"And I know things now..."

Into the Woods is a show that holds a very special place for me.  At 15, I was cast in the Avon Players production as Rapunzel.  It was my first non-chorus role outside of school, and I was feeling very grown up as the youngest person in the cast.  Years later, I did back to back productions - a children's theatre version (adult, professional actors, but put on for a young audience, so, basically, just Act I with a few cuts), as the Baker's Wife, and a full production as the Witch.  A few more years past, and I found myself back as Rapunzel in a concert production.  This is a show which I will do anytime I am asked, and will take on any role.  The characters are complex, and the music is challenging and fun to sing.

Now, Disney and Rob Marshall are committing Into the Woods to film, and I could not be more appalled by the majority of the casting decisions.  Today's announcement of Youtube "personality" (seriously, that's how she's written up in the casting announcements "Youtube personality") and frequent Ellen guest Sophia Grace being cast as Little Red pushed me over the edge and prompted this blog.

If you are not familiar with Sophia Grace, here is her latest "official" video:

I'm not even going to comment on her singing ability, because in this instance, it's really irrelevant.  What IS relevant, is the fact that she is ten years old, and looks more like eight.  I'm seeing a lot of comments around the internet about her casting as Little Red being "adorable!"  "She's PERFECT!  Just exactly how Red should be!"  "So excited!!!  She deserves fame!!!!"  "She's spunky and cocky, just like Little Red!" "She is a total cutey and will do well in the movie." 

PEOPLE!  Have you ever SEEN Into the Woods?  Do you know the story AT ALL?!?!  Do you understand metaphor?  "Hello, Little Girl" is BLATANTLY sexual.  Don't believe me?  Here's the original Broadway version:

This isn't some little cutesy number.  This is pure LUST for an innocent on the part of the Wolf.  It's creepy enough when the girl in question is an appropriate age, but, stick a ten year old in the role, and it is pedophilia.

Also, let's look a bit more closely at that Wolf costume, shall we?

Please note, he is ANATOMICALLY CORRECT!  This was deliberate.  The idea was to heighten the audience's awareness - even if subconsciously - of what this really was, the seduction of an innocent.  It is not graphic, it is not in a state of arousal, it is just THERE.  I'm sure most audience members weren't even aware of it.  I wasn't until I watched a documentary where Stephen Sondheim discussed it.

Next up, we have Little Red's solo number, "I Know Things Now."  Guess what?  This song is also a METAPHOR!  It is not just a cutesy little number about learning her lesson not to talk to strangers.  It is about sexual awakening and loss of virginity.  It is all double meaning.  "...but he drew me close/and he swallowed me down/down a dark slimy path/where lie secrets that I never want to know...."  These are not lyrics that can be intelligently sung by a ten year old with little to no life experience.

Faerie Tales as we know them today are not what they were when they were written.  Faerie Tales were written to be life lessons, to warn children of the dangers of life, of not listening to their parents.  They were dark, and often scary.  What most people are familiar with today are Disney's retelling of these tales, which, of course, all include the "Happily Ever After" ending.  Not all of the original stories ended happily for the protagonist (the Little Mermaid is turned into sea foam as the Prince falls in love with and marries someone else), and villains often met darker, and more painful fates than simple death (in Snow White, the Dwarves make the Evil Queen a pair of iron shoes which are heated in a fire, and she is forced to dance in them until she dies).  We have forgotten where these stories come from and their meanings.

Stephen Sondheim went to the original Faerie Tales when he was putting together Into the Woods.  Red's tale is full of metaphors for growing up and sexual awakening.  Little Red was not a child in the original Faerie Tale, but an adolescent girl on the brink of becoming a young woman.  The red cape in itself is a symbol of menstruation.  The anthropomorphized Wolf is a metaphorical sexual predator.  That Hollywood is unable to see any of this and thinks a cute ten year old is capable of handling this material is disturbing.

I have been on the fence about seeing Into the Woods when it is released.  I loved the casting of James Corden as the Baker, Christine Baranski as Cinderella's Step Mother, and Tracy Ullman as Jack's Mother.  What I was uncomfortable with was Meryl Streep as the Witch, Johnny Depp as the Wolf (now just made CREEPY by the casting of Sophia Grace), and Emily "I know I'm not the best singer in the room, but I will TRY my best" Blunt as the Baker's Wife.  Even with those iffy casting choices, I was still leaning towards giving it a chance.  However, the announcement of Sophia Grace's casting has ensured I will not let any of my money go to support this film.  Once again, Hollywood has proven it does not respect the source material for musicals or the fans who have supported these shows over the years and are a built in audience for a film version.

Please, Hollywood, just STOP IT.