DELICIOUSLY GRIMM TAKE ON SONDHEIM'S CLASSIC

There's a great theatreland punchline when someone mentions composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim: "What? No tunes, then?

- With STEFAN KYRIAZIS

Of course, the man wrote Send In The Clowns, but he's known for his challenging melodies and dazzlingly quick wordplay. You can't just sit back and hum the choruses. You gotta pay attention, but, boy, does it pay off when you do.

De-Disneyfying the greatest Grimm Brothers' classics, this 1986 masterpiece cocktails characters together for an often hilarious but razor-sharp look at human nature, its dark heart represented by paths through the woods everyone takes.