I think in a theatrical setting it makes sense to go as old as you can get away with. I remember the original Fredrika in "A Little Night Music" looked 25 and was supposed to be a child. Same thing with Tobias in Sweeney Todd.
For me, Danielle Ferland always came across as a cynical child, but a child. I never got that she was aware of anything sexual in what she was saying or doing. It didn't come across in her eyes, her actions, her body language, or her interpretation of the material.
But seeing a 16-year-old in the role of a child on stage does make the audience draw their own conclusions and perhaps (perhaps!) get closer to an overt sexual awakening. I also have no doubt in my mind that Sondheim's clever lyrics allude to it without ever saying as much. He never says anything obviously sexual. He never steps outside what is literally happening to the characters (Little Red or the Wolf), yet he opens it up to other interpretations by the audience.
I actually posted those paintings on a previous page because you can clearly see that Little Red Riding Hood is a child, but you can also see that in a couple of them, the Wolf is leering at her. And not (necessarily) in a carnivorous way. It kinda looks sexual, with his tongue wagging, etc. This tells me that other artists who have depicted the "wolf" and the "innocent young girl" have also envisioned a sexual tension between them. That does not come from her actual age, though.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22