Solanco High School thespians are undertaking a substantial task.

Director John Biles is confident his students are up to the challenge.

The students will put on the Stephen Sondheim classic "Into the Woods" on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. in the Solanco High School auditorium, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville.

To purchase tickets in advance, go to https://cur8.com/14921/project/135967. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door with cash or a check. For more information, call 717-786-2151, ext. 8811.

"We have a very large senior class with a lot of talent that has been in principal and supporting roles since their freshman year," Biles said. "With such a large class, I wanted to pick a show that had a lot of opportunities for students, and 'Into the Woods' presented one of the few shows that is done in high school that has a large number of opportunities for students."

"Into the Woods" features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. Biles believes this is the first time Solanco has put on a Sondheim work. "Sondheim is incredibly difficult, but our seniors and the group we have is extremely talented musically, and that's a testament to our music program here at the school, that they have them prepared for this," he said.

Senior Sophie Pizzulli will play the Witch. "This musical has characters from a lot of people's childhoods that they would know very well, like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel," she said. "This story takes all of these iconic characters that you know, and they mush them into one big story, basically about what it means to be a parent and what it means to love and to lose and to really work for something that you've wanted your whole life."

Sophie added, "It takes a lot of creative liberties regarding where these characters go, and it's really fun because some of the main characters like the Witch and the Baker's Wife, they're not very well-known, and so their story in the musical is built from nowhere. You see these iconic characters interacting with these new characters building upon a story you've already known and really making you think of what it means to long for something."

Junior Reed Morehouse will play the Baker. "I feel like a lot of people don't really understand that the show is a lot about family, and people usually have a lot of familial ties, so they would really appreciate the messages it conveys," he said. "(The Baker role) ties the story together. Me, my wife, and the Witch bring all the fairy tales together and make it a coherent story."

Senior Lydia Young also has a starring role. "I am the traditional role of Cinderella, who wants to go to the ball and the festival and meet her dream prince," she said. "Ultimately, I realize that I don't fit in with that, and that's not what I truly want. There's a change of heart near the end, and I kind of come to this conclusion that I want something in between."

Lydia acknowledges she and her schoolmates are assuming a demanding assignment. "The music is really difficult, and that's kind of been a challenge," she said. "The choreography is pretty easy."

In addition to Sophie, Reed, and Lydia, "In the Woods" will star senior Grace West as the Baker's Wife, seniors Kenton Green and Alex Reedy as the princes, junior Cooper Fuller as Jack, and freshman Aurora Remaley as Little Red. Senior Aiden Elliot is the Narrator. The rest of the supporting cast includes seniors Ava Foley (Granny), Brooke Hiatt (Steward), Michaela Meyrick (Jack's Mother), Shannon Moore (Lucinda), Hannah Perella (Snow White), and Kate Zdrojewski (Cinderella's Mother); juniors Tony Koch (Cinderella's Father), Morgan Krauss (Cinderella's Stepmother), Mackenzie Landis (Sleeping Beauty), Michelle Phillips (Milky White), and Braelyn Zander (Rapunzel); and sophomore Bri Eller (Florinda). The ensemble will feature seniors Baylee Lenhart, Tavi Solares, and Rhiannon Weaver; juniors Ben Ginter, Jed King, Tom King, Bri Null, and Eli Remsberg; sophomore Emmet Bonilla; and freshmen Ellie Clark, Emma Gilman, Kayden Johnson, Ella McGrath, Addison Morgan, Adriana Pugh, and Weston Young.

Biles is in his fifth year as the director of Solanco High productions. Amelia West is the music director, and Tiffany Shrom will serve as choreographer. The costume design is by Grace Callirgos, scenic design is by Kesse Humphreys, and set construction is by Todd Brown and his students.

"The show is a fairy tale for adults," Biles said. "The show takes these fairy-tale characters and puts them into moral and ethical positions that are able to teach adults. Lessons that are not black and white. These are very nuanced lessons. Ultimately, it's about explaining to adults how we should be communicating our lessons to children."

Biles added, "Sondheim takes these fairy-tale characters that were very black and white and right and wrong and gives them truly challenging circumstances where then they have to make decisions that perhaps go against what we thought their character was. If we're looking at children coming to see the show, I think that's fine, but they shouldn't be coming to see the show thinking they're going to get the Disney experience of Cinderella, etc. They'll be recognizable, but the message is really meant for adults and high school students."