Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine & Original Cast of INTO THE WOODS Reunite Today

Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine and the original cast of Broadway's INTO THE WOODS have returned to the New York stage.

The Tony-winning composer and members of the original company, including Bernadette Peters and Chip Zien, reunite today, June 21 at 2pm and 7pm at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for an INTO THE WOODS reunion. The event was originally co-produced by Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA last year.

Part conversation, part musical selections, this once in a lifetime reunion celebration is being written and produced by Eileen Roberts and Segerstrom. The evening with also feature Joanna Gleason, Robert Westenberg (Cinderella's Prince and Wolf), Kim Crosby (Cinderella), Danielle Ferland (Little Red Riding Hood) and Ben Wright (Jack). Mo Rocca is the moderator; Tedd Firth is the musical director.

Once upon a time, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote a musical called Into the Woods, based on a few well-known Grimm Brothers' fairy tales. It won three Tony Awards, ran 765 performances in its original Broadway run, spawned countless productions worldwide, a Broadway revival in 2002 (which won another Tony for best revival), a junior version for school performances, and a major Disney motion picture. Now 28 years later Sondheim and Lapine, with many of the original cast, reunite at BAM on June 21 for a discussion and performance of their extraordinary collaboration.

The reunion will be part retrospective; part moderated panel with Sondheim, Lapine, and the cast; and part performance, with cast members performing songs from the show. It will delve into the genesis and creative process of its award-winning score and book, casting for the Broadway production, and the road that led to the New York premiere in 1987. In addition to hearing songs performed by their original interpreters, the audience will have the rare opportunity to witness a meeting of these Broadway legends, and to learn from the cast about their experiences with the production, how the success of Into the Woods affected them, and their work today.