Into the Woods - MTI Conversation Piece with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

There's a giant in the sky now. May his memory be a blessing.

What makes him so great is that he's an immeasurable genius but he isn't a dick about it.

what i love about sondheim - he has such a profound understanding of the musical, literary and theatrical but he isn't all artsy about it. he knows what he is doing and what he is doing is genius.

I find these videos (where Sondheim is explaining his creative process - and how his work is to be performed) fascinating!

there's something so comforting about the way sondheim talks about his work. i feel like i'm on an old man's porch.

I am glad the program includes Lapine, the writer of the book, and gives him equal credit. Story is very important in a musical; it is not just hanger for the musical pieces. I am surprised where almost all praises go in the comments. The well-constructed story make us rethink about fairy tales, how they were told in the past, how they were sanitized by disney, and what we want kids and adults to get from them. Into the Woods is a success because it is entertaining (music and acting) but not just entertaining, warm and funny but not too much sugarcoating

I would love to have been a fly on the wall during his discussions and learning moments with his mentor - Oscar Hammerstein.

This is the greatest thing in the history of ever.

When Sondheim talks I have to pause every two seconds to applaud cause he’s just so damn smart and he can explain his genius in such a down to earth and clear way

He's so charismatic and there's so much detail and meaning behind each part of the music it's amazing!!

Rest In Peace to one of the most influential people of my lifetime. You’ll be greatly missed, thank you for everything ♥️

I think The Baker's Wife is one of the best written character in musical theatre history

I’m musically directing this show, and this is extremely helpful in interpreting this beautiful work !!

He's so generous, and such a great teacher!

32:00 I had a vague impression, but never really realized about the bridge of "No One Is Alone" - "People make mistakes, fathers, mothers..." - that it's a completely purposeful inversion of the 5-note bean motif (Rapunzel's melody). That's from Sondheim's teacher, the American serialist composer Milton Babbitt.

This is marvelous for groups preparing this piece for performance. The composer himself is telling performers and conductors how he intended his composition to be performed. Precisely. We have composer's intent, a matter of great debate for 18th and 19th century composers - but here there is no doubt as to composer's intent! Very informative even if you aren't planning this for performance.

I was listening to Into the Woods when I heard of his passing. Rip, thank you for the beautiful music.

This is so cool. He seems like such a groovy cat. I would love to have been involved in some of his productions. Thanks for posting!!

Love hearing these two talk Complete and total geniuses

This is the second best thing to Into the Woods musical itself, Sondheim explaining the thought process behind it. OMG is he a genius and such a good teacher as well