Into the Woods first premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Book. It has since been produced throughout the world and was adapted into a major motion picture in 2014. This production marks its first time on Broadway in 20 years.
There is, and part of that is finally, once and for all, wiping the taste of the 2014 Disney movie adaptation out of everyone’s minds. It’s not that Rob Marshall’s adaptation was a total disaster (the lingering general consensus among “Into the Woods” fans mostly amounts to: “Not nearly as bad as I expected”), but it was a filmic treatment of a tragicomedy that seemed to be about equally afraid of both slapstick and sorrow, favoring an inoffensive, mushy middle. What a relief it is, then, for anyone who might not have seen a stage version since then, to re-experience all the chortle-out-loud moments that got undercut for the purpose of screen realism. (It’s worth pointing out that the show’s polarized moods are not so schematically split up that the authors don’t throw in plenty of laugh lines even after things get deeply sad and dark.) How much greater, on top of that, when two of the theater’s great conjoined show-closers — “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen” — arrive a little before 11 and, on cue, you find yourself checking your tear ducts, not your watch.
Unfortunately, Block’s performance seemed to be the exception rather than the rule in this production. Despite director Lear deBessonet’s stripped-back production that aimed to make the show feel less mystical and more human, the show felt more intellectually stimulating than emotional.
1986 | New York |
Reading New York |
1986 | San Diego, CA (Regional) |
Old Globe Production (Pre-Broadway) San Diego, CA (Regional) |
1987 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1988 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
1990 | West End |
London Production West End |
1997 | Broadway |
Reunion Concert Broadway |
2002 | Los Angeles |
Los Angeles Revival (Pre-Broadway) Los Angeles |
2002 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2007 | West End |
London Revival West End |
2015 | Off-Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Production Off-Broadway |
2015 | St. Louis, MO (Regional) |
The Muny Production St. Louis, MO (Regional) |
2016 | US Tour |
Fiasco Theater National Tour US Tour |
2019 | Los Angeles |
Hollywood Bowl Revival Los Angeles |
2019 | Immersive |
Rooftop Musical Society Immersive Production Immersive |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2023 | US Tour |
US Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Julia Lester |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Phillipa Soo |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Sara Bareilles |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Into the Woods |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Julia Lester |
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