Meet the understudies who keep the forest flourishing at Broadway's Into The Woods, continuing at the St. James Theatre through January 8, 2023.
In a season where understudies have saved the day time and time again, a mighty team of nine actors cover nineteen different tracks in the James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim revival.
Delphi Borich, in her Broadway debut, covers the roles Little Red Riding Hood, Florinda, Lucinda, Rapunzel, and Milky White, alongside Diane Phelan, who covers The Baker's Wife in addition to Cinderella and Cinderella's Stepmother. Into the Woods is Phelan's third Broadway show, after roles in School of Rock and The King and I, where she understudied the lead role of Tuptim.
Felicia Curry and Mary Kate Moore both cover The Baker's Wife, with Curry also taking care of The Witch, Cinderella's Mother, Granny, the Giant, and Jack's Mother and Moore covering Cinderella. Both are making their Broadway debuts with the production, and Moore previously served as the dance captain for the 2016 National Tour of Into The Woods, where she understudied The Witch, The Baker's Wife, and Cinderella. This time around, Moore also covers Little Red Riding Hood and Florinda should Borich and Phelan be otherwise occupied.
Broadway veteran Lucia Spina covers The Witch, Cinderella's Mother, Granny, the Giant, Jack's Mother, and Cinderella's Stepmother. You may recognize her from her previous Broadway credits, including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Les Misérables, Legally Blonde, South Pacific, and Kinky Boots.
Jason Forbach, who stepped in as The Baker for the opening night of the Broadway production, also covers Cinderella's Prince, the Wolf, Rapunzel's Prince, the Narrator, and the Mysterious Man. When original Cinderella's Prince/the Wolf Gavin Creel left for a scheduled absence, it was Forbach who took over the role alongside short term replacement Cheyenne Jackson.
When Forbach is otherwise utilized, Cameron Johnson steps in as either The Baker, Cinderella's Prince, the Wolf, or as Jack, Milky White, and the Steward. Alex Joseph Grayson, who has previously understudied in Girl From The North Country, A Bronx Tale, and the National Tour of Once On This Island, covers Rapunzel's Prince, Jack, Milky White, and Cinderella's Father
Finally, director/producer/performer Paul Kreppel covers the Narrator, the Mysterious Man, and the Steward. Kreppel previously received a Tony award for Jay Johnson: The Two and Only, and starred on television as Sonny Mann, the waitress-harassing pianist who appeared on every episode of ABC's It's a Living.
The photo shoot was shot by photographer Benjamin Rivera (@BenjaminRiveraPhotography), along with assistant photographers Emily Croft (@croftography) and Eddie Brandt (@reddbrandt). Jake Sokoloff (@jakesokoloff) was stylist, with Ashley Stephens (@ashleydaistephens) assisting. Into the Woods hair and makeup team Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche and Elias Prince designed the hair and makeup for the shoot.
The understudies of Broadway's Into The Woods
The understudies of Broadway's Into The Woods
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Paul Kreppel
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Lucia Spina
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Mary Kate Moore
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Jason Forbach
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Felicia Curry
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Diane Phelan
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Delphi Borich
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Cameron Johnson
Broadway's Into The Woods Understudy Alex Joseph Grayson
Into the Woods is directed by Lear deBessonet with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Lorin Latarro.
With a book by James Lapine and a score by Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods combines the fairy-tale stories of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and more, ultimately going beyond "ever after" to explore what happens next.
The Into the Woods creative team includes scenic designer David Rockwell; costume designer Andrea Hood; lighting designer Tyler Micoleau; sound designer Scott Lehrer, co-designing with Alex Neumann; puppet designer James Ortiz; and hair and makeup designer Cookie Jordan. Casting is by The Telsey Office's Craig Burns, and Cody Renard Richard serves as production supervisor. Justin Scribner is production stage manager, and music coordination is by Seymour Red Press and Kimberlee Wertz.
Following a two-week run at New York City Center in May, the revival transferred to Broadway's St. James Theatre, where it opened July 10, after beginning previews June 28.
