Recently, Adam and I had the opportunity to attend the Broadway tour of Sondheim’s Into the Woods with members of Wise. I’ve seen the show many times—both in person and also on my worn out DVD of the 1987 Original Broadway cast production—and also had the privilege of playing the Witch the summer before my senior year of high school. There is something so special about visiting and revisiting a favorite piece of art (especially by a master composer like Sondheim) in that we can find new meaning in it every time we look back on it or experience it again.
At the beginning of Act II, the Witch sings “No matter what you say, children won’t listen, no matter what you know children refuse to learn.” She’s exhausted, like many a parent or community leader, trying to encourage others to listen to her sound advice and struggling to get anyone to focus, much less work together. And yet, by the end of the show, the Witch doesn’t change her tune (the melody is the same). However, she changes her outlook: “Careful the things you say, children will listen;” the audience is left with a feeling of incredible hope. If people can work together, if they can truly listen to one another, we can certainly get through any challenging situation, especially when we are careful to actually hear another’s differing point of view.
As we approach Elul and begin to consider how we might repair broken relationships—in our families, in our community, in our city, in our country, in Israel, and throughout the world—how might we open ourselves to listening to the point of truly hearing the experiences and feelings of others?
See and hear Sondheim’s “Children Will Listen” sung by the incomparable Bernadette Peters here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gey1PtXYwLI
—Cantor Emma Lutz