In the first half of the show, the audience gets the "once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away" version with Cinderella (Emjoy Gavino) longing to go to the fabled ball, then getting a chnage from her mother's ghost (Maydene Pang), who delivers a sparkly gown from the beyond. Jack trades his cow for "magic beans" and his mother throws them out, disgusted that her silly son (Eric Ankrim) has given away their one chance at food, resulting in the beanstalk, a giant and the rest of that story. Rapunzel is kept in a tower by an old woman (Kim Anh Yanda and Crystal Dawn Munkers), until being freed by a wandering prince, who becomes enthralled by her singing (Sean P. O'Bannon), resulting in Rapunzel's hair being cut by the upset witch who has been keeping her captive. And you know the Red Riding Hood story.

Ah, but in the second half of the musical things turn sour as characters wander into a woods they don't know and lose track of their stories after the narrator (Barry L. Snarr) is killed by the wife of the giant Jack killed in the first half of the play. We find out that being Prince Charming means always having to find a princess who needs "awakening" and being a princess means having no power outside of their castles. In shirt, no one is living "happily ever after" and everyone is lost in the woods, acting out of character.

But things still turn out okay, as people sort themselves from characters, and find a new story of their own making, one that demands they take responsibility for their mistakes, hopes and dreams. True, it's a bit "New Agey," but ReAct makes it work, even when the action seemed to get a little long or the singing a bit off-key during Rapunzel's numbers, and the cast is up to the task of bringing this large scale work to life. Certainly not something one would expect form Sondheim, or from a collection of time-worn children's stories, Into the Woods is worth seeing.