Abstract
DREAMS SOUND DIFFERENT IN THE WOODS: JAMES LAPINE AND STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S DRAMATIZATION OF FAIRY TALES IN INTO THE WOODS
Postmodern times were noted for an increase in revisionist writings. Men of letters started to rewrite traditional works of folklore, fiction, and drama, approaching them from different perspectives to make these works adequate means to deliver their implied messages, whether social or political. Dramatists, like Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, made use of this new style of writing. Previous studies on Into the Woods focus on the style of the playwrights, their use of songs and music in the play, and the audience’s response to the play following the September attacks on the two towers in New York. This research deals with Sondheim and Lapine’s rewriting of fairy tales in their collaborated 1987 Epic play Into the Woods. It sheds light on the playwright’s social and political themes and their ability to present an original masterpiece from the fairy tales they adapted. It also examines the challenge the playwrights encounter in adapting these sentimental fairy tales for their anti-romantic Epic Theatre through their use of the so-called ‘alienation effect.’
Keywords
Epic Theatre, fairy tales, Lapine, alienation effect, Sondheim
