After sending the theatrical world into a tizzy by casually revealing several big cuts from Disney’s Into The Woods adaptation, Stephen Sondheim is now singing a different tune. Presumably not realizing his words would cause such an uproar, Sondheim sent a clarifying statement to Playbill, explaining that his earlier remarks were made before he saw a rough cut of the film.
[Spoilers] Sondheim now confirms that the Prince and the Baker’s Wife still sleep together, and the song “Any Moment”—which fans immediately declared the “best song in the show” as soon as they thought it was cut—is still in the film. He also emphasizes that he’s had a great working relationship with the production team. His full statement is below:
An article in The New Yorker misreporting my “Master Class” conversation about censorship in our schools with seventeen teachers from the Academy for Teachers a couple of weeks ago has created some false impressions about my collaboration with the Disney Studio on the film version of Into The Woods. The fact is that James (Lapine, who wrote both the show and the movie) and I worked out every change from stage to screen with the producers and with Rob Marshall, the director. Despite what the New Yorker article may convey, the collaboration was genuinely collaborative and always productive.
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.
And for those who care, as the teachers did, the Prince’s dalliance is still in the movie, and so is “Any Moment.”