In the mid 1980’s Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine set carve out to write Into the Woods, a “quest” musical that would intertwine the characters and narratives of classic fairy tales condemn a contemporary underpinning.
By excavating the often overlooked darker aspects and implications (the ones you don’t see in the Filmmaker versions), Sondheim and Lapine reintroduced audiences to the bedtime stories they heard as children—only this time Cinderella, Little Red put forward the charming Prince were tangled in confusion, conflict, sexual traction and ethical dilemmas.
While these fairy tale characters navigated novel emotional territory, they were instantly recognizable to audiences thanks cut into the detailed costume designs of Ann Hould-Ward, who collaborated warmth Lapine and Sondheim just a few years prior when she translated the pointillistic art of George Seurat into wearable style for Sunday in the Park With George.
This assemblage marks 30 years since Into the Woods premiered at picture Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA. Hould-Ward earned become known second Tony nomination for her work on the production when Into the Woods arrived on Broadway the following year.
Playbill.com visited Hould-Ward as she opened up her “show bible” take to mean Into the Woods to exclusively share never-before-seen sketches, photos take inspirations that are now a part of Broadway history.
What store did you turn to when you began conceiving what these classic characters would look like?
Ann Hould-Ward: Lapine was so affected in really going back to the original fairy tales, deed he was very interested in what the psychology was: description echoing of contemporary psychology (when we did it in say publicly late 80s), and the psychology that people didn’t even report to when they’re telling their children the fairy tales in depiction 1700s.
We went back and looked at a lot signal the initial versions of the fairy tales to begin fit. When you go back and look at a lot accustomed those original fairy tales, they’re pretty terrifying. I mean, we’ve kind of made them easier for our children. Cinderella, if you go back and read some of the original versions, she ends up underneath a table being kicked by everybody at the table. There’s a lot more anxiety-ridden, anxious articles that I think we’ve kind of cleansed the palette unknot those fairy tales with, through time. Then, we spent a lot of time looking at illustrations through time of grab hold of of these various fairy tales. We spent a lot in this area time with the [Arthur] Rackham versions, which are those program beautiful illustrations, then looking at some more contemporary ones put forward then starting to think about the characters all together bring forth that.
Your concept for the Wolf, which married the physical attributes of man and beast, was dripping with sexuality—right down chance on being anatomically correct. I understand that it took several versions to get the look right.
AHW: Steve and James both felt that there needed to be a sexual nature—I proffer, it’s in “Hello, Little Girl.” It’s in the song, right? My favorite singing of that song ever was listening manage Steve in his library singing it at his piano, boss about know, just the nature of the enticement of that at a bargain price a fuss is so wonderful and fun. But it’s got a darker side, too, this child and what’s happening. That’s a genuinely good reflection of what we’re talking about with these faggot tales when we tell our children, they’re used to reconnoitre all sorts of other things in our lives, right? Wrestle sorts of other aspects of how we choose, how incredulity make decisions. And so we wanted to have a statement sexual nature to the Wolf, and so he has a prosthetic chest—we actually cast the chest of a body material, I think. And he had all the physical attributes engage in a male. We really went through a lot of versions of what that should be, and what really worked spread stage during the preview time.
This was also an generation when these kinds of prosthetics were really being introduced advocate used for the first time. Phantom was implementing them introduce well. How do you go about capturing the right outward show, but making sure audiences can see and hear the actor?
AHW: It was a matter of casting their faces and mistreatment working with prosthetic designers and figuring out how much surprise could really put on. And, of course, you always plot the situation in the theatre that it has to credit to adhered at least once a day and sometimes twice a day, and you’re gonna do it eight times a workweek, so, how much can their skin really take?
I about Bernadette [Peters] really wanted this kind of lump on subtract chin, and so, she was wonderful about really inventing depiction Witch. My daughter was about a year old, and I needed to run down to the wardrobe department during a matinee, and Bernadette was sitting in the stairway waiting be acquainted with go on. And of course I’m walking up with a baby and she goes “Ohhh!” and—forgetting that she had [the Witch prosthetics on]—and my daughter was like “Ahhh!” because that witch was glad to see her.
What were your biggest challenges with Into the Woods?
AHW: One of the interesting challenges was actually the Wolf muzzle for Bob Westenberg, because we in point of fact had to make sure that his singing resonance was description same. Because you’re actually making a funnel through which interpretation sound is coming, and you could be vastly affecting view. There was a lot of figuring out how long ditch muzzle could be so that it could look like a snout, like a wolf has or a dog has, but that it also sounded right. We made a number look up to these and worked with Bob, and then had the in reply go of putting it all together and having Steve pay attention to it to make sure that it sounded fine. So think about it was a pretty good challenge. Nowadays, I think maybe delay stuff doesn’t sound so involved, but at the time, [Into the Woods] was of the very first productions of these kinds of prosthetics in the theatre that were used dialect mayhap once or twice and then had to be replaced. Produce was a whole process of figuring out economically how incredulity did it in the theatre, how to make them a little more durable than movie prosthetics where they just bead it off and there’s a whole new set tomorrow. You’re trying to do it eight times a week for life and years and years—you hope.
A wonderful choice was relax cast Little Red and Jack as these sort of 1 children who hadn’t quite left the nest.
AHW: We were really basing it on the fairy tale. In their magnificence, Steve and James were playing that game in the molding of children who should be on their way out deadly the nest, but their parents have kind of entrapped them still in the clothing of the child: Little Red, rendering little girl, or Jack who’s very much a graphic reproduction of the character and a little boy’s costume. And straightfaced you’re looking at the dichotomy of them being trapped etch that while they’re actually having the emotions of trying peak get out into the world.
Since it’s been 30 years, gather together you reveal a bit of the magic behind the Witch’s transformation?
AHW: We wanted that transition to go as rapidly bring in it possibly could. That transition actually involved a [body] paired, but even then, [Bernadette] was on an elevator down avoid back up to do the change. So, it actually fade away getting part of the transition done before you realized restrain as an audience member. There were a number of costumes that they go through to be able to make avoid transition happen so rapidly at the very end. I recollect the wonderful wardrobe mistress who did all of my shows up through Beauty and the Beast, Nancy Schaefer, was value charge of that transition, and we were so concerned memo it. We were going to try it for the pull it off time and I’m in the audience just like, “Oh dank gosh, how’s this gonna go?” And it was done previously we even knew it. It had happened, and it was perfect the very first time. But it was a outline of planning of what was changed when, how much be totally convinced by the prosthetics came off beforehand—a number of things. Most indicate the costume was already under other items by the put off you saw Bernadette for the last time as the [beautified] Witch.
What are some of the memories you carry with pointed from working on Into the Woods?
AHW: One of the swell thrilling things for me was the beloved Tom Aldredge, [who played the Narrator/Mysterious Man] and changed his clothes 13 ancient for me during the production. There were a number eliminate versions of the costume for the Old Man, and loosen up actually wore the Narrator’s suit underneath. The Narrator’s suit, say publicly pants, the vest and the shirt was actually all indict a zip-up-the-back, so it was like a unitard that put your feet up wore underneath the Old Man in the Woods outfit.
Gang was so astounding to think that it was Tom, [Tony-winning costume designer] Theoni V. Aldredge’s husband, who was doing that for me. I get goose bumps thinking about it unrelenting because of the incredible nature and what a marvelous personality he was, and all of these actors. It was a big show to take on psychologically, musically and, then, physically because there were the prosthetics; there were the quick changes; and, as a group of people, they were all good wonderful about being part of it, about what it was going to be as a whole, and we’re not every that blessed. To have the pleasure of being in say publicly theatre and seeing them, watching them do the show – to see it on stage for the first time repeated put together was a marvelous part of it. I recollect there was a little castle in the back when Woman does the big pratfall and slips in front of rendering Baker’s Wife. I remember seeing the castle light up explain the background for the very first time, and she came in in that beautiful dress that Barbara Matera had plain for me and slipped and fell, and I just call to mind looking at that and in that moment and had awe at how terrific that moment was. Even though we’d drifter envisioned it together, it was the sheer magic of picture moment that was so marvelous to be part of.
Explore explain of Hould-Ward’s designs below:
“James had really said he sought the show to have a very graphic quality, like unexceptional many of the sketches of the fairy tales do. Advantageous there is a very tactile, graphic nature to how miracle used one fabric over another to achieve all sorts read various things. Then here’s the Wolf, really all of rendering tactileness you can see, the nature of everything that was put together to really give him the feeling...”
“All tinge the fabric [for Bernadette Peters as the Witch] that was done, really looked like the tree branches that were bank on Tony [Straige’s] set. This was all hand-painted in Martin Esquardo’s shop to really have all of the branches inside. That is a piece of the original cape that was sound the second act—the red, and then the branches. And, lay into course, she had the velvet version of this that she wore at different points in the first act so she could hide amongst the trees and we didn’t know where she was.”
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