Premier Centre for the Arts trots 'Into the Woods'

The Baker and his wife, who's awesomely named "Baker's Wife," are on a scavenger hunt in hopes of lifting a curse that's preventing them from having children, courtesy of the Witch.

For the scavenger hunt, the couple is required to obtain random items such as: a gold slipper, a red cape, a lock of yellow hair and a white cow.

Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (from the beanstalk), Cinderella and Rapunzel are all thrown into the mix, along with a host of other iconic folks from fairytale land, in the junior version of Premier Centre for the Arts' musical "Into the Woods," which kicks off Saturday afternoon. The final show will end March 17. "Into the Woods" features music and lyrics penned by Stephen Sondheim, and book by James Lapine.

Show dates for the junior version of the production runs during matinee times, while the adult version runs at night. Both the adult and junior versions of "Into the Woods" are virtually the same, except the junior version is more than an hour and doesn't include a second act, whereas the adult version is about three hours long and includes a second act, as well as a few added elements.

The Middletown Transcript, donning a vest and hiking boots, spotted Cinderella (portrayed by Kylie Boggs, 13, of Bear) deep in the woodlands where she explained why she ventured "Into the Woods," and more.

Q What's Cinderella's role in the show?

A She's in a home where she doesn't feel she belongs, because everything that she loved is gone, and so she doesn't know who she is anymore. She just wants to do something for herself, for once, and actually feel like she's supposed to be somewhere.

Q The show's cast is filled with a ton of familiar fairytale characters. Growing up, who was your favorite character?

A Actually, the Witch! I was a fan of the villains as a kid, especially Maleficent — she was my favorite. I found her to be the best because she didn't want power — she was just evil for the fun of being evil. She killed everybody in the kingdom because she wasn't invited to a party. But yeah — the Witch is my favorite.

Q Did you audition for the role?

A I actually tried out for Little Red and the Witch, and I got Cinderella.

Q You weren't evil enough to play the Witch were you?

A I guess not [laughs].

Q What's it like performing in a show like this where most of the cast shares an equal role?

A It's actually better, because sometimes when you're the lead of a show, you treat people like you're better than them, occasionally. But in this [show], everyone's important and if one person messes up, everyone messes up, and so everybody has to be on their game. You feel like you're not alone either, because sometimes the lead feels like there's so much pressure. But everyone [in this show] has the same amount of pressure, so you can talk to people, help each other and there's not as much of a wall between everyone.

IF YOU GO

WHAT "Into the Woods" musical

WHEN 8 p.m. Friday, March 8; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 9; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, March 10; show dates run through March 17; junior versions of the show run at 3 p.m., while the adult versions run at 8 p.m.

WHERE Premier Centre for the Arts, 27 Anderson St., Middletown

COST $12 (junior version of show); $15-$18 (adult version of show)

INFO pcade.com or 378-1384