It was not a musical for the bitter at heart, or for those who can barely sit through a Disney film. This past month, Cappuccino Musical Theatre presented Into the Woods, the most musical of musical theatre pieces.

The show brought together several of the Brothers Grimm era European fairy tales in a twisted, more rumpus of a plotline. The baker and his wife must collect a blood red cape, a gold shoe, a milk-white cow, and hair like that of a corn cob’s to break the barren curse placed on the baker’s wife’s womb by an evil witch, who has also kidnapped Rapunzel.

The voices in this production were strong, particularly those of a pretty Naomi Derksen, who played Cinderella, and a pregnant Allie Higgins-Pompu, possessing an Ariel-like mezzo-soprano thrilling to the ear, who aptly portrayed Rapunzel atop her tower.

The costumes were good, but the set was reminiscent of the set-up at a lazer tag arena and, in my opinion, not a good fit for the score.

Cappuccino has done Into the Woods before but under a different director’s bearing. Tory Doctor proposed a darker adaptation of the musical, written by Stephen Sondheim: a ‘reimagined, modern take’. Thus said, the production still came out light by adult standards. Though not quite for kids, the show was definitely geared toward the young at heart.

One might get a laugh at the ass-gazing prince, or the murderous granny, or find the whole thing drole. It is a matter of how much one loves fairy tale adaptations, and a wholly music-driven theatrical production.