A vindictive widow, an embittered spouse and a spoiled brat don’t sound like fairy tale creatures, but in Tahoma’s upcoming production of the musical “Into the Woods,” these characters are brought to life.

It will be the fourth Tahoma musical directed by Melissa Corby, who directed last year’s production of “Children of Eden.”

Based on the book by James Lapine, “Into the Woods” takes a Shrek-like approach to classic fairy tales by continuing the stories beyond their traditional “happily ever after” endings.

Corby said that she ultimately chose the musical due to its popularity among the students as well as its maturity.

“It’s the kids’ favorite,” she said. “Lots of students pushed for it. It’s got a lot of different roles that plays to the students’ strengths. I wanted to challenge them because it is a hard play.”

The challenges which presented themselves applied to both the students as well as Corby. While she was very familiar with “Children of Eden,” she was not well acquainted with “Into the Woods,” having not seen the production in roughly 10 years.

“Children of Eden was fairly challenging, but this is definitely the most challenging so far,” she said.

The production also involves various technical complexities which pushed the skills of Michael Hamann, the set and lighting designer. Part of the musical requires a giant’s head to roll onto the stage, flying characters, in addition to smoke and fog. Since Tahoma Middle School doesn’t have a flying mechanism, improvisation in set design has been required.

Another challenge is the maturity of the musical’s tone, which switches between lighthearted comedy in the first act where all the fairy tales conclude with happy endings, to solemnity in the second act where the tales are given less quixotic dilemmas.

For example, the wife of the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk seeks revenge for the killing of her husband, Little Red Riding Hood is left without a family after her mother dies and Cinderella’s prince has an affair.

This required Corby, as well as the students, to accurately convey the right tone during each act.

Nevertheless, the musical also provided students, such as junior Cole Wilhelm, with the chance to play fairy tale characters who were created specifically for the musical. Wilhelm plays the baker, an original character who, along with his wife, played by Allie Hilde, attempt to find magical milk to help break a spell on the baker that has prevented them from having children.

Although the wish is fulfilled, a series of events take place which culminate in the baker, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack sharing the same home in an attempt to get along.

Wilhelm described the baker as a middle-aged chauvinist who suffers from arrogance and selfishness.

“He starts more mean, but becomes more compassionate,” he said.

Justyne Synder, who plays Little Red Riding Hood, said that now that the big, bad wolf is dead, the girl is forced to deal with her own problems.

“She has to try and fend for herself,” Synder said. “She tries to be a big kid, but is obnoxious. She learns she has to be nice and cooperate with other people. She think she’s the best.”

Sophomore Kaitlin Duffy plays Cinderella, whose dreamworld has been shattered.

“It’s quite the scandal,” she said.

Duffy said the second act tries to present a more realistic desire for Cinderella.

“She dreamed of being a princess and she (really) wanted something normal in-between,” she said.

Hilde admitted that the musical’s humor made it hard not to laugh during rehearsal, but there is very much a serious tone to the plot and story. At the same time, she said the musical addresses a question people tend to ask about how fairy tales conclude and wonder themselves how it might have ended.

Some of the students, such as Brock DenHerder who plays Jack, plans to dye his hair for the musical after Corby suggested it to him. Since Jack is “stupid,” according to DenHerder, he felt it was an appropriate choice.

“I think it will add to the character,” he said. “It something unique that I can add to it. My personality will change with the hair color.”

Into the Woods runs 7 p.m. Friday, May 4, 10, 11 and 12, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on May 5. All performances will be held at Tahoma Middle School.