Last night, The Hollywood Reporter put up a story with good news and bad news for Broadway buffs. The good news? After multiple failed attempts, it looks like Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Broadway classic fairy tale musical Into The Woods is getting another chance at becoming a movie—with a book by Lapine and additional music and lyrics by Sondheim! The bad news? The director who is pushing for the movie is Rob Marshall, the man who brought us the tone-deaf stage-to-screen musical adaptations Chicago and Nine. Ugh. Is this the last midnight?
Yes, Marshall sounds like a mistake to us, but if Lapine and Sondheim are down with it, fans should probably honor their mistake (not so sure about fighting for it, though). And beyond the Marshall factor there is lots to be excited about in the idea of an Into The Woods musical. Considering the success of both ABC's Once Upon A Time and NBC's Grimm on TV this season there is good reason to think that "re-imagined fairy tales are hot right now" and Woods—especially its "darker" second act—is certainly imaginative. Also it remains one of the best things to come out of Broadway in the last 25 years. And another point in favor of the movie? Sondheim, an avid movie buff, clearly wants to do this one—as can be evidenced by his wistful notes on past attempts to film the show in his recent book Look, I Made A Hat. And it sounds like he and Lapine have some ideas for how to make the very stagey stage-show work on the big screen (can't be worse than the Liz Taylor A Little Night Music?).
So now the real fun begins for buffs: fantasy casting. To get you started, in his book Sondheim recounts the amazing casts pulled together for the two previous attempts to film the show:
The first reading of the movie script had, among others, Martin Short as the Baker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Wife, Neil Patrick Harris as Jack, Mary Steenburgen as his Mother, Kathy Najimy as Florinda, Janeane Garofalo as Lucinda, Cynthia Gibb as Cinderella, Rob Lowe as her Prince, Christine Lahti as the Witch, Daryl Hannah as Rapunzel and Michael Jeter as the Giant.
The second reading was even more star-studded: Robing Williams (the Baker), Goldie Hawn (the Wife), Cher (the Witch), Carrie Fisher (Lucinda), Bebe Neuwirth (Florinda), Moira Kelly (Cinderella), Kyle MacLachlan (Cinderella's Prince), Brenden Fraser (Rapunzel's Prince), Elijah Wood (Jack), Roseanne Barr (Jack's Mother), Danny DeVito (the Giant), and Steve Martin (the Wolf). All that and Jim Henson, too.
I wish...
Topping that second almost-cast is going to be hard, but we think you can do it. Especially since some casting seems pretty obvious. Like Neil Patrick Harris, who once was to play Jack, seems a shoe-in for the Baker. And honestly Danny DeVito would still be a great and hysterical Giant (similarly there is no reason why Dame Judi Dench can't reprise her role as the Giantess). But then things get tricky.
How to solve a problem like the Witch? Would it be blasphemy if we suggested Courtney Love? Because really both Bernadette Peters or Vanessa Williams could still do it (though might not have the audience pulling power needed). Is Amy Adams ready to get enchanted again and give the Baker's Wife a shot? And more importantly, can we all agree that Taylor Swift simply cannot be allowed to play Little Red Riding Hood? So, while we wait with bated breath for more information on this maybe movie, have at the casting in the comments. Just remember, the difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure.
