say that she was happy to leave because she hated the tower.
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Baker
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Yeah, until I really heard Our Little World, it seemed a lot like Rapunzel would hate the Witch - but with the song, we really get to see that Rapunzel really does believe the Witch is her mother and loves her and trusts her as such. Without it, it's easy to believe that Rapunzel hates the Witch for trapping her in the tower.
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