Prologue: Into the Woods

[Narrator]
Once upon a time

[Cinderella]
I wish

[Narrator]
In a far-off kingdom

[Cinderella]
More than anything
More than life

[Narrator]
Lived a fair maiden

[Cinderella]
More than jewels

[Narrator]
A sad young lad

[Jack]
I wish

[Narrator]
And a childless baker

[Jack]
More than life

[Cinderella and Baker]
I wish

[Narrator]
With his wife

[Jack]
More than anything

[Cinderella, Baker and Jack]
More than the moon

[Baker's Wife]
I wish

[Cinderella]
The King is giving a Festival

[Baker and Wife]
More than life

[Jack]
I wish

[Cinderella]
I wish to go to the Festival

[Baker and Wife]
More than riches

[Jack]
I wish my cow would
Give us some milk

[Baker's Wife]
More than anything

[Cinderella]
And the Ball

[Jack]
Please, pal-

[Baker]
I wish we had a child

[Baker's Wife]
I want a child

[Cinderella]
I wish to go to the Festival

[Jack]
Squeeze, pal

[Jack]
I wish you'd give us some
Milk or even cheese
I wish

[Baker and Wife]
I wish we might have a child
I wish

[Cinderella]
I wish

[Stepmother]
You wish to go to the Festival?

[Narrator]
The poor girl's mother had died

[Stepmother]
You, Cinderella, the Festival?
You wish to go to the Festival?

[Florinda]
What, you, Cinderella, the Festival?
The Festival?!

[Lucinda]
What, you wish to go to the Festival?

[All Three]
The Festival?
The King's Festival?

[Narrator]
And her father had taken for his new wife

[Stepmother]
The Festival

[Narrator]
A woman with two daughters of her own

[Florinda]
Look at you nails!

[Lucinda]
Look at your dress!

[Stepmother]
People would laugh at you-

[Cinderella]
Nevertheless
I still want to go to the Festival
And dance before the Prince

[Stepmother and Stepsisters]
She still wants to go to the Festival
And dance before the Prince?!

[Narrator]
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]
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 house was full of gold-
I wish a lot of things

[Baker's Wife]
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

[Narrator]
Cinderella's Stepmother had a surprise for her

[Stepmother]
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
I 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]
Ah
Quick, little birds
Flick through the ashes
Pick and peck, but swiftly
Sift through the ashes
Into the pot

[Jack's Mother]
Listen well, son. Milky-White must be taken to market

[Jack]
But, mother, no-
He's the best cow-

[Jack's Mother]
Look at her
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 wither's wither with her-
And no one keeps a cow for a friend!

Sometimes I fear your 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]
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 ut in a twist

[Lucinda]
Who will be there?

[Cinderella]
Mother said be good
Father siad be nice
That was always their advice
So be nice, Cinderella
Good, Cinderella
Nice good good nice-

[Florinda]
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]
Not that tight!

[Cinderella]
Sorry

[Florinda]
Clod

[Baker's Wife]
Who minght that be?

[Baker]
It's the witch from next door

[Narrator]
The old enchantress told the couple she had
Placed a spell on their house

[Baker]
What spell?

[Witch]
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

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 my rampion
(My champion! My favorite!)-
I should have laid a spell on him
Right there
Could have changed him into stone
Or a dog or a chair

But I let him have the rampion-
I'd 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]
I had a brother?

[Witch]
No. But you had a sister

[Narrator]
But the witch refused to tell him anymore of his sister
Not even that her name was Rapunzel

[Witch]
I though I had been more than reasonable
But how was I to know what your father
Had also hidden in his pocket?!

[Baker]
What?

[Witch]
Beans

[Baker and 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!
And the lightning flash!
And- well, that's another story
Never mind-

Anyway, at last
The big day came
And 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

And 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 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 tellling you the same
I tell kings and queens
Don't ever never ever
Mess around with my greens!
Especially the beans

[Jack's Mother]
Now closely to me, Jack
Lead Milky-White to market and
Fetch the best price you can
Are you listening to me?

Jack Jack Jack
Head in a sack
The house is getting colder
This is not the 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 to the woods
And don't delay-
You have to face
The marketplace
Into the woods to journey's end-

[Jack]
Into the woods to sell a friend-

[Narrator]
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 woods 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 day's time

And you shall have
I guarantee
A child as perfect
As child can be

Go to the wood!

[Stepmother]
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]
Our carriage is waiting

[Stepmother]
We must be gone

[Cinderella]
Good night, Father
I wish

[Baker]
Look what I found in father's hunting jacket

[Baker's Wife]
Six beans. We'll take them with us

[Baker]
No!

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

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

[Baker's Wife]
You don't remember?

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]
And so the Baker, reluctantly, set off to meet the
Enchantress' 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-

[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 slipper as pure as gold
The cow, the cape
The slipper as pure as gold-

[Baker's Wife]
The hair!

[Cinderella and Baker]
Into the woods
It's time to go
It may be all
In vain, you/I know
Into the woods-
But even so
I have to take the journey

[Cinderella, Baker and Wife]
Into the woods
The path is straight
You know it well
But who can tell-

[Baker and 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 got to the Festival-

[Cinderella, Jack, Jack's Mother, Baker, Wife]
Into the woods
Without regret
The choice is made
The task is set
Into the woods
But not forget-
Ting why I'm on the journey

(Little Red Riding hood Joins)
Into the woods
To get my wish
I don't care how
The time is now

[Jack's Mother]
Into the woods 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
No no one should

The woods are just trees
The trees are just wood
No need to be afraid there-

[Cinderella and Baker]
There's something in the glade there

[All]
Into the woods
Without delay
But careful no
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 and Stepsisters]
To see the King-

[Jack and Mother]
To sell the cow-

[Baker and 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!