Two paths ‘Into the Woods’
Two intriguing productions of “Into the Woods” plant themselves in theaters this holiday season. The big-budget Disney film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairy-tale musical opens Christmas Day, while the ever-imaginative Fiasco Theater’s version starts previews Dec. 18 at the Laura Pels Theatre.
It’s the same source material — the 1987 Broadway musical — but these takes are as different as night and day, or at least evergreens and oaks.
THE CAST
Film: A cast of dozens, led by big stars including Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, James Corden and Tracey Ullman.
Stage: Eleven actors playing 17 roles.
THE WOLF
Film: A furry Depp as a wolf who beguiles Little Red Riding Hood.
Stage: Noah Brody, one of the troupe’s artistic directors, holds a stuffed wolf’s head while singing the saucy “Hello, Little Girl.”
THE HAIR
Film: Rapunzel’s endless golden locks look like the real deal — even when besotted boys climb them to get closer.
Stage: A yellow scarf. Lather, rinse, repeat? Nah. Toss it in the washing machine.
EVIL SIBS
Film: Lucy Punch and Tammy Blanchard play Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters. They screech like magpies and show plenty of skin in their ball gowns.
Stage: Brody and Andy Grotelueschen play the evil sibs. They dress for the ball by holding floral frocks hanging on a rod in front of them.
THE WOODS
Film: The forest, built on a London soundstage, actually had “birds nested in the trees,” Ullman told the Daily News.
Stage: Derek McLane’s spare set conjures an exploded piano and fits Fiasco’s minimal esthetic.
THE COW
Film: Milky White, Jack’s (of beanstalk fame) ill-fated bovine BFF, is played by a real cow — as in, the four-legged kind that moos.
Stage: Grotelueschen again — wearing a cowbell, so that you can tell.