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Central Park's INTO THE WOODS Eyeing Broadway?
By: Rialto Chatter May. 11, 2012
Rumours that The Public Theatre's production of INTO THE WOODS will transfer to Broadway have been fueled once more by The New York Post, which reports that extentions to Donna Murphy, Amy Adams and the rest of the cast's contracts are being negotiated.
"Eustis and the Public have quietly been making plans to send the revival straight to Broadway if the critics approve," writes Michael Riedel in The New York Post. "The Public’s out and about raising money for a possible transfer as I write. The cost, I’m told, will be about $6million. [...] Agents for the actors are negotiating 20-week extensions for a possible Broadway run after the show closes in the park."
As exclusively reported in BroadwayWorld, The Public Theater production of INTO THE WOODS will transfer to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as part of the summer programing. The show will begin previews on Monday, July 23 and continue for five weeks through Saturday, August 25 with an official press opening on Thursday, August 9. The show will be directed by Timothy Sheader with co-direction by Liam Steel.
Tony Award-winner Donna Murphy has been cast as The Witch. Murphy last performed at the Delacorte in the Shakepeare in the Park production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985.
As previously announced, the cast will also include Amy Adams (The Baker’s Wife), Jack Broderick (Narrator), Gideon Glick (Jack), Cooper Grodin (Rapunzel’s Prince), Ivan Hernandez (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf), Tina Johnson (Granny), Josh Lamon (Steward), Jessie Mueller (Cinderella), Laura Shoop (Cinderella’s Mother), and Tess Soltau (Rapunzel).
The London cast included: Eddie Manning as the The Narrator, Helen Dallimore as Cinderella, Ben Stott as Jack, Mark Hadfield as Baker, Jenna Russell as Baker's Wife, Gaye Brown as Cinderella's Stepmother, Amy Ellen Richardson as Florinda, Amy Griffiths as Lucinda, Marilyn Cutts as Jack's Mother, Beverly Rudd as Little Red Ridinghood, Hannah Waddingham as Witch, Gemma Wardle as Cinderella's Mother, Billy Boyle as Mysterious Man, Michael Xavier as Wolf and Cinderella's Prince, Valda Aviks as Grandmother, Alice Fearn as Rapunzel, Simon Thomas as Rapunzel's Prince, Mark Goldthorp as Steward, Sophie Caton as Snow White/Harp, Marc Antolin as Woodsman, with Judi Dench as the voice of the Giant.
INTO THE WOODS debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre on December 4, 1986. Directed by James Lapine, it played 50 performances. The show then moved into Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre on November 5, 1987. Playing 764 performances on Broadway, the original production garnered three Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical, and a Grammy Award. The original cast featured Bernadette Peters (The Witch) and Joanna Gleason (The Baker's Wife). The original cast was videotaped for PBS' "Great Performances" series and is now available on DVD.
Stephen Sondeim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning comedic musical INTO THE WOODS centers upon a Baker, his Wife and the Witch next door who has placed a curse upon them. In a quest to reverse the curse, the Baker goes “into the woods” to gather the magical ingredients the Witch needs to create a potion. Along the way, the Baker runs into his neighbor, Jack, who tries to feed his family with “magic” beans, Little Red Ridinghood on the way to her grandmother’s house, Cinderella scurrying away from a night cut short with a handsome Prince, and several other beloved characters from Grimm’s fairytales. But, as the characters scour the woods to fulfill their greatest wishes, greed, deceit and misfortune thwart their journeys and force them to confront the morals of their stories. Is there really a happily ever after?
Photo: Walter McBride
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