Three Tune Tuesday: Sondheim's Into The Woods

I was sorting out my Spotify playlists when I stumbled upon my Into The Woods favorites. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you already know how much I love theater and musicals!

Into The Woods is a musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine that combines familiar fairy tales like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk into one story.

Just last August, I finally got to watch the Filipino adaptation of Into The Woods produced by Theatre Group Asia at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. I’ve been wanting to see this musical for so long, and when I heard that Lea Salonga was playing The Witch plus other amazing Filipino theater actors were part of the cast, I knew I had to go.

I’ll share more about that experience in another post soon! But for now, I want to share my top three favorite songs from Into The Woods~

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🎶 Prologue

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—

This is where we’re introduced to all the main characters and their wishes. It’s quite a long opening number but I love how all the characters’ lines overlap. It sounds chaotic yet magical at the same time!! Imagine hearing it live??! Everyone’s heading into the woods for their own reason. Some to fulfill a wish, some to complete a task, and I just love how it all comes together!

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🎶 I Know Things Now

And I know things now
Many valuable things
That I hadn't known before:
Do not put your faith
In a cape and a hood
They will not protect you
The way that they should
And take extra care with strangers—
Even flowers have their dangers
And though scary is exciting
Nice is different than good

I love how this particular song narrates Little Red Riding Hood’s story after meeting the Wolf, and how she learned her lesson. It’s such a fun and meaningful song.

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🎶 Your Fault

You're responsible!
You're the one to blame!
It's your fault!

This one's chaotic!! Mr. Baker, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Jack are all blaming each other for the chaos caused by the Giant. The song is so fast-paced and witty that I sometimes try to sing along as if I’m one of the characters arguing with them 😆