INTO THE WOODS Plays Garza Main Stage, Now thru 11/8

One of the most famous works of Stephen Sondheim, INTO THE WOODS, is coming to the Houston Family Arts Center! This twisted musical of our favorite fairy tale characters opens on the Garza Main Stage, tonight, October 16th - November 8th.

"INTO THE WOODS is not just a fairy tale mash-up," says director, Sam Brown. "True, it does feature many well-known characters in the same story, but audiences will be surprised at some of the twists and turns that are present. It's a beautiful world that is being created, but audiences should be aware that it's not a Disney-fied world that they'll be walking into. One doesn't necessarily expect to empathize and identify with princes and witches, and I think what truly makes our production special is that the cast is not just telling the story, but is showing the surprising amount of depth and moral difficulty present in these characters and their choices. Our cast does a magnificent job of finding the truth in what these characters have to deal with, and that's what I'm most interested in: seeing how these iconic, seemingly two-dimensional figures can be shown as a true and authentic reflection of what we as a collective society experience."

The classic tales of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel are about to be turned upside-down, and woven together to create the beautiful, and complex musical of a baker and his wife trying to break the Witch's curse on his family. A darker-than-normal telling of these stories is presented with a bit of adult innuendo, and mild dramatic intensity, but rest assured that the staging and costumes will be family friendly.

Weaving the story behind the scenes is Sam Brown (director), Michael Montgomery (executive producer), Adam Delka (music director and choreographer), Kiara Steelhammer (scenic design), Amber Stepanik (costume design), Ellen Girdwood (costume design), Ron Putterman (lighting design), and David Dean (sound design).

The fairy tale characters are brought to life by Taylor Fisher (The Baker), Jennifer Stewart (The Baker's Wife), Rachel Landon (The Witch), Morgan Montgomery (Little Red), Nicole Norton (Cinderella), Jordi Viscarri (Jack), and Kristen Malisewski (Rapunzel). Rounding out the cast are Joey Castorena, Sophia Clarke, Tyler Collins, Chris Conway, Larry Luck, Scott Mills, Shannon Murray, JJ Obee, Laura Renfroe, Elizabeth Wilson, and Chris Wisdom.

Performances of INTO THE WOODS are Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m., October 16th - November 8th on the HFAC Garza Mainstage. The Halloween performance on October 31st will be a matinee at 3 p.m. There will not be an evening performance on October 31st. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased online at www.houstonfac.com, or by phone at (281) 587-6100. Special pricing is available for groups of 10 or more.