Priscilla Cuellar, John Loughney & More to Lead NextStop Theatre's INTO THE WOODS

NextStop Theatre Company completes its inaugural main stage season with an ambitious new production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, running May 1-June 1, 2014. Directed by NextStop's Artistic Director Evan Hoffmann, the production will feature a cast of seventeen and a ten-piece orchestra in the company's intimate 114-seat black box theater in Herndon, VA.

The cast will be led by 2013 Helen Hayes Award winner Priscilla Cuellar as the Witch and 2014 nominee John Loughney as the Baker. They will be joined by Laura Fontaine as Florinda, Scott Gaines as Cinderella's Prince/The Wolf, Scott Harrison as Rapunzel's Prince, Jennifer Lambert as Cinderella's Stepmother, Ryan Manning as the Narrator, Brittany Martz as Cinderella, Sean McComas as Jack, Katie McManus as the Baker's Wife, Lynn Audrey Neal as Jack's Mother, Nora Palka as Little Red Ridinghood, Allizon Reggioli as Cinderella's Mother/Granny, Michael Sherman as the Mysterious Man, Suzanne Stanley as Rapunzel, Danny Tippet as the Steward, and Jaclyn Young as Lucinda.

Into the Woods combines the iconic stories of Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack (the giant killer), with the new tale of a childless baker and his wife. Their intertwining quests into the woods result in a twistedly funny, but sobering musical about the cost and consequences of "happily ever after." The original Broadway production garnered three Tony Awards and a Grammy, and inspired an upcoming Hollywood movie starring Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, and Anna Kendrick.

"I'm extremely proud of the attention and praise our artists have garnered in NextStop's first season," says Hoffmann. "We've taken ambitious new approaches to old classics, and we intend to do the same with Into The Woods. I don't want to give too much away, but I can tell you that this project is our most ambitious yet, and we expect audiences to be blown away by the results."

The creative team behind the production includes Elisa Rosman (music direction), Lorraine Magee (choreography), Steven Royal (scenic design), Frank Coleman (lighting design), Kathy Dunlap (costume design), and Sierra Banack (properties design). Joan Lada serves as the Production Stage Manager.