Eiko Moon-Yamamoto, Olivia Hellman, Jillian A. Smith, Phil Wong, William I. Schmidt, Ruby Day, and Maureen McVerry Photo by Jessica Palopoli

Much of the credit for my near-conversion is due to the stellar cast director Susi Damilano has assembled here, and who will be trodding the boards through the holidays and into the new year. That, and the technical and creative expertise on display, combined in a glorious evening of theatre that had the audience on its feet for a well-deserved standing ovation.

Into the Woods is a bit of an odd duck in terms of musicals, at least those aimed at adults, for it is a mashup of fairy-tale tropes and characters, linked in a story (by bookwriter and original director James Lapine) of a baker and his wife who desperately want a child, but have been unable to conceive due to a curse placed on the baker's family by the witch who lives next door. To break the spell, the witch sends the couple on a quest to find four items for her: "the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, the slipper as pure as gold."

The quest occupies most of the first act, as the Baker (the reliably brilliant Phil Wong) and his Wife (the undeniably charming Ruby Day) meet an array of fairy-tale characters. Their first encounter is with Jack (William I. Schmidt, who inhabits his role with a delightful dimness that he somehow transitions into passion), who is off to market to sell the family cow, Milky White (Maureen McVerry in a frilly white costume with pink tassels standing in for an udder), despite the bovine being his best friend. The Baker then meets Cinderella (Jillian A. Smith), despondent at being unable to attend the King's festival, unlike her stepmother and stepsisters (a marvelously awful trio played with relish by Heather Orth, Rachel Fobbs and Callahan Gillispie). In the woods he also meets Little Red (Olivia Hellman), on her way to grandmother's house to deliver the baked goods she had purchased earlier from the Baker. Each of these three has one of the items on the wish list the Witch (a delightfully crone-ish Alison Ewing) has provided, but he will also need a lock the golden blonde hair of Rapunzel (Samantha Rich) if the hag is to be satisfied.

Of course, this being a musical, the quest is accompanied by songs that feature Sondheim's ever-clever lyrics and intricate song structures and time signatures. My favorite of these is the Big Bad Wolf's (Trevor March) "Hello, Little Girl," which is somehow both hysterical and creepy, especially in light of all the furor around Jeffrey Epstein, making lyrics like "Look at that flesh, pink and plump... hello, little girl...t ender and fresh, not one lump" send a nauseating shiver up one's spine.

This action–close to three hours of it–takes place on an amazingly verdant set designed by Heather Kenyon, complete with massive tree trunks encircled by vines, beautifully lit by designer Christian Mejia, and rendered even spookier with the lush soundscape provided by sound designer Dan Holland.

But it's the cast who really make this production sing. Literally, as there's not a weak voice–and several are gloriously powerful. Trevor March has a baritone that manages to have the strength of steel, yet the smoothness of silk. It doesn't hurt that he gets two of the show's very best songs, the aforementioned "Hello, Little Girl" and the hysterical, yet soaring "Agony," which is a duet with fellow prince Johann Santiago Santos. Heather Orth deserves a stack of kudos higher than Rapunzel's tower for her wonderfully vicious, yet somehow soft-edged, portrayal of Cinderella's stepmother. As Rapunzel, Samantha Rich manages to steal virtually every scene she's in, thanks to her seemingly dim, but somehow knowing line readings. Ruby Day not only sings the role of the Baker's Wife beautifully, but her comic timing and facial expressions are spot-on. It doesn't hurt that she and Phil Wong have an easy chemistry as they bicker in ways that will be recognizable to any couple in a long-term relationship.

I'm not sure I can quite put my finger on why Into the Woods has always been a bit of a non-starter for me, but I can't deny the excellence of the work put in by the cast and crew of SF Playhouse.

Into the Woods runs through January 17, 2025 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street, San Francisco CA. Performances are Tuesdays-Thursdays at 7:00pm, Wednesdays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm and 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are $52-$145. For tickets and information, please visit www.sfplayhouse.org or call the box office at 415-677-9596.