The Stars Over Veishea production of “Into the Woods” was a magical delight for young and old alike. This dark, spirited musical based on the works of the Brothers Grimm and set to music by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine was brought to life by the direction of Eve Himmelheber, her cast of student performers and the orchestra conducted by Dustin Seifert.

“Into the Woods” combines key elements from “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Little Red Ridinghood” and “Rapunzel” as well as minor elements from various other tales to tell a story about what happens after “happily ever after.”

The musical introduces the Baker and his Wife. The two cannot have a child because their neighbor, the Witch, has placed a curse on their family for transgressions against the greens in her garden.

In order to lift the curse, the Witch wants the Baker to collect four items. Of course, all of these things belong to characters we are all too familiar with. But the best part is that the Baker has to go into the woods to find them.

The woods are not just a place for the action to occur; they have the power to transform. Characters go into the woods and come out changed.

The Baker and his Wife face moral questions. In order to have a child, they must lie and steal. In some cases, he is unwilling to do so. In one scene where the Baker tricks Jack into selling his cow, Milky White, his Wife convinces him that “the ends justify the beans.”

The first act is all about happy endings and everyone getting what they want after a hard quest. This is the part the kiddies really liked, and by the end of the act, the whole audience was transported back to childhood.

The second act is where things get more complicated. The musical begins to look at the consequences of actions taken in the first half. Jack, having planted the beans the Baker told him were magic, climbed the beanstalk and killed the giant in the sky. Now the Giant’s Wife is looking for some payback.

Needless to say, when fairy tale characters start pointing fingers at one another, it can get pretty ugly.

One thing that was not at all ugly was the set. The woods were beautifully designed and made one want to get up on stage and run around in them. Kudos to the designer, Jack Jenness.

The costumes were designed by Linda Pisano, and each one added to the fantastic timelessness of the play.

The performances in “Into the Woods” were stellar. These actors worked hard on this production, and it showed in every scene and every number.

Melinda Okerberg was stunning as the Witch for more than a couple of reasons. While on stage, she filled Stephens with her powerful stage presence. Her rendition of “Stay With Me,” in which she sings about how hard it is to be a mother and watch your children leave you, was as good as anything Bernadette Peters did with it.

Luke Stoffel was a compelling Baker. His moral self-examination and on-stage regrets made the role his.

Sean Kehoe may not make the most convincing 14-year-old boy in the world, but he played Jack to the hilt and was as endearing and fun to watch as anyone on a stage full of compelling performers.

Melissa Larsen was probably born to play Little Red Ridinghood. She is a natural as the little girl lost, but her ability to play this role with an added toughness gave a familiar character new dimension.

Jalyn Buechler’s Cinderella was certainly better than the Disney-fied version. Her ability to talk to the prop birds without missing a beat is as amazing as Cinderella’s ability to talk to the birds to begin with.

There are too many cast members to go into them all, but suffice to say there were very few weaknesses in this production and certainly nothing that detracted from the audience’s overall enjoyment. Aside from a few minor technical difficulties and one instance of accidental cow tipping, it was as close to perfect as it could get.