Laura Hanson

   When psychologist BB wrote his seminal book, The uses of Enchantment in 1976, it probably never occurred to him that it would inspire a Broadway musical.  B’s book argues for the use of fairy tales in helping children grow up, find their own identify, separate from parents, and make their way in the world.  Throughout the world’s tales, “the woods” appear as a dark and mysterious place.  These, of course, are all themes in Into the Woods, along with the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.”

The creators of the musical, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, have intertwined well-known characters with ones created for the show, and based their characters on the versions of these tales collected and written down by German brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm.  These Grimm versions tend to be darker and differ in details from the Disneyfied versions some of us may have grown up with—hence Cinderella’s golden slipper as opposed to one made of glass.

   As inspiration for the costume designs, I looked to the drawings of Arthur Rackham, a British artist who illustrated volumes of well-known fairy tales, including many of the Brothers Grimm, in the late 19th and early 20th century.  The costumes of the lower-class characters are more subtle in tone—browns, dark red, burnt orange with lots of pattern.  The upper-class characters tend to be dressed in brighter, more reflective colors.  Since the tales originate in different countries and different historical periods, the costumes have a vaguely 18th century feel, but are not historically accurate.  The witch and Rapunzel are more medieval in feel.