Into the Woods (Vocal Score)

Rating:
Summary: Re-published to perfection!
Review: "Into the Woods," originally produced on broadway over a decade ago, has recently been revived with the re-printing of the vocal score and instrumental parts. Using sophisticated software (Finale) the publisher has made the score easier to read, has added instrumental cues, and has made the print larger. The wonderful music of Stephen Sondheim from "Into the Woods," is much more accessable. (The purchase of the book does not give the buyer permission to perform the play!)This edition is very good -- hundreds of times better than the old one!

Rating:
Summary: Sure it's expensive, but you pay for what you get
Review: This book is not for the intermediate pianist who wants to find some new music to play for the family at the family reunion. Not unless you've got a whole bunch of singers who want to join in...
This book contains ALL the music, compressed into one unit for the piano, and is the ultimate book for a piano accompanist- say in rehersal or such. Here lies the reason it costs so much: the market for this book is the amateur or even semi-professional theatre groups perfoming this show.
As this type of piano book, it's incredible. Every bit of music found in the musical is in the book, from underscoring to... well, you name it. And while it's fun to go through the book and learn the pieces, and say "hey, it sounds just like the recording!" it won't be much fun for anyone else to listen to unless you've got a singer (I'm learning to sing just so I can flush out my playing). Which, of course, is the whole point of the book.
Great music (Sondheim, of course), sounds great, and is perfect for accompanying a vocalist. Just make sure this is what you want.