Sara Bareilles, Christian Borle, Ashley Park, and Heather Headley to Lead Encores Into The Woods- Page 4

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 2:52pm

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Josh Groban is not right for the Baker."
He's not right for the other Sondheim role they're stunt-casting him in this fall either, but that's never stopped the profit algorithm."

.......have I missed an announcement or a rumor???! Do give us a hint.

[dan94]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 3:00pm

Would it take more than a little priest for him to be even passable in the role?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 3:23pm

@g.d.e.l.g.i

Have you given yourself away? In the Merrily thread you mentioned a Sweeney Todd revival with a celebrity you refused to name. Two halves of a whole, separate into 2 different Sondheim threads?

[benfox2]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 3:42pm

Call me crazy, but I am IN for a big budget Josh Groban Sweeney Todd. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 3:54pm

I’d rather see a Jackman/Foster Sweeney than Music Man, especially after seeing Sutton as a desperate but morally ambivalent schemer in “Younger.”

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 3:56pm

benfox2 said: "Call me crazy, but I am IN for a big budget Josh Groban Sweeney Todd."

I sure HOPE the budget will be big.

As always, it's about the Lovett for me. There are dozens of women who could play it brilliantly.

...and we talkin Broadway or somewhere In Concert or a chamber production?

[dan94]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 4:05pm

If we're getting a Sweeney who can't act, I want Bryn Terfel level vocals. And Groban is...not that. Would need an absolutely irresistible Lovett to get me interested.

[benfox2]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 4:07pm

If the poster is to be believed, a quote from the Merrily Thread:
"g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "ljay889 said: "g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Consistency said: "I'm hoping we'll see some more in the next few years... maybe even a full-scale "Sweeney Todd"? Please?"

Well, you're about to be very pleased by some news coming down the pike, though not necessarily the casting..."

Say what??"

Saying anymore without confirmation would be against BWW's rules, so just keep watchin' the news, that's all I can tell you. Without naming names and thereby breaching a ton of things, I'll simply say that I think the director makes sense on paper, albeit I won't be all that excited personally by what he does with it, but the casting of the two leads is the laziest crap since they invented the self-turning ice cream cone. (Like, compared to this, Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo is perfection.)"

So I’m guessing it’s not with my dream Mandy & Bernadette?"

I can say this much: nope. "

Putting 2 and 2 together it sounds like a full scale Sweeney production with 2 'star' casting choices? And if you're to believe his comments in this thread, Josh Groban as Sweeney.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 5:13pm

It’s a shame we never got an Audra as Cinderella in ITW.

it would’ve been incredible and she’s also so funny.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 3/16/22 at 6:27pm

BWW's current rules prevent me from confirming or denying anything, so I'll simply paraphrase a quote from Torch Song Trilogy and attribute it to benfox2: "Honey, my calculus isn't perfect, but I can put two and two together."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to attend to my health. I must adjust my diet to include some Kail. Not all that exciting a dish, but I know more or less what to expect. Maybe that'll help my skin, which is Ashford enough as it is -- certainly been there before, haven't we? I'm 50/50 on how big a problem that is; some find it irresistible, but others may not.

(...hey, I love to read blind items. Writing them is a horse of a different color. And it serves them right for initially attempting to rip off my concept for Sweeney before abandoning it, no doubt because the profit algorithm finds it too risky and controversial.)

Updated On: 3/16/22 at 06:27 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 2:43pm

The latest casting:

Denee Benton as Cinderella (replacing Ashley Park)

Gavin Creel as the Wolf and Cinderella's Prince

Annie Golden as Cinderella's Mother, Grandmother, and Giant's wife

Ann Harada as Jack's Mother

David Patrick Kelly as the Narrator and Mysterious Man.

Also joining the cast are Tiffany Denise Hobbs as Lucinda, Brooke Ishibashi as Floridna, Kennedy Kanagawa as Milky White, Lauren Mitchell as Cinderella's Stepmother, and David Turner as the Steward.

 

Gavin Creel is kind of a head-scratcher but will be intriguing to see...

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 2:49pm

God just when I thought I could not be even more excited for this!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 2:53pm

Gavin AND Denee? JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST THIS CAST!!!!!!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 2:55pm

SWEET JESUS, that cast!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 2:57pm

A Kail directed Ashford/Groban Sweeney sounds.... interesting.... 

And Gavin Creel? swoon.

Updated On: 3/24/22 at 02:57 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 3:36pm

Wow!!! Amazing! So excited for this! Benton as Cinderella is inspired.

Also, don't think it's mentioned above that Jordan Donica is Rapunzel's Prince, which is also great casting. 

[UWS10023]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 3:38pm

The additional casting is exciting I must say.

[benfox2]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 4:21pm

My birthday is during the run of this show, was on the fence before but with this casting I think this locks me in! Very excited for this cast.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 4:30pm

Don't get me wrong, LOVED Denee in Great Comet but is she...funny?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 4:35pm

ClydeBarrow said: "Don't get me wrong, LOVED Denee in Great Comet but is she...funny?"

 

I'm excited to find out! 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/24/22 at 4:47pm

She did play nabalungi in the Book of Mormon, so I’m sure she has some comedic chops

[orlikethecolorpurple]

Posted: 3/25/22 at 12:20am

This cast is absurd! Can’t miss!

Do main floor Encores tickets ever become available closer to performance or would it be best to act now?

As a tall person with long legs, how’s the leg room in the grand circle/mezz?

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/25/22 at 12:40am

orlikethecolorpurple said: "Do main floor Encores tickets ever become available closer to performance or would it be best to act now? As a tall person with long legs, how’s the leg room in the grand circle/mezz?"

I think the grand circle has pretty decent leg room? Mezz and balc legroom is TIGHT.

As with anything, some orch seats may become available as the weeks go on if you check back. This is a much much hotter show than anything Encores has done in the past 10ish years, so I can't really speak from experience.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/25/22 at 10:06am

All these announcements make me soooo happy I bought tickets in October when it was just Bareilles, Borle, Headley, and Park cast. Those names alone made this a must see for me, but it’s becoming quite the event.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 3/25/22 at 10:30am

What are the chances of them recording this? We're long overdue a new ITW cast album