Stephen Sondheim says he was misquoted on 'Into The Woods' plot changes

Composer Stephen Sondheim caused a stir in the Broadway community by suggesting that Disney was making major changes to Into The Woods to bring it to the big screen. While reports of his conversation seemed to insinuate that he was not happy with the changes, Sondheim said that this was not the case.

During an Academy of Teachers Master Class, Sondheim went into detail about the upcoming Rob Marshall-directed film version of the beloved classic. According to The New Yorker, this included various changes, including Rapunzel not getting killed and the possible deletion of the song “Any Moment.” He was quoted as saying that “Any Moment” has “probably been cut.”

According to Playbill, Sondheim said that he and book writer James Lapine did stick up for “Any Moment,” but Disney insisted. “But Disney said, we don't want Rapunzel to die, so we replotted it. I won't tell you what happens, but we wrote a new song to cover it," Sondheim said.

Sondheim’s lawyer sent a statement to Playbill on Monday to clarify the New Yorker story, claiming that he was misquoted by the reporter. Essentially, Sondheim said that Lapine and himself have worked closely with Disney and Marshall on the creation of Into The Woods as a film.

“When the conversation with the teachers occurred, I had not yet seen a full rough cut of the movie. Coincidentally, I saw it immediately after leaving the meeting and, having now seen it a couple of times, I can happily report that it is not only a faithful adaptation of the show, it is a first-rate movie,” Sondheim said. “And for those who care, as the teachers did, the Prince's dalliance is still in the movie, and so is ‘Any Moment.’”

Into The Woods, which features several iconic fairy tale characters meeting, will hit theaters on Dec. 25. Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt and Tracy Ullman headline the all-star cast.

image courtesy of Walter McBride/INFphoto.com

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