I Wish

Author's Note: All credit for the songs goes to Stephen Sondheim. I suggest listening to the songs listed to get a better experience. All the people listed are real, though the story may not be.

Song: Prologue: Into The Woods

“You’re fired.” Her boss’ words still rang in her ears, even hours after her dismissal. Kim Crosby still appeared as her confident self, but inside, she was a nervous wreck. Mere minutes before the show was about to start, and she was close to breaking down. 

It seemed that all the pressure in the world was on her shoulders. If Kim didn’t give a good performance of Cinderella tonight, Into the Woods might be cancelled, and she wouldn’t get paid the amount she needed to survive. Kim glanced up and noticed that Frank, the stage manager, was frantically waving at her. Frank gestured onstage, and Kim walked on.

She was rooted to the spot for an excruciating two minutes, her worry increasing every second. Finally, Kim heard James Lapine step out onto the stage. She squared her shoulders, pushing down her fear during his speech. Then the curtains opened, and Tom (the Narrator) began to speak.

“Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom, there lay a small village at the edge of the woods.” The music started. Two measures, remember? Two measures, Kim told herself repeatedly. You can do this, Kim. You’ve gone through “the Prologue” hundreds of times. You can do this.

One measure gone.

Yes, your future depends on it. That’s why you have to make it good. Cinderella would be nervous too! Tap into that. And—

Two measures gone. Oh crap.

“I wish,” Kim sang. The clarity and rhythm of the song enveloped her, leaving her in a world of only herself and the music. Everything else—the audience, the cameras— slipped off her radar. 

“More than anything,” Kim was completely in tune with the song and Cinderella’s emotions.

“More than life, more than jewels.” Kim dared to hope that it would be okay. The spotlight on her winked out, and Kim patiently waited for her next scene.

“You wish to go to the Festival?” Joy Franz sneered as the Stepmother. All of a sudden, Kim found herself thrown into the black hole of her fears. She was scared of people dismissing her when she applied for a new job. Especially since Kim had been fired; she couldn’t very well say she left to broaden her horizons.

“You, Cinderella, the festival? 

You wish to go to the festival? 

The festival? 

The King’s festival? 

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.” 

So basically “You, Kim Crosby, apply for this job? You want to apply for this job? This job? My company’s job? Kim shrunk into herself, her “Debbie Downer” subconscious changing the words to demean her.

Song: Cinderella at the Grave

“What is it that you wish, child? 

Are you certain what you wish is what you want?

If you know what you want,

Then make a wish.

Ask the tree,

And you shall have your wish” Merle Louise said quietly. Kim looked up at her, taking her time before she said her line. What do I wish? Kim asked herself. Her first answer was obvious—a stable job. But did she really want that? Or did she want the comfort and security that came with it? Did Kim really want a stable job, or the money it provided to let her continue with her hobby: acting. Kim had never liked her old job anyway, but she loved this. What she was doing right now. That’s what she wanted: to be able to do this for the rest of her life.

“Shiver and quiver, little tree

Silver and gold throw down on me

I'm off to get my wish!” Kim sang. Oh yes she was.

Song: A Very Nice Prince

“Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in your shoes.

Well, your slippers.

As pure as gold…” Joanna Gleason murmured. To Kim, this felt just like when her friends wished they had her former job. All one had to do was change “shoes” and “slippers” to “job”. She remembered always wishing that she could have a job on the same level as her friends, even knowing that she would be tight for money.

“I must get home!” Kim called, recalling her embarrassment and shame at not appreciating her job enough.

“No, no wait.

I need your shoes!”

Song: Ever After

“To be happy, and forever,

You must see your wish come true.

Don't be careful, don't be clever.

When you see your wish, pursue.

It's a dangerous endeavor,

But the only thing to do—” Yes, Kim thought as she sang, I must fight for this: my role as an actor. I must fight for this happiness. This is my only chance.

“Though it's fearful,

Though it's deep, though it's dark,

And though you may lose your path,

Though you may encounter wolves,

You mustn't stop,

You mustn't swerve,

You mustn't ponder,

You have to act!” She was acting. Kim was acting with all her might. This show would succeed, she would make sure of it. This was her guiding light through the metaphorical woods. Kim would fight for it.

“When you know your wish,

If you want your wish,

You can have your wish,-

No, to get your wish

You go into the woods,” Kim smiled as she sang the rest of the song. She finally understood. Choosing this path was never easy. There was uncertainty and worry, but in the end it would be alright. Kim would get her wish; she would go into the woods and get it or die trying.

Song: No One is Alone

“Mother cannot guide you.

Now you're on your own.

Only me beside you.

Still, you're not alone.

No one is alone, truly.

No one is alone.” Kim sang the comfort every member of the cast had given to her when she had first joined, and the advice all of her older friends had given to her when she had first graduated college. She listened to it now with a different ear, letting the gentle words soothe her worries.

“Sometimes people leave you

Halfway through the wood.

Others may deceive you.

You decide what's good.

You decide alone.

But no one is alone.” ‘people’ could equal ‘jobs’, and Kim thought the advice was still sound. Maybe she should talk to some of her older cast members about what she should do next, since she was in dire need of their wisdom. Even if the show was cancelled tonight, Kim could still talk to them. Because she knew one thing about theater for sure: One show connected the cast forever, especially when they went into the woods together.