A cast of characters from classic children’s stories will come to life during Temple Theaters’ production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods; a contemporary take on several Brothers Grimm fairytales.

Directed by Peter Reynolds, with sets and costumes by Marie Anne Chiment and lighting by M.F.A. design candidate Maria Shaplin, Into the Woods premieres on Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 4 on the Tomlinson Theater Main Stage.

The contemporary musical pulls the stories of several fairytale heroes and heroines from the pages of children’s stories to create a world in which Little Red Riding Hood, Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella find themselves on a similar quest for a happy ending.

While these are the characters you will remember from your bedtime stories, this production of Into the Woods approaches their stories from a more urban, edgy angle by putting a modern spin on the original Into the Woods, which first appeared on Broadway in 1987.

Without changing a word from the script or a note from the score, Reynolds and Chiment managed to change the feeling of the musical by updating the costumes and creating a set inspired by Temple’s surrounding communities.

"The musical is traditionally done much like a fairytale of long ago,” Reynolds said. “We’ve given it a more modern feel by changing the costuming and designing the set to have a more modern look.”

In the first act, all of the characters achieve their idea of living happily ever after. Cinderella finds her prince, Jack gets his gold and the Baker and his wife are expecting a child.

“Things begin to shift in the second act, the tone becomes darker and we begin to deconstruct the idea of 'happily ever after',” Reynolds said. “What happens after happily ever after, what happens when things go awry?”

Reynolds returns to the Tomlinson Theater Main Stage after directing last season’s acclaimed Ragtime, the Musical. He received his MFA in directing from Temple University and has been working for a decade as director and producer for theater companies across the U.S. including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Chicago's HealthWorks Theatre.

Marie Anne Chiment, set and costume designer for Into the Woods, is a nationally recognized artist and designer. Her designs have appeared on stages across the country, including Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, among many others.

Into the Woods runs Oct. 25 – Nov. 4 with a preview showing at 7:30 p.m. in Tomlinson Theater, 13th and Norris Streets.

Tickets are $20 general admission

$15 seniors / students / Temple faculty and staff

Free for students with an Owl Card

For additional show times and ticket information, contact the Liacouras Center Box Office at 1-800-298-4200 or visit www.liacourascenter.com.