the encores! hit transfers to Broadway

New York City Center's glorious Encores! production returns with a limited Broadway run of Jame Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's cautionary fairytale. Featuring an array of Broadway's superstars du jour! Into the Woods has become a classic musical theatre adventure as Lapine's book and Sondheim's twisty lyrics examine the nature of desire, and what we're prepared to sacrifice to get what we want. This acclaimed production underscores Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet's commitment to highlighting the power of theatre to connect us all.

In 1987, Broadway welcomed Into The Woods with open arms, winning three Tony awards including best score, book, and lead actress. A few years later it landed on the West End and in 2010 the revival bagged another award. In 2014, the musical went from stage to screen where it was immortalized in celluloid, starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, and James Corden. 

What is the story?

Sondheim's trademark angular melodies and Lapine's witty lyrics wrap around an amalgamation of a series of Brothers Grimm tales. The Baker and his wife are at the center of the web of stories, driving the action with their deep desire to have a child. When they're visited by a local crone, she reveals she placed a curse on their family ages back and will reverse their barrenness if they acquire crucial ingredients for one of her potions. Together they set off, meeting a host of colorful and familiar characters on the way. 

There's Little Red, who is trying to escape the clutches of the big bad wolf and visit her grandmother, the witch's very own daughter Rapunzel, Cinderella, who yearns to go to the King's festival, Jack, whose beanstalk heralds a very angry giant and the Princes chasing after their long lost loves.