re: Why Does The Witch Die In 'Into the Woods'?
Aug 9
2011, 01:46:15 PM
These posts are all several years old, so I'm sure no one cares anymore.  But, I'm doing some research (playing the Witch at a community theatre in Dallas this month.) But, I think that the Witch goes to Hell to be with her mother. At least she knows what to expect there, and she's totally over the "nice" people and their incompetence to make decisions. The Witch is one of those people in your life who tells it like it is. You know where you stand with her. She also is very incapable of dealing with life, so she finds her own solutions before anything ever happens. She doesn't ride the wave and see what happens, which leads her to frustration -- she's impatient and controlling, a little anal. Since we have no hole to exit, either, we're using some pyrotechnics (slightly scary since I'm wearing a wig coated in Aqua Net, which is flammable) and smoke, then I slip inside Cindy's Mom's scrim and disappear. Seems to be working. It's cool...when the fire decides to work. Gotta love community theatre. But, the fire idea came out of this idea that she goes to Hell. I guess you could say that she dies. I would think a Witch has powers regardless of which realm (assuming witch's are real...which, I'm inclined to roll my eyes over. Nonetheless, this is the stuff you have to consider when thinking motivation of characters.)
The Witch isn't a nice person, but I think I've found some good qualities in her along the way, and you have to admit -- the chick has major mother issues! I like the versions, like Bernadette's, where you know she's evil, but for some reason she's still a little bit likeable, like when the Baker and his wife want to "tell someone" there's a giant in the land and she says, deadpan, "WHO are you going to tell?" I think people respect her braveness. And, she is capable of love. No matter how misguided, she does love her daughter (when I said this to my young daughter she said, "you mean the one she kidnapped and locked in a tower?" Umm, yeah.) Even without powers, she's the chick in charge. She wears the pants -- even more than the Steward or Royal Family.
She comes back at the end, a la Our Town and Les Mis, with the other dead people. This staging of it is quite clever, all the dead folks come in on the finale on the 2nd floor of the stage, then migrate downstairs for the square dance that ensues at the end. I like our Director's take on it, because it shows how when you don't navigate "the woods" (life's hard times) well, you don't always make it out unscathed, and become separated from the people that do -- but you are reunited with your loved ones in the end -- just my take on it, and what I'd like to believe. I think the Witch also comes out at the end to sing an awesome solo. :) Children will Listen is truly my favorite part of the show because I get to share the stage with my talented cast mates and get to the heart of Sondheim's lesson. I'd like to believe that the Witch has learned from her mistakes, and comes back to impart wisdom to the audience about what you must and must not say and do to create a responsible person out of a child, and to avoid issues in the long-run for everyone. We've been in rehearsal for 8 weeks, and I'm still not sick of the music or the thematic material, or lessons learned. Great show.
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