SAN FRANCISCO – A new production of the Broadway classic “Into the Woods” is bringing a dose of magic — and a reminder about the power of community — to Union Square this holiday season.

San Francisco Playhouse is staging the Stephen Sondheim musical now through mid-January.

What they’re saying:

Co-founder and producing director Susie Damilano said the show’s blend of childhood fairy tales and adult consequences feels especially resonant this year.

“It’s all the fairy tales we grew up with,” Damilano said. “In Act One we see the characters’ wishes come true. In Act Two, we see the consequences. It reminds us to be careful what we wish for.”

At the center of the production is a new story thread involving a baker and his wife longing to have a child. 

Damilano said the woods themselves become a metaphor for the characters’ journeys — mystical and inviting in some moments, dark and tangled in others.

“I decided that having magical, mystical woods would be the way to go,” she said. “They represent our collective unconscious… beautiful, but with a lot of tangled things in there, just like our own minds.”

Damilano said she cried the first time she saw the full production come together, moved by the design team’s work and the emotional weight of the story.

“It just takes my breath away,” she said. “This show touches us deep in our soul. It reminds us how important community is.”

Big picture view:

The production arrives at a time when many theaters are still struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic. 

Damilano said San Francisco Playhouse feels fortunate and energized by audiences returning to the city’s core.

“We’re filling our houses,” she said. “Union Square is coming back to life. People are out playing chess and ping pong again, the Christmas tree is up, there’s ice skating. It feels good.”

With its familiar characters and themes of family, loss, and longing, “Into the Woods” is designed to be a holiday-friendly experience for all ages.

“Into the Woods” runs through Jan. 17 at San Francisco Playhouse in Union Square. Tickets and show times are available at sfplayhouse.org.