Synopsis
Into the Woods intertwines beloved fairy tales — including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel — with the story of a childless Baker and his Wife who set out to break a witch’s curse. As their wishes come true, the characters discover that “happily ever after” comes with unexpected consequences. Exploring ambition, loss, and responsibility, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical moves from comic fantasy to poignant reflection, revealing that no one is alone when faced with life’s tangled paths.
Reviews
“To say it delivers on its promise is an understatement. A cast as fine as any on Broadway this year – Sara Bareilles, Brian D’Arcy James, Patina Miller, Phillipa Soo, Gavin Creel, Joshua Henry (and that’s just for starters) – musical direction and orchestrations that bathe some of Sondheim’s most breathtaking pieces of music in arrangements and execution that can’t be improved upon, a warm, lovely lighting design that envelops the stage and soothes the audience as if leading us down a wooded path where things might not always be so nice, well, this Into The Woods has us at its every beck and call. Resistance is futile.”
Deadline
“The revival that opened on Broadway Sunday night is not just a glorious lifeline for fans reawakening to the wonders of live performance after a long, dark hiatus. It’s a crystalline showcase for sensational performances from an all-star cast of marquee veterans, and a testament to the enduring genius of the beloved musical, now in its fourth Broadway incarnation since premiering in 1987.”
Variety
“As Bareilles belts out a celebratory “Now I understand!” at the end of “Moments in the Woods,” we sit back and wonder if she really does, or what further revelations a third act might have brought her. As James mournfully sings “All the children…All the giants…” at the end of “No More” (a master class in restraint), we’re left with the task of deciphering that heartbreaking lyrical inkblot for ourselves. It is a buffet of questions, not answers. And if that sounds like your kind of feast, you will leave nourished and sated, with a doggie bag full of ands. Or is it ors?”
Theatremania
Playbill’s My Life in the Theatre
On 2 December 2025 Playbill released an interview with Brian on Youtube under their My Life in the Theatre playlist. Below is a transcript from the video about his time with Into the Woods – you can watch it here.
“Into the Woods. This whole thing is such a gift, this production. I remember getting a call about this show that I’d heard was at Encores. Neil Patrick Harris couldn’t do it and would you consider coming in to play The Baker, but well, of course, yeah, that seems like a no-brainer.
I had no idea, no clue what this experience would be. I had done the role 20 years earlier and famously kind of cursing, you know, Sondheim and like cows and mows and jows and I don’t know. What does this even mean, this show? I don’t understand it!
And of course, 20 years later, I’m a father. I’ve lost my own father. And this show plugs into so many things to have been asked to join this group of people who are making this change from the Encores production onto the Broadway stage. Again, I felt like I won the lottery because I wasn’t supposed to be there. And all of a sudden I was.
Sara Bareilles. Of course, Gavin Creel, you know, uh, we just celebrated a year, you know, of his passing a couple days ago or yesterday. And, you know, it’s a, um, I’m so blessed that I got to be in his great presence and to work with him and to just to experience the life force that Gavin was, and he’s just an impeccable performer and even more of a vibrant, soulful, important person in the world, and to so many people. So, I have to mention that, because that’s the first thing that comes to me. I’m sure Gavin, did Gavin ever do one of these? No? It would have been, he would have had, you know, you would have had books and books and books.
But I’ve always contended that one of the best parts, aside from finally understanding Sondheim, this experience to me, when I, before I did it, I had the great realisation that I was gonna sing a harmony line with Sara Bareilles. And that to me, every single night. It wasn’t long. It’s not a long, not a long time where The Baker and The Baker’s Wife sang a third, um, relationship. And I just, I don’t know. I mean, I love her music so much and I love her. She’s the best. And to experience her ability as an actor and a musician, and just her joyous presence. I mean, she’s so cool. I encourage everyone to get to know Sara Bareilles, if you get the chance.
But that’s, you know, that was, every single person in that show was like that. And it was, was this kind of lightning in a bottle experience where everyone just was so well suited to their, to their roles. And the spirit that Lear deBessonet had directed this thing was just pitch perfect. And it was just one of those moments where I think people really wanted to celebrate Sondheim who had passed, I think, probably a year before or somewhere around there. So people were starting to really, um, just really appreciate, you know, his genius. Not that they didn’t before, but this was a moment to kind of celebrate it.
And that confluence of appreciation and execution, and the spirit, and the deft way it was directed and presented, all came together in this beautiful production. I mean, I have a Grammy Award because of this experience. I mean, never in my life would I have expected that to be, um, in the cards. So the whole thing is just, Into the Woods, it was just one big, like, huge gift that I got to open up and, uh, so lucky, so lucky to be in that production.”