Parents Guide for
"American Playhouse" Into the Woods (1991)

The whole Little Red Riding Hood story is meant to symbolize child molestation/rape, and that is made very clear in the song "Hello, Little Girl", as well as the wolf costume having a realistic wolf penis on it.

There is a fair amount of innuendo involving the Baker and his wife having a baby, but nothing past a PG rating (example: "It'll take the two of us to have this child").

The princes are very suggestive in almost everything they say.

Cinderella's Prince has a one-time affair with the Baker's Wife, and they are seen rolling around on the stage (both clothed). After this, the Baker's Wife realizes the mistake she has made.

The Witch (being Bernadette Peters) shows a fair amount of cleavage.

The Stepsisters are dressed quite scantly in the beginning of the show.

The giant kills several people offstage, but a dark-humored squishing sound is heard.

The witch casts a spell on the Baker, causing him to not be able to have children, which he reacts to as if being hit in the crotch.

The Stepmother cuts off parts of the stepsisters' feet in order to fit them into the slipper. The Prince sees a blood stain on the slipper, so he takes it off and when he tips it, blood comes pouring out. This is used for comic effect.

The stepsisters get their eyes plucked out by birds at Cinderella's wedding, although no gore is shown.

Rapunzel's Prince is flung from the tower by the Witch, landing in a patch of thorns which pierce his eyes, but none of this is graphically shown.

The Wolf eats Little Red and the Granny. Later's the Baker cuts the wolf open to save them (no blood).

The giant is apparently killed brutally offstage, but the gory scene is being described by the onlookers.

The Steward strikes Jack's Mom with his staff, killing her.

They say "damn" one, maybe two, times

Cinderella's Father is supposedly drunk off his rocker for all of his scenes.

Everything involving the wolf and/or the giant.

The Stepmother cuts off parts of the stepsisters' feet in order to fit them into the slipper.

The stepsisters get their eyes plucked out by birds at Cinderella's wedding, although no gore is shown.

Several characters are killed by a giant, their deaths are offstage however.