“Into the Woods,” a musical about classic fairy tale characters and their lives after the stories, will be performed beginning this week on the Main Stage Theater at Southern Oregon University.

Based on the book by James Lapine, “Into the Woods” is a compilation of fractured fairy tales and is set to Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics. The show is just under three hours, including a 15-minute intermission.

Admission to “Into the Woods” is $5 for full-time students of any school. Students must purchase their tickets in person and show appropriate ID. General admission is $20, and $15 for seniors. The minimum age recommended for those attending the show is 8 years old.

Tickets can also be purchased online, by calling 541-552-6348, or by stopping at the OCA Box Office. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m.

“Into the Woods” will be performed at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 through 10 and Nov. 15 through 17. The musical will also be performed at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17 and 18.

Paul Barnes, an Ashland theatre veteran, is directing the musical masterpiece. Barnes was a founder of the Oregon Cabaret Theater and was education director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also taught at college and university theatre programs, including at the University of Oklahoma’s Helemerich School of Drama and the University of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.

His most recent assignment for SOU’s Theatre Department was Our Town, in 2013.

Parking on the evenings of the “Into the Woods” performances will be free in the university lot on South Mountain Avenue and Henry Street. Contact the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU Box Office with any questions, at (541) 552-6348.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern