Entertainment

Amy Adams to join free summer Central Park plays

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

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Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - April 3, 2012 (WPVI) -- Amy Adams, who played a princess in the film "Enchanted," will be returning to fairy tales this summer, starring opposite Cinderella and a witch.

The Public Theater said Tuesday that the three-time Academy Award nominated actress will play The Baker's Wife in its production of Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's "Into the Woods."

The musical is one of two shows the Public will present in Central Park's Delacorte Theatre to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of its free Shakespeare in the Park series.

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"Into the Woods," directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel, will begin previews on July 23 and continue for five weeks through Aug. 25. Adams, whose films include "The Fighter," ''Doubt" and "Junebug," will star opposite Jack Broderick, Gideon Glick and Cooper Grodin.

The other show is Shakespear's "As You Like It," directed by Daniel Sullivan with Lily Rabe as Rosalind, David Furr as Orlando and Stephen Spinella as Jaques. The Public announced Tuesday that Oliver Platt and Robert Joy had also joined the cast. Steve Martin will compose original music for the play.

The Shakespeare comedy reunites Rabe and Sullivan, who combined in 2010 in the park with a thrilling production of "The Merchant of Venice" led by Al Pacino as Shylock that transferred to Broadway and earned Tony Award nominations for all three. The new play will begin previews on June 5 and continue for four weeks through June 30.

The Sondheim musical, a reimagining of beloved classic fairy tales that opened on Broadway in 1987, will be based on the Olivier Award-winning Regent's Park Open Air Theatre London production in 2010, which also was directed by Sheader and Steel.

The Delacorte Theater officially opened in Central Park on June 18, 1962, with a production of "The Merchant of Venice," directed by Joseph Papp and Gladys Vaughan and featuring George C. Scott as Shylock.

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