Broadway Has “Into The Woods” For The Ages With Great Cast

The 1987 musical “Into the Woods” is back with the show. The book is by James Lapine and the music and lyrics were composed and written by Stephen Sondheim. A second Broadway revival began performance on June 28, 2022. 

Still Has Shocking Effect On Broadway

The New York City Center decided to stage Into the Woods as part of its Encores! series and the same was announced in November 2020.

Almost two weeks later after closing the limited engagement at Encores!, it was disclosed that the production would transfer to Broadway at the St. James Theater.

The performances were decided to begin on June 28, 2022. Officially, the production opened on July 10. It will run through 21 August with most of the Encores! cast transferring. 

The plot for the series was taken from several fairy tales by Brothers Grimm such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and others. It entangles plots to explore the consequences of the character’s wishes and quests.

The musical began with the story of a childless couple, the baker and his wife. This includes their quest of starting a family and their interaction with a witch who has cursed them.

This was an original story of Rapunzel. The show proceeded with their interaction with other storybook characters on their journey. 

The musical first began in 1986 at the Old Globe Theatre of San Diego. It rose to prominence and gradually won three major Tony Awards in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera (1988).

It has since been produced many times in 1988, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2010, and 2012, and currently performing at St. James Theatre. 

The Musical Cast

Christian Borle, Sara Bareilles and Ashley Park, and Heather Headley had joined the cast as the Baker, his wife, Cinderella, and the Witch respectively. 

The Cinderella cast included Denee Benton as Cindrella, Gravin Creel as wolf/Cinderella’s Prince, and Annie Golden as Cinderella’s Mother/Grandmother/Giant’s wife, in March 2022. 

The production which ran from May 4-15, 2022, was directed by Encores! artistic director Lear deBessonet and this was the final Encores! series’ orchestra conducted by Rob Berman.

If you have never been to Broadway, then this is the perfect opportunity to start. The series displays our universal passage from childhood to adulthood.

We are made to believe a world full of tragic consequences. In the second act of the story the kingdom cracks and is damaged and afflicted by the revengeful Giant (Annie Golden), characters die, fight against each other and drown more in the dilemmas.

The show shows that life is a riddle but not always the fun kind. A film based on the musical directed by Rob Marshall premiered in 2014.

The Disney film adaptation was a massive hit and grossed over $23 million all over the world. The successful movie received three nominations at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. 

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