Sunday, September 22, 2019

I Wish

From lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Into the Woods....

Cinderella sings:  I wish...more than anything...more than life...more than jewels....I wish to go to the festival!

Jack sings:  I wish...more than life...more than anything...more than the moon...I wish my cow would give us some milk.

Baker and his wife sing:  I wish...more than the moon...more than life...more than riches...more than anything...I wish we had a child...I want a child.

Jack's mother sings:  I wish...I wish my son were not a fool.
I wish my house was not a mess. I wish the cow was full of milk. I wish the walls were full of gold-- I wish a lot of things..

Little Red Riding Hood joins in: I wish.. It's not for me, It's for my granny in the woods. A loaf of bread, please-- To bring my poor old hungry Granny in the woods.. [Insistent] Just a loaf of bread, please..

Yesterday I rented the movie "Into the Woods" and
watched it with my two youngest daughters. I heard a
review of this movie on NPR four years ago and have wanted
to see it ever since. They raved about it. My only experience
with the show was as a college student on our campus stage
with some friends as actors in the production. At the time,
the dark second act really disappointed me, but now 25 years
later, the whole show was very understandable and good
art! Simply put, the characters each had a desire common to
humanity, their dreams came true by the end of the first
act, but during the second act everything went awry.

A good piece of art, the story exposes what we all want
as humans and are willing to sacrifice in order to get, sometimes
even worshipping idols to obtain what we want. In the
end, do the obtaining of our deepest desires make us live
"happily ever after"? Most often the reality of our selfishness
and the uncontrollable forces in our lives make a mess of our
dreams. Do watch this movie, especially if you love musicals.

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