Happy Ever After

I am not one to pick favorites. In fact, my favorites of anything (color, music genre, food, etc) are constantly changing. But today, I wanted to talk about today's favorite musical: Into the Woods, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. There are many things I love about this musical, but the one that keeps me coming back is that I learn something new ever single time I listen to or watch it.

Call me crazy, but I liken musicals to my life just as much as the scriptures. Today, I've listened to the Into the Woods soundtrack three times, and I found myself seriously connecting with the character of Cinderella. It's interesting to note that last time I auditioned for this show, Cinderella was the last part I wanted. At the time, I felt like her character was stereotypical and it wouldn't be a challenge to play. I can say now that I was completely wrong about her. She and I are a lot more alike than I thought. 

In the beginning of the play, she goes to her mother's grave for help and she says, "What is wrong with me, Mother? Something must be wrong." This phrase really hit me today, with all of the inner turmoil of the upcoming decisions in my life... when things aren't going particularly well, I revert back to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. At these times I really do feel like something must be wrong with me. Cinderella doesn't see her good qualities very clearly, because in her mind her flaws outweigh all other attributes. To us outsiders, she is wonderful. She has lost the only person that really loved her (her mother); her father is there, but non-supportive; and she suffers everyday at the hand of her step-family, and yet she still continues on. She is beautiful, talented, kind, people-oriented, and intelligent. So, how can she possibly feel inadequate?

If you really look at the words of her songs, this girl is hesitant to make a choice. The Baker's Wife asks Cinderella if the Prince is everything she's ever wanted, and she replies, "but how can you know what you want until you get what you want and you see if you like it." I am having those same feelings at this point in my life. Then, in the number "On the Steps of the Palace" we hear Cinderella's inner dialogue about how she came to leave her shoe on the stairs for the Prince to find. She weighs both options and their possible outcomes, but neither choice outshines the other... so she decides not to decide. She leaves the choice-making up to the Prince. Oh, how I understand Cinderella's frustration here. The choices that stand before me right now are daunting and life-changing... and I don't want to be responsible for the outcome! I wish that the right decision was clear, I wish that I could let someone else make the choices for me, I wish that I could run away from the whole responsibility... but I can't. Cinderella let someone else decide and her life was a relatively happy one, but eventually the Prince cheated on her and she was left alone again. Of course, this isn't a one time lesson to learn; Cinderella learns over and over again throughout the play that the choices are hers. I'm sure that if we were to see the story continue on after the curtain comes down, we would see her struggle with this again and again.

My favorite song in the musical (of course, this one changes as well), is "No One is Alone." Here, Cinderella and the Baker and comforting Little Red and Jack during a moment of darkness, suspense, and uncertainty. I feel like Cinderella really grows up during this number. There is someone who needs comfort more than she does, so she puts aside her own needs to teach and comfort another (Little Red). I believe that Cinderella is truly speaking from the heart, drawing on her life choices, and examining her own life. I'm hoping that soon I will be able to grow up like that.

The best thing about Into the Woods is the happy ending. Argue with me all you want, but I see a bight outlook at the end of this musical. Yes, people are hurt or killed, and it's not your typical "happily ever after", but life isn't like that either. The show ends with the Baker ready to teach his son with the knowledge that he gained in the woods, everyong sings about what they've learned, and the Baker even says, "I think I see a glimmer." Life has a lot of ups and downs, and you never really know what will happen, but you can always know that you can learn from it, and that the darkness will not last forever. There are countless "happy endings" in our lives... and then the next trial or experience comes and we trudge through it to the next "happy ending". Hope is not lost, and no one is alone.

So, do you see why I love musicals so much?!