Into the Woods/Characters

The Baker

What if I just wasn't meant to have children?

• Action Survivor
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
• The Hero
• Hurting Hero: the second half of Act II. OH GOD, Act II.
• Took a Level in Badass

The Baker's Wife

But you have a princess. And I have a... baker.

• Death by Sex
• Everyone Calls Her Barkeep
• Only Sane Woman

Jack

But Mother, no! Not Milky White - he's the best cow!

• Cloudcuckoolander
• Idiot Hero: The idiotest.
  • Simple Jack!
  • "Sometimes, I fear you're touched!"
• Tenor Boy
• Took a Level in Badass

Jack's Mother

Jack, Jack, Jack, head in a sack!

• Last Request: To the Baker, to protect Jack.
• My Beloved Smother
• Only Sane Woman: Her son is not that bright.

Little Red Riding Hood

And though scary is exciting, Nice is different than Good.

• Action Girl: Shows signs of this in Act II, if some of her tropes below indicate anything.
• Axe Crazy
• Big Eater: In the opening number.
• Deadpan Snarker: "You talk to birds?"
• Girl with Psycho Weapon
• Knife Nut
• Large Ham: Depending on the production, her screaming can be either heartbreaking or hilarious.
• Little Miss Badass
• Took a Level in Badass

The Wolf

Hello, little girl...

• Fan Disservice: No, it's not just your imagination. He has a penis.
  • In some versions.
• Menacing Stroll
• Shout-Out: This may be completely incidental, but he bears a striking resemblance to Jareth.

The Witch

I'm not Good, I'm not Nice, I'm just Right. I'm the Witch - and you're the world.

• Abusive Parents: Locks her adopted daughter in a tower all her life, and then gets snippy when the girl wants to leave.
• Above Good and Evil
  • "I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right."
• Anti-Villain
• Driven to Suicide
  • Whether or not she actually died is debatable.
• Badass: Especially considering that she's a character in a Broadway Musical about fairy tales.
• Casting Gag: A 2012 production features Donna Murphy, who previously voiced Rapunzel's stepmother in Disney's Tangled, as the witch.
• Dark Action Girl: Does several evil deeds, and is probably the biggest Badass in the show.
• Evil Matriarch
• I Was Quite a Looker
• Knight Templar Parent
• Large Ham
• Vain Sorceress
• What the Hell, Hero?: "Last Midnight" is one big one to all the main characters.

The Narrator

Once upon a time . . . later.

• Anyone Can Die: Even the narrator.
  • "You're going to be on the INSIDE, now!"
• First-Person Smartass
• Interactive Narrator
• Lemony Narrator: Ends up biting him in the ass. See below.
• Only Sane Man
• Rage Against the Author: The rest of the characters essentially feed him to the giant.
  • Actually, it's the Witch that does it right after the other characters realize how lost they would be without him. See below for details.
• We Could Have Avoided All This: When the characters try to offer the Narrator to the Giantess as a sacrifice, the Narrator reminds them that the story would be lost if he was obliterated. Regardless of this, however, the Witch gives the Narrator to the Giantess anyway, and as soon as the Giantess sees that the Narrator isn't Jack, the Narrator is dropped from the Giantess' hand and killed. Possibly concerned of the subsequent events of the story without the Narrator, the Baker's Wife points out: "We might have thought of something else."

Cinderella

What's the good in being kind if everyone is blind, and you're always left behind?

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Her recurring theme of "I wish" kick-starts both acts.
• Book Ends: She starts and ends the musical with "I wish"
• Cool Big Sis: Towards Little Red, though they're not related.
• Friend to All Living Things: Her sidekick birds.
• Meganekko: In the original cast, but not universally. And only for the first song.
• Team Mom
• The Chick
• Took a Level in Badass

Rapunzel

I was lonely atop that tower!

• The Ditz
• Girl in the Tower
• Hair of Gold: Well, "as yellow as corn", technically.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Finally tells off the Witch for sticking her in a tower all her life, abandoning her, blinding her Prince, and generally being a Jerkass.
• Screaming Woman
• The Soprano: Averted by her character, but vocally? You'd better believe it.
• The Ophelia
• Too Dumb to Live / Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense: She was kept in a tower all her life.

Cinderella's Prince

I was raised to be charming, not sincere.

• Afraid of Blood

But even one prick - it's my thing about blood!

• The Casanova
• Large Ham

Rapunzel's Prince

Aaaaaagonyyyyy! Much more painful than yours!

• Eye Scream: *shudder* He makes an Unexplained Recovery.
• Large Ham: Engaging in Ham-to-Ham Combat with his brother.
• Prince Charmless
• Why Did It Have To Be Dwarves?

The Giantess

"That boy stole our gold, our hen, and our harp. Then he killed my husband! I must avenge the wrongdoing."

• Anti-Villain: Most of the deaths she causes are accidents and if she were human, Jack would have been thrown into a dungeon for the things he did to her and her husband.
• Blind Without'Em: She loses her glasses and can't look for Jack by sight.
• Knight of Cerebus
• Mrs. Robinson: Implied in "Giants in the Sky."
• The Unseen
• Well-Intentioned Extremist

Cinderella's Father

The closer to the family, the closer to the wine.

• Alcoholic Parent
• Unnamed Parent
• Cinderella Circumstances: Obviously.
• Parental Abandonment / Parental Obliviousness: This part can be played either way.

The Steward

"The greater the good, the harder the blow"

• Karma Houdini
• Obstructive Bureaucrat