Prologue: Into the Woods

[NARRATOR, spoken]
Once upon a time—

[CINDERELLA]
I wish…

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—in a far-off kingdom—

[CINDERELLA]
More than anything...

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—lived a fair maiden—

[CINDERELLA]
More than life...

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—a sad young lad—

[CINDERELLA]
More than jewels...

[JACK]
I wish…

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—and a childless baker—

[JACK]
More than life...

[CINDERELLA & BAKER]
I wish…

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—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]
More than life...

[JACK]
I wish…

[CINDERELLA]
I wish to go to the Festival—

[BAKER]
More than riches...

[CINDERELLA]
And the Ball…

[JACK]
I wish my cow would give us some milk

[CINDERELLA & BAKER'S WIFE]
More than anything...

[BAKER]
I wish we had a child

[JACK]
Please, pal—

[BAKER'S WIFE]
I want a child...

[JACK]
Squeeze, pal

[CINDERELLA]
I wish to go to the Festival

[JACK]
I wish you'd give us some milk
Or even cheese...

[BAKER'S WIFE]
I wish we might have a child

[CINDERELLA, BAKER'S WIFE, BAKER & JACK]
I wish…

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
You wish to go to the Festival?

[NARRATOR, spoken]
The poor girl's mother had died—

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
You, Cinderella, the Festival?
You wish to go to the Festival?

[FLORINDA, spoken]
What, you, Cinderella, the Festival?
The Festival?!

[LUCINDA, spoken]
What, you wish to go to the Festival?!

[STEPMOTHER, FLORINDA & LUCINDA, spoken]
The Festival?!
The King's Festival!?

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—and her father had taken for his new wife—

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
The Festival!?

[NARRATOR, spoken]
—a woman with two daughters of her own.

[FLORINDA]
Look at your nails!

[LUCINDA]
Look at your dress!

[STEPMOTHER]
People would laugh at you—

[CINDERELLA]
Nevertheless—
I still wish to go to the Festival

[FLORINDA & LUCINDA]
You still wish to go the Festival—

[STEPMOTHER]
She still wants to go the Festival—

[STEPMOTHER, FLORINDA & LUCINDA]
—And dance before the Prince!

[STEPMOTHER & STEPSISTERS chortle with laughter musically, then fall about out of control.]

[NARRATOR, spoken]
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, spoken]
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 walls were full of gold—
I wish a lot of things...

[Two knocks on the BAKER's door. BAKER"S WIFE opens door and there stands LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD.]

[BAKER'S WIFE, spoken]
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...

[BAKER gives her a loaf of bread.]

[NARRATOR, spoken]
Cinderella's stepmother had a surprise for her.

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
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…

[Birds descend to the fireplace.]

Quick, little birds
Flick through the ashes
Pick and peck, but swiftly
Sift through the ashes
Into the pot...

[JACK'S MOTHER, spoken]
Listen well, son. Milky-White must be taken to market.

[JACK, spoken]
But, Mother, no—he's the best cow—

[JACK'S MOTHER, spoken]
Look at her!
(sung)
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 withers wither with her—
And no one keeps a cow for a friend!
(spoken)
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, spoken]
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?

[LUCINDA & FLORINDA continue babbling underneath.]

[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, spoken]
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 screams and slaps CINDERELLA across the face.]

[FLORINDA, spoken]
Not that tight!

[CINDERELLA, spoken]
Sorry.

[FLORINDA, spoken]
Clod.

[Knock on BAKER's door.]

[BAKER'S WIFE, spoken]
Who might that be?

[BAKER, spoken]
It's the witch from next door!

[NARRATOR, spoken]
The old enchantress told the couple she had placed a spell on their house.

[BAKER, spoken]
What spell?

[WITCH, spoken]
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
(sung)
Greens, greens, and nothing but greens:
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery
Asparagus and watercress and
Fiddleferns 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 the rampion
(My champion!
My favorite!)--

I should have laid a spell on him
Right there—
Could have turned him into stone
Or a dog, or a chair—

But I let him have the rampion
I had 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, spoken]
I had a brother?

[WITCH, spoken]
No. But you had a sister.

[NARRATOR, spoken]
But the witch refused to tell him any more of his sister. Not even that her name was Rapunzel.

[WITCH, spoken]
I thought I had been more than reasonable. But how was I to know what your father had also hidden in his pocket?!

[BAKER, spoken]
What?

[WITCH]
Beans!

[BAKER & BAKER'S 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!
The lightning flash!
And—well, that's another story
Never mind

Anyway, at last
The big day came
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

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 a 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, spoken]
Now listen to me, Jack. Lead Milky-White to market and fetch the best price you can. Are you listening to me?
(sung)
Jack Jack Jack
Head in a sack
The house is getting colder
This is not a 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 through the woods and don't delay
We have to face
The marketplace
Into the woods to journey's end—

[JACK]
Into the woods to sell a friend—

[NARRATOR, spoken]
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 wood 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 days' time
And you shall have, I guarantee
A child as perfect as child can be
(spoken)
Go to the wood!

[WITCH disappears.]

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
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, spoken]
The carriage is waiting.

[STEPMOTHER, spoken]
We must be gone.

[CINDERELLA, spoken]
Good night, Father.

[CINDERELLA'S FATHER. spoken]
Hmm? Oh, good night.

[CINDERELLA]
I wish…

[BAKER, spoken]
Look what I found in Father's hunting jacket.

[BAKER'S WIFE, spoken]
Six beans! We'll take them with us.

[BAKER, spoken]
No!
(sung)
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 together
The spell is on our house

[BAKER, spoken]
No. You are not to come and that is final. Now, what am I to return with?

[BAKER'S WIFE, spoken]
You don't remember?
(sung)
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, spoken]
And so the baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the enchantress's 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—
(spoken)
What?

[BAKER'S WIFE]
The slipper—

[BAKER]
The slipper as pure as gold…

[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 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, I know
Into the woods—but even so
I have to take the journey

[CINDERELLA, BAKER & BAKER'S WIFE]
Into the woods, the path is straight
You (I) know it well
But who can tell—?

[BAKER & BAKER'S 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 go to the Festival—

[BAKER, WIFE, CINDERELLA, JACK & MOTHER]
Into the woods without regret
The choice is made, the task is set
Into the woods but not forget-
Ting why I'm (you're) on the journey

Into the woods to get my (our) wish
I don't care how
The time is now
Into the woods—

[JACK'S MOTHER]
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, FLORINDA & LUCINDA]
To see the King—

[JACK & JACK'S MOTHER]
To sell the cow—

[BAKER & BAKER'S 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!