Jack (fairy tales)

Jack is the hero of the English folktale "Jack and the Beanstalk" which pits the simple farmboy against a treasure-hoarding giant. Another story, "Jack the Giant Killer," pits a hero named Jack against several giants including Cormoran, but does not involve a beanstalk. Whether it's the same Jack is a matter of personal interpretation and individual opinion.

In the Stephen Sondheim play Into the Woods, Jack's beanstalk adventure takes place offstage (unless the relevant theater or film is equipped with enough special effects to handle it), and the remainder of Jack's role in the play has him facing the unforeseen consequences of his original adventure.

Jack in "The Great White Way"
Jack was a Sondhead warrior who patrolled his native Woods during the Sondheim-Webber battle. Jack was unable to prevent the Webberite champion Bustopher Jones from stealing his pie, and later perished under the wheels of Rusty the steam engine.