We live in a world built on stories: fairy tales, myths, and inherited narratives that shape what we believe is possible. Many of these myths are outdated, destructive. They tell us that princes will rescue us, that good and evil are simple and separate, that wishes come true without consequence, that the idealized past was better than the messy present. Into the Woods asks us to look squarely at these stories we’ve clung to for generations and to blow them up to make room for new ones.
Sondheim and Lapine don’t destroy fairy tales out of cynicism. They dig into the cracks to reveal deeper truths. When Cinderella’s happily-ever-after becomes complicated, when Jack’s triumph brings devastation, when the Witch reveals her broken heart, we begin to see that the old myths are too small for the world we now inhabit. They cannot hold our grief, our complexity, our interdependence. And so they must be shattered, not out of anger, but out of necessity.
What rises in their place are new myths that are messier, braver, and more human. Myths that say we are responsible for one another, even when the story doesn’t go as planned. Myths that accept loss as part of love, that value community over conquest, and that suggest salvation may come not from a prince, but from the simple act of someone staying beside you in the dark.
“Careful the tale you tell,” the musical warns, “that is the spell.” The stories we tell shape our future. If we keep repeating tales of triumph of individuals, of blame, of fear, we will inherit a world built on isolation and distrust. If, however, we choose stories of forgiveness, of shared responsibility, of hope born through struggle, we begin to write a future that includes all of us.
Tonight, as we journey into the woods together, let us be brave enough to let the old myths crumble and die. Let us listen for the new ones rising beneath them—stories that tell the truth about who we are and who we might become, because endings, in the theatre and in life, do not need to be apocalyptic. They are invitations to begin again.
Thank you for stepping into the woods with us.
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