The Philippine production of beloved fairytale musical “Into The Woods” adds Broadway stars Lea Salonga and Arielle Jacobs to its line-up of talents.
It’s going to be an exciting year for musical theatre with the upcoming Philippine production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into The Woods, helmed by Theatre Group Asia (TGA). Set to hit the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in August 2025, the production comes hot on the heels of the success of TGA’s Request sa Radyo in 2024, the wordless play headlined by Tony and Olivier Award-winning singer and actress Lea Salonga, and Golden Globe and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominee Dolly de Leon.

Recently, TGA announced that Salonga will be working with them once more, this time assuming the role of The Witch in Into The Woods. The group also announced the casting of Filipino-American Broadway star, Arielle Jacobs, who will be playing Cinderella.
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Into The Woods
Into The Woods premiered in San Diego, California, on December 4, 1986. With songs by Stephen Sondheim (the mind behind other stage favorites like West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Row Along) and a book by James Lapine, the dark comedy musical pulls various characters and plot lines from Brothers Grimm fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk.



According to Music Theatre International, Sondheim and Lapine were drawn to “the true morals of the main characters of these stories,” and chose to give each character a quest that would explore the consequences of their actions and wishes, while introducing new characters into the overarching story, namely The Baker and his Wife.
The musical has since traveled to Broadway and West End stages, going through a number of revivals and iterations (including a divisive 2014 movie), the Philippine production being among the latest in this roster.
Lea Salonga Plays The Witch
It makes sense that a theatre behemoth like Lea Salonga would take on a role as important as The Witch, Into The Woods’ main antagonist. Yet it is not her first rodeo, as she previously took the very same role when she was 23 years old.
“Playing her again 30 years later is going to be illuminating,” she shares. “So much life has happened in the intervening years. I’m hoping to bring as much of that as I can to this production.”
The production is the actress-singer’s first in the Philippines in six years. Coincidentally, her last performance in the country was another Sondheim masterpiece, Sweeney Todd, directed by Bobby Garcia, the late theater maverick and a founding collaborator of TGA. It is also interesting to note that Salonga will be starring in the upcoming Old Friends, a musical tribute to Sondheim, alongside fellow Tony Award-winner Bernadette Peters—who played the original Witch in the 1987 production.

“We are so pleased and proud to have an actress of Lea’s caliber lead the spectacular and stellar ensemble of TGA’s production of Into The Woods. [It] is a very complex and thought-provoking piece. We want to create a version that considers the Filipino condition,” shares Clint Ramos, founding collaborator of TGA. “Hopefully, our context will give more meaning to the already rich work that is this Sondheim musical. And Lea, with her remarkable talent and abilities will be very instrumental in imparting that message.”
“It’s very exciting, as well as, exhausting,” Salonga continues. “Sondheim is no joke! Learning the material before day one of rehearsals takes a few weeks because his patterns can be puzzling and challenging but so rewarding once it all comes together.”
She adds: “What I love about this piece is the whole ‘what if’ premise of fairy tales. Continuing past ‘happily ever after’ is very interesting. Through the material, we realize that a witch isn’t always bad, and good people aren’t always entirely good. The famous line from the musical, ‘nice is different than good’ is one that hits home every time. The message is so poignant. The final song, ‘Children Will Listen’ is a reminder that what we do as adults impacts impressionable minds. Act One is about fairytales, but Act Two explores darker, less defined territory. That’s when things get interesting!”
Arielle Jacobs Plays Cinderella
Joining Salonga is another Broadway powerhouse, New York-based Filipino-American Arielle Jacobs, who has starred in a number of famous productions including Aladdin (as Jasmine), Wicked (where she played Nessarose), and In the Heights (performing as Nina Rosario). Taking the role of Cinderella, Jacobs describes being “filled with joy.”
“I have long wished to perform in the Philippines. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to bring my art back to where my family came from, for the Filipino people I love so much, and in a show that is very special and dear to my heart,” she expresses. “This is a role I’ve always wanted to play. To be playing it, while sharing the stage with my friend and hero Lea Salonga, on a Philippine stage, is a dream come true on so many levels.”

She continues: “As a kid, this musical was one of the first cast albums I heard. It has been my favorite show ever since! The lyrics ask us to think deeply and differently about the world and how things are often complex, and not as one-sided as they may seem at first glance.”
Ramos stands as the production’s overall artistic director, stage and costume designer, and co- producer alongside John and Joanna Echauz, and executive director Chris Mohanani. The show is directed by Chari Arespacochaga.
For more information about Into The Woods, please visit www.theatregroupasia.com, or follow Facebook and Instagram @theatregroupasia.
Banner photos courtesy of Theatre Group Asia.