A first look at the cast, vision, and legacy driving one of the most anticipated local productions in years.
A cursed childless couple. A red-hooded girl. A boy with magic beans. A witch, a prince, a wicked step family, and a forest full of mystery and metaphors.
Originally written by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine (book), Into the Woods weaves together well-known fairytales—Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel—and brings them all into one shared universe.
Each character sets out to chase a wish: to go to the ball, to climb the beanstalk, to break a curse. It’s a story about wishes, consequences, and the cost of getting what you want. Act One feels like a happy ending. Act Two strips that illusion away.
And now, in its first major Philippine production in years, the show is coming to life through an all-Filipino powerhouse team, led by Tony-winning designer Clint Ramos, veteran theater director Chari Arespacochaga, and a cast headlined by none other than Lea Salonga.
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First encounters
Before they ever came together to stage Into the Woods here in Manila, Clint Ramos, Chari Arespacochaga, actor-director Jamie Wilson, and veteran playwright-actor Rody Vera each met the show in their own way—on stage, on screen, through music, or by chance. In a conversation with The POST, they shared the first time this iconic Sondheim piece entered their lives.
“My first encounter was the Broadway cast album. I listened to it in high school. And then, you know, being a theater geek, you’re just kind of like, ‘Oh my god, this is amazing,’ But the first time I worked on the show was actually in 2007-2008. I designed a production of it that Moisés Kaufman directed in Kansas City Repertory. And then I’ve worked on a couple more productions of it. The last version that I did, I was one of the producers of the last Broadway revival of Into the Woods. So, you know, it’s kind of come full circle. Doing it here is the last stop.”
“Somehow I knew it was going to be telecast on PBS.” Arespacochaga recalled. “And I was still living here, so when my family asked me what birthday gift I wanted, I said, ‘Record that.’ And my cousins were like, ‘You’re insane. Just ask for sneakers.’ I said, ‘nope, that’s the birthday gift I want.’ And so I had to wait for them to mail it and send it. That was my first encounter.”
For Wilson, “So in 2007, my sister, Monique, had a company called New Voice Company. I was her resident technical director. And then she auditioned me and I was to play the Wolf. And then for one reason or another, we had to replace our Prince Charming, and I became a Prince Charming. And nag-away kami because, hello, mukha ba akong Prince Charming? Hindi eh. Mas mukha akong Wolf.” He laughs. “I had heard of it before. I had heard the soundtrack before, growing up in a theater family. But that was my first encounter in knowing what it meant to learn the music and the show of Into the Woods by Sondheim.”
“The first time I saw the video, I was in Germany,” Vera said. “I was there in Stuttgart for the Miss Saigon. I was crashing in while I was there. So, pinapanood sa akin and ‘Wow, ang ganda!’ And since then, it has been one of my favorite Sondheim musicals. I never dreamed I’d be part of it now, how many years later? Decades later?”
A Filipino dream team
Produced by Theatre Group Asia (TGA), the show opens this August 7 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater and has already sold out in just two hours.
The cast is a mix of legends, international stars, and local icons: Lea Salonga takes on the role of The Witch, with Arielle Jacobs as Cinderella, Eugene Domingo as Jack’s Mother, and Josh Dela Cruz as Prince Charming and The Wolf. Nyoy Volante and Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante play the Baker and the Baker’s Wife, joined by Nic Chien as Jack, Joreen Bautista as Rapunzel, Mark Bautista as Rapunzel’s Prince, Teetin Villanueva as Little Red, Carla Guevara Laforteza as Granny and The Giant, Jamie Wilson as Cinderella’s Father and The Steward, and Rody Vera as the Narrator.
They’re backed by a world-class Filipino creative and technical team: Gerard Salonga (music direction), Ohm David (set design), Raven Ong (costumes), Cha See (lighting), Cecile Martinez (choreography), and more.
But for all the star power, the vibe backstage stayed grounded.
“Nobody led with their stardom,” Arespacochaga says. “Everyone wanted to tell the story together.” She adds, “They all love each other. The exchange has been honest. ‘Oh mali, ulitin natin yan.’ ‘What about this?’ And when people are trying new things, nanonood lahat. They’re watching each other. Encouraging each other.”
“There’s a moment every day where I step back and think, I can’t believe I’m in the same room as these people,” adds Jamie Wilson, who also serves as assistant director. “But then I think, you better get your shit together. Don’t f*ck it up.”
Vera, while a veteran in the industry, still gets starstruck too. “The same with me. Kasi, I don’t say that in front of them, but I’m starstruck. But of course, I keep it to myself,” he shares with a laugh.
A deeper intention
This is the first major musical from TGA, following last year’s Request sa Radyo. But while that was a one-woman show, Into the Woods is the opposite with 18-lead performers, full set, live orchestra, puppetry, and a technical team stacked with award winners.
“We’re working on a great product,” Arespacochaga says. “But we also want the audience to take away something beyond, ‘I had a good time tonight.’ You want them thinking, ‘My life means this.’ You want them coming back for more.”
The team didn’t aim to localize the script, but instead grounded it in their performers’ perspectives.
“It’s been quite meaningful to discover and rediscover, especially with the input of the past, how the story means very immediate and personal things to them,” she explains. “So you’re like, ‘what does this say about the Filipino ambition?”
“Hopefully our context gives more meaning to the already rich work that is this Sondheim musical,” Ramos says.
A tribute to a legacy
The production also carries the imprint of the late Bobby Garcia, who helped form TGA and was originally set to co-direct. “This is a vision Bobby was very passionate about,” Ramos says. “We choose to celebrate his life and legacy by forging ahead and bringing our aligned dreams to fruition.”
Inside the show, Garcia’s presence is felt. Rody Vera, who plays the Narrator, says he took the role because of Bobby.
“At the time Bobby asked me, [through Chris Monani] “Do you want to be part of it?” I said yes. And then I got really heartbroken when he passed away a few months after.”
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Into the woods and into something new
Staying true to Sondheim didn’t mean playing it safe. “We didn’t change a single word. We didn’t reorchestrate,” Ramos says. “But it’s still definitely, indelibly ours.”
“Sondheim invites you to interpret his work,” Arespacochaga adds. “He wants people to rethink it for the time they’re living in.”
They won’t say much about the changes, or if there is any at all, but there is a “twist” to the Narrator that Rody Vera hints at, but won’t give away.
“May ginawa si Chari sa character ko, as a narrator. Which I think is brilliant. But I can’t share it.,” Vera says with a laugh. “It’s a completely different take on what the narrator does, because usually, ‘pag narrator, narrator lang. Pero ito, may ibang ipinasok na layer si Direk Chari. Which I really love.”
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
A different audience, a different time
Both Ramos and Arespacochaga are aware that they’re staging this musical in a post-pandemic, hyper-digital, AI-saturated world but that’s part of the reason why Into the Woods, and theater in general, still matters, especially now.
In recent years, people are overwhelmed. The Philippines, like much of the world, is dealing with rising costs, misinformation, online noise, and political division. And yet, there’s still room for shared stories especially ones that remind us we’re not alone in the woods.
“I hope they take away that we need to intentionally be constantly thinking about building community with each other,” Arespacochaga said. “The only way we get out from under a giant’s footstep is to really rely on community. And so I hope that’s part of the taking. We need each other.”
In a story where characters chase their dreams and face the cost of those wishes, the lesson lands harder today.
Ramos added: “The theater has always been a venue for community and for thought, right? So you go to the theater, yes, you might be entertained. But you should go there to collide with a piece that may make you pissed off. That may make you cry, make you happy, whatever it is. That will ultimately make you think about the human condition. Who am I? Where am I right now? What am I doing in this world?”
And maybe—like the characters in the story—come out of it seeing the world a little differently.
Into The Woods is a gathering of some of the country’s sharpest talents, telling a familiar story through a lens that’s entirely their own. The 24-performance run sold out in just two hours. And that says enough.
Into the Woods opens August 7 and will run until August 31 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. Follow @theatregroupasia on Instagram and Facebook for potential waitlist updates and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
