International NewsTheatre Royal Bath's Victorian Toy Theatre-Inspired Into the Woods Finishes Run September 10
The Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical is directed by Terry Gilliam.
By
Logan Culwell-Block
September 10, 2022
Theatre Royal Bath's revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods completes its run at the U.K. venue September 10. The production, which presents the fairy tale mash-up musical through the lens of a young girl playing with a Victorian toy theatre, officially opened August 25. Read the reviews here.
Terry Gilliam co-directs with Leah Hausman, who also served as choreographer. See photos from the re-imagined production below.
Frequent Sondheim interpreter Alex Young (Follies, Anyone Can Whistle) stars as the Baker's Wife alongside Olivier nominees Audrey Brisson (Amélie) as Cinderella and Nicola Hughes (Fosse, Porgy and Bess) as the Witch, Julian Bleach (Shockheaded Peter, The Grinning Man) as the Mysterious Man, and Rhashan Stone (All About Eve) as the Baker.
Rounding out the cast are Gillian Bevan (Billy Elliot) as Jack's Mother, Nathanael Campbell (Come From Away) as the Wolf/Cinderella's Prince, Maria Conneeley as Rapunzel, Lauren Conroy as Little Red Riding Hood, Jamie Birkett (The Play That Goes Wrong) as Lucinda, Samuel Holmes (Crazy For You) as the Steward, Charlotte Jaconelli (Heathers) as Florinda, Henry Jenkinson as Rapunzel's Prince, Barney Wilkinson (Sunset Boulevard) as Jack, Alexandra Waite-Roberts as Cinderella's Stepmother, and Jessica Barton and Annabelle Denny, alternating as Little Girl. Michael Larcombe, Jordan Paris, Faith Prendercast, and Cath Whitefield comprise the ensemble, while understudies include Aliza Vakil, Lucyelle Cliffe, Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong, Isabel Canning, Taite-Elliot Drew, and Johan Munir.
The production comes to Theatre Royal Bath after being canceled by The Old Vic following comments previously made by Gilliam about the #MeToo movement, described by the director as a "witch hunt."
Gilliam and Hausman's creative team includes music director Stephen Higgins, designer Jon Bausor, costume designer Antony McDonald, video designer Will Duke, sound designer Adam Fisher, and casting director David Grindrod.
Filmed in 2023, the one-night-only event featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Peter Friedman, and more from the Ahrens and Flaherty musical's original cast.