Into The Woods

I just watched Into The Woods, the play by Stephen Sondheim, a few hours ago at the Esplanade and I thought it was nothing short of fantastic. The songs, the plot and the execution, everything was just so impressive.

I'm not going to say more about the storyline for there are still two more performances left on Sunday and I'm hoping readers who chance upon this article in the next few hours and who have a spot of free time (and a love for musicals with intelligent dialogue and some stunning songs) may choose to make a snap decision to watch.

One line did strike me though - when the bakers wife sang wistfully, after a short romantic tryst in the woods, something to the effect that "Now my life goes back from having an "and" to just an "or", but that makes me treasure my "or" more. Indeed, there are so many occasions in our lives when being able to say "and" is a luxury we would so dearly love to have- "I want and will do/have this AND this". That is because a large, important part of life is about constraints and choices - we have to choose the path that we think best for ourselves. For so many of our important decisions - our choice of study, profession, partner - we have to choose between this OR that.

Sometimes though, by some quirk of providence, we are able to experience an "and" in some aspect of our lives that is habitually governed by an "or". While that may be bewildering and even hazardous some of the time (think girlfriends, or wives, when an "and" leads to serious moral issues, and perhaps alimony), often times these brief windows of opportunity do offer us a chance to have another perspective, a different insight on a portion of our lives, which may or may not lead to a greater clarity of mind and thought. How would this difference in perspective affect what we do when we return to being circumscribed by "or"? Do we feel confused and pine for the "and", or do we realise just why we made the decisions we made and, as the baker's wife said, understand and appreciate the "or" more?

Am I making any sense?