Early last year, we let you know that Disney and director Rob Marshall are planning to bring Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods to the screen. This week, we finally got some news about the film, as it was reported that Meryl Streep will be playing the lead role of The Witch.
News of Streep’s casting was first reported by the Litchfield County Times in an interview with the film’s arranger, David Krane. Krane told the newspaper:
“I am coming into an exciting time. My show, ‘The Road to Qatar,’ is being presented in London next month and then I am doing a revival of an old show, ‘Good News’ at the Goodspeed Opera House. And then the biggest news-they are doing a movie of the musical ‘Into the Woods.’ Disney is going to make the movie and I will do the arrangements. Meryl Streep will be the witch and it will be the first time I have worked with her since 1977 when we did ‘Happy End.'”
Disney has yet to confirm Streep’s casting in the musical film, which will feature a screenplay by the musical’s original book writer, James Lapine, and additional songs written for the film by legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. A reading took place of the film’s screenplay in October, in which the role of The Witch was instead played by Donna Murphy (Tangled), who portrayed the role during the run of Into the Woods last summer at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Other cast members who took part in the reading include Anna Kendrick, Allison Janney, Christine Baranski, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Nina Arianda, James Corden, and Patrick Wilson.
Stay tuned for more news on this exciting new movie musical.
