About the Book
Experience the original musical from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, which is now a major motion picture from Disney, starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp, and directed by Rob Marshall. Winner of three Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Score It is that joyous rarity, a work of sophisticated artistic ambition and deep political purpose that affords nonstop pleasure. - William A. Henry III, Time Into the Woods brings to musical life Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel and other well-known fairy-tale characters. Interwoven with these classic tales is the story of the baker and his wife, whose longing for a child is thwarted by the mischievous witch who lives next door. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine have fashioned a modern musical classic which has been performed countless times all over the world since its Tony Award-winning debut in 1987. Sondheim's songs, seamlessly melded into Lapine's text, are perfect expressions of character and action, which reflect the complications of living in modern society and the difficult choices we encounter on the paths of our lives. Into the Woods is now brought vividly to life for the first time on screen by director Rob Marshall, the filmmaker behind the Academy Award-winning musical Chicago. Includes eight full-color pages of photographs from the movie. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy, and the complete scores (music and lyrics) for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, Company, A Little Night Music, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Passion, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd, among others. He has won seven Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many other honors. James Lapine wrote the book for and directed the musicals Into the Woods, Passion, and Sunday in the Park with George (all with scores by Stephen Sondheim) and Falsettos, A New Brain, Muscles, and Little Miss Sunshine (all with scores by William Finn). He has written and directed numerous plays, and has received three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. Please note that this is the script of the original musical from which the film was adapted, not the film's screenplay.
About the Author: Stephen Sondheim is generally recognized as one of the most influential and innovative artists working in contemporary musical theatre. He has written lyrics for West Side Story, Gypsy and Do I Hear a Waltz, and the complete scores (music and lyrics) for works such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, Company, A Little Night Music, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Passion, Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd/ He has won six Tony Awards for Best Score for a Musical, a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, an Academy Award for Best Song, eight Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and many other honors. James Lapine has written and directed the plays Twelve Dreams, Table Settings, Luck, Pluck and Virtue, Fran's Bed, The Moment When, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, and Act One, an adaptation of Moss Hart's autobiography. He has written the book for and directed the musicals Into the Woods, Passion and Sunday in the Park with George (all with scores by Stephen Sondheim) and Falsettos, A New Brain, Muscles and Little Miss Sunshine (all with scores by William Finn). He has directed numerous plays on Broadway and at leading theatres around the country, and has received three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.