Best Songs to Look Out for in “Into the Woods”
BY LIANN MELENDEZ — Editor-in-Chief
In preparation for Lebanon High School’s rendition of Into the Woods this week, I composed a list of what I personally perceived as the top five songs from the 2014 Into the Woods soundtrack. First, it is important to be familiarized with the story of Into the Woods, or more specifically the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
The Brothers Grimm fairy tales are recognizable for their striking contrast to Disney’s lighthearted fairy tale variations. Specifically, works by the Brothers Grimm are much darker and more frightening than Disney’s singing princesses and charming princes. For example, in the Brothers Grimm version of “Cinderella,” Cinderella’s evil stepsisters were so desperate for the Prince’s hand in marriage they cut off bits and pieces of their foot to fit into Cinderella’s tiny glass slipper. Not to mention, the stepsisters’ fate in the story concluded with a brutal bird attack which left them horribly blinded. Clearly, the Brothers Grimm fairy tales did not shy away from any gruesome details.
Still, that is not to say Into the Woods is a gory musical at all. In fact, Into the Woods features some of the untraditional Brothers Grimm versions of our beloved childhood fairy tales, including: “Cinderella,” “Rapunzel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” In musical format, Into the Woods weaves together these individual fairy tale subplots to create one, overall story. While it may seem like an overwhelming story to follow, audiences can’t help but be compelled by Into the Woods’ theatrical soundtrack.
If you’re interested to see what the fuss is all about, take a look at my Top 5 favorites from the Into the Woods soundtrack:
1. “Your Fault” featuring: James Corden, Lilla Crawfod, Daniel Huttlestone, Anna Kendrick, and Meryl Streep
Immediately, audiences are captivated by the song’s fast-paced tempo, as it escalates and conveys the tension in the scene between Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, the Baker, and the Witch. This song is a definite fan favorite, even LHS’ Into the Woods stage manager, Brynna Lister, commented “From a musical standpoint, ‘Your Fault’ has a really cool, driving rhythm behind it that makes it just fly right along. Occasional accented notes come out of the texture to surprise you, but the underlying pulse just keeps going.” Plus, it is hard to ignore the back-and-forth conversation between the characters in this song, as it makes for an interesting on-stage performance. Personally, I appreciate how “Your Fault” acts somewhat as a recap of the story, as it quickly summarizes the events that led up to the characters’ current situation. Considering how dramatic and flowy this song is, “Your Fault” rightfully deserves first place on this list.
2. “No One is Alone” feautring: Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Lilla Crawford, and Daniel Huttlestone
In this heartwarming song, the tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the Baker come to a satisfying conclusion. It is hard to misinterpret the song’s comforting message to the audience with lyrics like, “Someone is on your side, No one is alone.” The song’s thoughtful lyrics invoke feelings of acceptance and protection in audiences, and with the soothing voices of Anna Kendrick and James Corden, the message might as well be wrapped in a pretty, pink bow. Into the Woods’ “No One is Alone” is a definite pick-me up from the soundtrack — nothing at all like the next song on this list.
3. “Last Midnight” featuring: Meryl Streep
I always knew Meryl Streep was a fabulous singer, but she still managed to exceed my expectations with this song. While her vocals definitely made listening to this song worthwhile, I have to note the various meanings behind the lyrics makes the song even better. Initially, I heard the song and thought Streep’s character, the Witch, was finally exposing the other characters’ hypocrisy. Following that thought process, my immediate response to the song basically consisted of ‘You go girl’ phrases. Still, after analyzing the lyrics more, I also came to the conclusion the song was the Witch’s way of accepting her role as the villain. Like I mentioned previously, Into the Woods features fairy tales in a very different light; no longer are the protagonists seen as perfect and the antagonists pure evil, but rather everyone is flawed. In the musical, the protagonists, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the Baker, refuse to accept their flaws and instead project all their wrongdoings onto the Witch. Of course, the Witch isn’t completely innocent, but that is beside the point. This song is basically the Witch saying, “You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, I’ll be the bad guy” — in a very theatrical and dramatic two minute performace.
4. “On the Steps of the Palace” featuring: Anna Kendrick
A lot of people can relate to Cinderella’s dilemma in this song; she doesn’t really know how to interpret and respond to the Prince’s feelings towards her and is having a mental breakdown, as a result. Listening to the song, it’s like someone is overanalyzing how to respond to their crush’s text, which is quite relatable. Also, the entire time listening to “On the Steps of the Palace” I just wanted Cinderella to realize how creepy the Prince was. Only a possessive madman would spread pitch on the stairs to keep Cinderella from leaving — hint hint I am talking about the Prince. Overall, Kendrick’s voice in this song perfectly conveys Cinderella’s indecisiveness and desire for affection. Plus, the gold dress Cinderella wears in this scene demonstrates how untraditional this character is compared to other ‘Disnified’ versions of Cinderella. Anna Kendrick’s rendition of “On the Steps of the Palace” is a very memorable song, but that doesn’t make the last song on this list any less iconic.
5. “Agony” featuring: Chris Pine and Billy Magussen
Who can forget the iconic line from this song? Hint: We all feel it when we have to wake up early on a Monday morning for school.
Yes, based on this one word, I think “Agony” featuring Chris Pine and Billy Magussen deserves a spot on this list. I mean, who cares that the Princes in this song come across like stalkers?
With all this talk about the Into the Woods soundtrack, I am really looking forward to seeing LHS’ musical production later this week. If you’re excited to see the Cedars perform Into the Woods on stage too, make sure you’ve signed up for tickets to see Act 1 tomorrow. Or, make sure you’ve reserved seats for the weekend performances, tickets are going fast! Let me know if I missed any of your Into the Woods favorites by adding a comment below!
