SPOILERS, for both Into the Woods and its earlier drafts
Into Broadway previews, the Baker’s Wife did not die in the same scene of Act II as she does now following Moments in the Woods. She rejoins the group. Cinderella, who talks to birds, knows where she’s been and isn’t happy about it. An argument ensues between the Baker, his wife, and Cinderella about what is and isn’t being said when the giant approaches with more destruction to the woods. The Baker’s Wife snaps into defensive mode and throws herself over her baby to shield the child from a falling tree, which saves the baby and kills her.
Further spoiler, at this point in development, the Narrator is also not killed in the scene we’ve come to know. He survives the show and reveals himself to be the Baker’s son in a final monologue and having been told the story of how it all happened. |
