INTO THE WOODS Rehearsals Begin! Complete Confirmed Cast, With Stars Already Tweeting Pics & More
By: Pat Cerasaro Aug. 07, 2013
Rehearsals for the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved fairy tale-themed musical INTO THE WOODS are now underway at Shepperton Studios (part of Pinewood Studios) in the UK under the direction of Rob Marshall and the astounding assortment of actors involved with the project have already taken to Twitter, Facebook and other social media to share insights, photos and updates on all of the onset action.
Earlier today, actors Sophia Grace and Daniel Huttlestone were officially confirmed for the film following initial speculation and reports of the latter being "in talks" and a Tweet last night confirming Grace's involvement as well as a post by Huttlestone himself on Twitter implying as much. For more information on both stories, check out last night's Sophia Grace article, available here, and Daniel Huttlestone article, available here.
The confirmed complete cast for INTO THE WOODS is as follows: Meryl Streep as The Witch, James Corden as The Baker, Emily Blunt as The Baker's Wife, Johnny Depp as The Wolf, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel, Lucy Punch as Lucinda, Tammy Blanchard as Florinda, Christine Baranski as Cinderella's Stepmother and Tracey Ullman as Jack's Mother, now with Sophia Grace Brownlee as Little Red Riding Hood and Daniel Huttlestone as Jack.
BroadwayWorld exclusively confirmed the original twelve cast members listed above in July, with Grace and Huttlestone now officially added to the mix in their standout supporting roles.
This week, the stars themselves have taken to social media to share first set pics and much more, with Huttlestone posting numerous messages to Facebook as well as uploading a photo of himself with co-star James Corden; Anna Kendrick Tweeting about Cinderella preparations; and, James Corden posting his dressing room door marker - complete with a look at the preliminary logo for the forthcoming feature film.
On Monday, Huttlestone wrote, "Rehearsing at the moment. Going really cool !! Singing with James Corden, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp !! So exciting!!" before posting a photo of himself with Corden, among other messages.
Yesterday, Huttlestone provided yet another update, writing, "Rehearsal today !! INTO THE WOODS !!"
Subscribe to Daniel Huttlestone on Facebook here.
Today, Anna Kendrick took to Twitter to amusingly write, "Voice lessons, horse riding lessons, corset fittings. It's like I'm in finishing school except I'll be back in sweats by Xmas #IntoTheWoods"
Follow Anna Kendrick on Twitter here.
Lastly, earlier this week, James Corden Tweeted a picture of his dressing room door - displaying the word "Baker" - with the caption "First day!"
Follow James Corden on Twitter here.
INTO THE WOODS is directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by original bookwriter James Lapine and is set to premiere in December 2014.
The original 1987 production of INTO THE WOODS starred Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien, winning multiple Tony Awards including Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress In A Musical. More recently, a Tony Award-winning 2002 Best Revival starred Vanessa Williams, Kerry O'Malley and Stephen DeRosa.
Sondheim's score for INTO THE WOODS features such cherished gems as "Children Will Listen", "No One Is Alone" and many more. Sondheim and I discussed the previous attempts at a feature film adaptation of INTO THE WOODS in both of our InDepth InterViews, as well as the themes and specific songs of the musical itself.
A portion of our second InDepth InterView pertaining to INTO THE WOODS follows:
"PC: So many songs in this book seem to deal with the idea of family and parents - "Children Will Listen" from INTO THE WOODS being the foremost example.
SS: That's the whole idea - that's the whole show; fairy tales are about the relationship between parents and children. If you look at all the fairy tales, they are all about that - Cinderella; Jack and the Beanstalk; they are all about it - because that's the way fairy tales were told. You know, they weren't written down - they were told from generation to generation and, usually, matriarchal. So, often, it's from the woman's point of view - because in many of the fairy tales, if not most of them, the fathers are missing and the mothers are left. So, that all has to do with the tradition of fairy tales. The Grimm Brothers just collected a lot of them - as all the other fairy tale collectors did - but, they were all from an oral tradition. So, that's what accounts for the fact that most of them deal with parents and children."Check out my entire 2011 InDepth InterView: Stephen Sondheim here.
Also, view my 2010 InDepth InterView with Stephen Sondheim in which we discuss additional material written for the oft-proposed film adaptation - specifically the duet "Rainbows" - as well as the impressive original cast for the aborted 1990s film version and much more, available here.
Check out the world premiere exclusive INTO THE WOODS film confirmed casting article here.
View the photos of Huttlestone, Corden and more from the set of INTO THE WOODS below.
Photo Credits: Facebook & Twitter
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