Everything you need to know about 'Into the Woods'

Stephen Sondheim's fairy-tale musical returns to London in a new production by Jordan Fein at the adaptable Bridge Theatre.

Summary

• The production is directed by Jordan Fein and designed by Tom Scutt following on from their Olivier-winning Fiddler on the Roof
• The cast is led by Kate Fleetwood as the Witch and Jamie Parker and Katie Brayben as the Baker and Baker's Wife
• The production is booking from 2 December 2025 to 18 April 2026

"Into the woods without delay / Be careful not to lose the way…" Fairy-tale musical Into the Woods returns to London later this year at the Bridge Theatre helmed by Olivier Award-winning Fiddler on the Roof director Jordan Fein. One of Stephen Sondheim’s best loved musicals, the last major London production took place at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2010.

The Bridge Theatre features a flexible layout, so it will be exciting to see how Fein and designer Tom Scutt use the space – the venue’s production of Guys & Dolls was fantastically immersive with its promenade elements and moving set pieces. Perhaps there’ll be an opportunity for the audience to get lost in the woods!

Read on to learn more about this wonderful musical and exciting new production. Slotted spoons don’t hold much soup, and the box office won’t be holding tickets for this must-see show for long!

Book Into the Woods tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

What is Into the Woods about?

Into the Woods is based on various fairy tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm. The Baker and his Wife long to have a child; Cinderella wants to escape from indentured servitude; Jack wants a quiet life with his beloved pet cow; Little Red Riding Hood craves sweet treats, and the Witch wants to restore her youth and beauty. Following a quest narrative, everyone has had their wish granted and they seem set to live happily ever after at the end of the first act. However, after the interval, things take a darker turn as they’re forced to confront the consequences of their selfishness and greed. It’s a fiendishly clever, devilishly funny, and deeply moving piece that can never be experienced too many times.

Who wrote Into the Woods?

Into the Woods features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (1930-2022), who is considered by many to be the most influential writer of musicals of the second half of the twentieth century. His musicals include Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Follies, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, and the unfinished musical Here We Are, which had its UK premiere at the National Theatre earlier this year.

Sondheim's achievements include eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1982 and was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1993, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

The show features a book by James Lapine, who also collaborated with Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George (which won the pair a Pulitzer Prize) and Passion. He was also the original director of all three musicals and is a three-time Tony winner for Best Book of a Musical.

When was Into the Woods first performed?

Into the Woods was first performed at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 1986 and premiered on Broadway in November 1987, directed by Lapine and starred Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, and Chip Zien. The production played for 765 performances.

The first London production opened in September 1990 and played for 197 performances. The show was directed by Richard Jones and starred Julia McKenzie, Imelda Staunton, and Ian Bartholomew. Into the Woods is one of Sondheim’s most popular works and has been revived on numerous occasions. You can read our guide to the show’s production history here.

What awards has Into the Woods won?

The original Broadway production of Into the Woods was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won three: Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason as the Baker’s Wife). The original London production was nominated for six Olivier Awards and won two: Best Director of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical (Imelda Staunton as the Baker’s Wife).

The 2002 Broadway revival won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical and the 2010 London revival at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre won the Olivier for Best Musical Revival. Most recently, the 2022 Broadway revival received six Tony nominations.

Who are the characters in Into the Woods?

Into the Woods features the following cast of fairy-tale characters:

• The Witch: a powerful sorceress and keeper of secrets.
• The Baker: a hardworking everyman.
• The Baker’s Wife: his clever and resourceful wife. They wish to have a child.
• Cinderella: a mistreated maiden who wishes to go the ball and meet the prince.
• Jack: a simple young lad deeply attached to his pet cow, Milky White.
• Jack’s Mother: his struggling mum.
• Little Red Riding Hood: a young girl who loves sweet things.
• Grandmother: a feisty elderly lady.
• The Wolf: a predatory canine.
• Rapunzel: the Witch’s adopted daughter.
• Cinderella’s Prince: handsome and charming and heir to a throne.
• Rapunzel’s Prince: his similarly dashing brother.
• Cinderella’s Father, Stepmother, Lucinda, and Florinda: Cinderella’s abusive family.
• Narrator/Mysterious Man: an elusive figure with some lessons to impart.

What songs are in Into the Woods?

The outstanding score of Into the Woods features the following songs:

Act I

Prologue: "Into the Woods" – Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker, Baker's Wife, Cinderella's Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Jack's Mother, Little Red Ridinghood, Witch, Cinderella's father "Cinderella at the Grave" – Narrator, Cinderella, Cinderella's Mother
"Hello, Little Girl" – Wolf, Little Red
"I Guess This Is Goodbye" – Jack
"Maybe They're Magic" – Baker's Wife, Baker
"Maybe They're Magic" (reprise) – Baker
"I Know Things Now" – Little Red
"A Very Nice Prince" – Cinderella, Baker's Wife
"First Midnight" – company
"Giants in the Sky" – Jack
"Agony" – Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince
"A Very Nice Prince" (reprise) – Cinderella, Baker's Wife*
"It Takes Two" – Baker's Wife, Baker
"Second Midnight" – Witch, Cinderella, Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince, Cinderella's Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Granny, Narrator
"Stay with Me" – Witch, Rapunzel
"On the Steps of the Palace" – Cinderella
"Careful My Toe" – Narrator, Florinda, Cinderella's Stepmother, Lucinda, Cinderella's Mother, Cinderella's Prince, Cinderella's father
"So Happy" (prelude) – Cinderella, Cinderella's Prince, Baker, Baker's Wife
"Ever After" – Narrator, Florinda, Lucinda, Witch, company

Act II

Prologue: "So Happy" – Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker, Baker's Wife, Baker's child, Cinderella's Prince, Jack's Mother, Cinderella's Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda, Witch Prologue: "Into the Woods" (reprise) – Baker, Baker's Wife, Jack, Little Red, Cinderella, Rapunzel
"Agony" (reprise) – Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince
"Lament" – Witch
"Any Moment" – Cinderella's Prince, Baker's Wife
"Moments in the Woods" – Baker's Wife
"Your Fault" – Jack, Baker, Witch, Cinderella, Little Red
"Last Midnight" – Witch, Cinderella, Little Red, Baker
"No More" – Baker, Mysterious Man
"No One Is Alone" – Cinderella, Little Red, Baker, Jack

You can read our guide to the songs here.

Where is Into the Woods being performed?

Into the Woods will be performed at the Bridge Theatre located near Tower Bridge, a state-of-the-art venue that opened in 2017 with a seating capacity of about 900. The theatre is famous for its flexible layout.

When is Into the Woods being performed?

Into the Woods is booking from 2 December 2025 to 18 April 2026. Performances take place from Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30pm, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2:30pm.

How long is Into the Woods?

The running time for Into the Woods is to be confirmed, but most productions of the show run at around 2 hours 45 minutes.

Who is in the Into the Woods cast?

Into the Woods is a true ensemble piece. The show stars Kate Fleetwood (London Road, My Master Builder) as the Witch, Katie Brayben (a two-time Olivier winner for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Tammy Faye) as the Baker’s Wife, Jamie Parker (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Next to Normal) as the Baker, Chumisa Dornford-May (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) as Cinderella, Jo Foster (Why Am I So Single?) as Jack, Gracie McGonigal (The Little Big Things) as Little Red Riding Hood, Oliver Savile (Wicked) as the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince, and Rhys Whitfield (The Devil Wears Prada) as Rapunzel’s Prince.

The cast also includes Valda Aviks (The Addams Family) as Grandmother/Giant, Geoffrey Aymer (The Wizard of Oz) as Cinderella’s Father, Bella Brown (Evita) as Rapunzel, Michael Gould (Oedipus) as the Narrator/Mysterious Man, Jennifer Hepburn (Mamma Mia!) as Cinderella’s Stepmother, Julie Jupp (A Christmas Carol) as Jack’s Mother, Hana Ichijo (The Baker’s Wife) as Lucinda, Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson (42nd Street) as Florinda, and Hughie O’Donnell (King Lear) as the Steward.

Completing the cast are standbys Taite-Elliot Drew (Cabaret), Jacob Fowler (Heathers), Sophie Linder Lee (Wicked), and Chloe Saracco (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812).

Who is in the Into the Woods creative team?

Into the Woods is directed by Jordan Fein, whose production of Fiddler on the Roof, which played at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, the Barbican, and on tour, won the 2025 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. Set and costumes are designed by Tom Scutt, who won Best Set Design for the same show.

The creative team also includes musical supervisor and musical director Mark Aspinall, sound designer Adam Fisher, lighting designer Aideen Malone, video designer Roland Horvath, movement director Jenny Ogilvie, and wigs, hair and make-up designer Sam Cox.

What are some fun facts about Into the Woods?

• Psychoanalytical interpretations of fairy tales were very popular in the 1970s and ‘80s due to Bruno Bettelheim’s 1976 book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. However, Sondheim and Lapine denied that they were influenced by Bettelheim and instead took inspiration from Carl Jung’s 1964 book Man and His Symbols..
• Prior to the 2014 film adaptation, which starred Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt, at least three other versions were mooted, including one that would have starred Cher as the Witch, Robin Williams as the Baker, and Goldie Hawn as the Baker’s Wife.
• Rumpelstiltskin and the Three Little Pigs were part of the show in an early draft (the Pigs were briefly reinstated in the 2002 Broadway revival).

Book Into the Woods tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.