Into the Woods: Vocal Selections

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Summary: Thoughts on the Piano Reduction
Review: I bought the score for a college arranging project and found it very easy to play on piano -- lots of blocked chords and simple keys (mostly three flats to two sharps, but one instance of five flats and one of six).

The reduction is well written, but it's definitely better to listen to the CD to get interpretive ideas than to try to play straight off the score.

Also, there are only seven songs in the book (and not Giants in the Sky...), so make sure the one you want is there or it's an expensive mistake.

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Summary: Holly's Review
Review: This is a great musical, the original cast is awesome, the music is fun a floaty, it's a marvelous victory

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Summary: Lesser Sondheim Makes an Interesting Vocal Selection.
Review: This is definetly not my favorite Sondheim show. It tends to repeat it self too much, and the music becomes long in the tooth after a while. However, for the vocal selection, they picked some wonderful highlights.
Titles include: INTO THE WOODS, AGONY, IT TAKES TWO, STAY WITH ME, ANY MOMENT, NO MORE, and NO ONE IS ALONE. The reductions make it simpler to play. In fact, I find it the easiest of Sondheim's scores to play. Not to say that a beginner could pick it up and play it, but an intermediate player probaly would find it enjoyable.
Some people bemoan the fact that "Children Will Listen", and "Giants in the sky" are not included here. "Children will Listen" is published seperately, and "Giants..." is included in "All Sondheim Vol. 4". That is if you absolutely want to have those two songs, otherwise it becomes a tad bit costly.
If you enjoy this musical, the vocal selection seems a good place to start to understand this popular score.