Pleasant Valley High School opens the spring musical season tonight with a performance of “Into the Woods Jr.”

The show begins at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium with additional shows at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students/child, and free for children 3 years old and younger.

“Into the Woods Jr.” is a musical that intertwines popular characters from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and sets them off on a journey into the woods to make their wishes come true.

The original story was written by James Lapine with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was first performed in 1986 in California and then on Broadway in 1987.

The main characters are taken from the stories of “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Rapunzel,” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

In the story, a baker and his wife want to have a child, but must first break the witch’s spell. They go into the woods in search of the items they need to break the spell — a white cow, a red cape, yellow hair and a gold slipper.

During their search, they meet Jack — yes that Jack — who wants his cow to produce milk, but his mother wants him to sell it.

Little Red Riding Hood wants something, too, bread to take to her grandmother. Rapunzel wants out of the tower the witch placed her in, and Cinderella wishes to go to a festival held by the king. Her stepmother and stepsisters are against that.

The story twists and turns as the baker and his wife encounter each these fairy tale characters, who are the source of the items the couple needs for the spell.

Pleasant Valley’s musical is being directed by Aubrey Sawyer, the daughter of teacher Rhonda Sawyer, who is a speech and language therapist at the middle school and director of their musicals, and drama director and assistant musical director at the high school.

“There are many classic tales that our students bring to life magnificently,” said Aubrey Sawyer. “They make me very proud every day.”

She said she chose this musical “because of the magical stories where multiple fairy tale storylines intersect in the woods. It felt like the perfect show for our students, balancing both mature and lighthearted themes.”

The story also allows the students to “explore their vocal ranges and their ability to bring characters to life,” Sawyer said.

The musical is being performed a bit earlier than those at other schools for the spring musical season.

Aubrey Sawyer explained that she and her mother work together on both the PVHS and PVMS musicals.

“To ensure the students could still have their club, we needed to adjust the calendar. We are very lucky to have such dedicated and flexible students,” she said.

The cast and crew include: Sam Lowell, as the baker; Jaime Rodriguez as the baker’s wife; Sophia Dobson, Cinderella; Isaac Mitchell, Cinderella’s prince; Shelby O’Neill, Cinderella’s mother; Harrison Sullivan, Cinderella’s father; Zuzanna Romanczyk, Cinderella’s stepmother; Emerie Gonzalez, Cinderella’s stepsister Florinda; Cindy Page, Cinderella’s stepsister Lucinda; Gianna Bullock, Granny; Kailey Grave de Peralta, Jack; Rachel Costello, Jack’s mother; Brooke Burke, Little Red Ridinghood; Arlo Calhoun, mysterious man; Dylan Carroll, narrator; Khloe Gutai, Rapunzel; Rob Leuthardt, Rapunzel’s prince; Jackie Hollman, steward; Alayna Boland, witch; and Steven Roberti, wolf.

The crew includes: co-stage managers, Quinn Johnson and Skylar Newman; light tech, Sarah Jahingoerie; sound tech, Landon Kuehner; costume manager, Avery Rosario; curtain manager, Paige Delancey; and onstage crew for set and props, Alma Ortiz.