A nostalgic walk in the ‘Woods’
Into the woods,
And who can tell
What’s waiting on the journey?
—Prologue, “Into the Woods”
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A steady stream of props and memories is flowing into Costa Mesa in advance of a Broadway reunion of unprecedented scope.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, librettist James Lapine and six members of the original Broadway cast of the 1987 musical “Into the Woods” will join Sunday for a one-day-only reunion at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, moderated by Mo Rocca.
Reunion writer, producer and director Eileen Roberts said she was flabbergasted that the event was greenlighted.
“These are nine very busy people who came together for this,” Roberts said. “I think it really speaks to the love of the show and the love of the cast of this show. Stephen does not come out for a lot of things, and he certainly does not come out to the West Coast.”
Sondheim last appeared at the Segerstrom Center in 2012 for an intimate talk and concert, but is known for his relative reclusiveness.
“Everybody’s pretty far-flung,” said original cast member Joanna Gleason, who captured the triple crown of New York theater awards for originating the role of the Baker’s Wife: a Tony, an Outer Critic Circle award and a Drama Desk award.
But some relationships formed at that time still remain strong. Gleason cited her 27-year tight friendship with Chip Zien, the original Baker. Some became even closer: Kim Crosby, the original Cinderella, and Robert Westenberg, her Prince, got married after playing lovers together in the show.
The pair will appear at the reunion, along with Bernadette Peters (the rapping Witch), Danielle Ferland (Little Red Riding Hood) and Ben Wright (Jack, of beanstalk fame).
“We’re going to have a marvelous time,” Gleason said. “I want marshmallows and a campfire. I want to make s’mores.”
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‘Never had a better partner’
After coming up with the idea for the reunion, Roberts wrote a treatment and was put in touch with the Segerstrom Center via a friend. Roberts said she was surprised by the latitude the center gave her in creating the event.
“They said, ‘If you can do this, we want it here,’” she said. “I’ve never had a better partner. They’re letting me do pretty much anything I want to do.”
The reunion will not appear anywhere else in the country, leaving some New Yorkers fuming on message boards and Facebook pages. A matinee was added because of popular demand.
Roberts prefers to stay mum about the details of the show, choosing to “let it unfold,” but promises it was written based on what fans would most want.
“This is a very well-thought-out show,” she said. “This is not off-the-cuff. This is my love letter to ‘Into the Woods,’ and I’m so blessed that I got to do this. I still pinch myself. It’s good for so many different types of people — ‘Into the Woods’ fans, Sondheim fans, theater history fans. Personally, I’m going to try not to cry.”
“I probably speak for all of us,” Gleason said. “We’re just extremely grateful that none of the luster and depth of this show has been lost in 27 years, that there’s still so much sentiment and desire to connect to it. The PBS show gave us this sort of afterlife for generations.”
The original Broadway cast was captured in a PBS “American Playhouse” performance in 1991 — a rarity at the time for stage shows. The story of fairy tale characters whose lives collide, and whose wishes come true in both wonderful and treacherous ways, has become a cult classic — in part because of the availability of the filmed version and the release of clips on YouTube.
A Blu-Ray version of the 1991 performance will be sold for the first time Sunday at the reunion, which comes a month before the release of a big-budget Disney film version of the musical. It stars Hollywood luminaries Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt, who was cast as the Baker’s Wife.
“I’m a huge fan of hers,” Gleason said. “I think she can do anything.”
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Tangoing through life
The daughter of game show host Monty Hall, Gleason is known both for her stage and screen work. Gleason has been with husband Chris Sarandon, best known to many as Prince Humperdinck in “The Princess Bride,” for nearly 25 years, and has taught master classes and workshops nationwide for the same amount of time. She worked with UC Irvine theater students four years ago when they staged their own “Woods.”
“I like the things where it’s more flannel pants instead of gowns,” she said.
She also is working to cast a movie she wrote and has created a biographical cabaret show for 54 Below in New York City detailing her life (as well as her predilection for tango dancing).
Gleason recently performed in a Sondheim mash-up show, “Into Sweeney Todd’s Woods,” and has reprised her Baker’s Wife for other special events, including Sondheim’s 80th birthday celebration.
“It’s amazing — it still feels the way it felt before,” Gleason said. “The muscle memory is still there, the way it feels and the staging. It never fails to move me. I’m not possessive or proprietary in the role. I saw Danielle Ferland (the show’s original Little Red Riding Hood) do the Baker’s Wife, and it was fantastic. The show lives, you know? It lives. It’s part of several generations.”
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‘Any moment’
“‘Into the Woods’ was the first musical score I purchased as a pianist,” Roberts said. “It’s funny — deeply, metaphorically, philosophically, morally.… So many songs just cut to your heart.”
As an example, Roberts mentioned “Moments in the Woods,” the Baker’s Wife’s moment of introspection following her unexpected brush with the “charming, not sincere” Prince Charming, husband of Cinderella.
“‘Moments in the Woods’ is every bad date a woman’s ever had,” Roberts laughed. “I think there’s just some great life lessons in the show. I sometimes wonder if it’s something James even intended. We all take our own things away from it.”
Gleason said one of her main takeaways from the show also came from “Moments in the Woods”:
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always “or”?
Is it never “and”?
When asked what advice she would give the ambitious, pragmatic and yet closet-romantic Baker’s Wife, whose neighbors include witches and princes, Gleason offered three key words:
“Location, location, location. You live next door to a very strange woman. I would also say to her — it’s a message in the show — ‘careful what you wish for.’ You can’t just wish for more and you can’t just wish for other, because every wish is written in invisible ink, and that ink will appear someday. Oh, and switch to gluten-free bread.”
If You Go
What: “Into the Woods” original cast reunionWhen: 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: $59 and up
Information: (714) 556-2787 or https://www.scfta.org
Insider tip: Arrive early for the lobby experience